LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4547

OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Wednesday, 9 January 2019

The Council met at Eleven o'clock

MEMBERS PRESENT:

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

THE HONOURABLE JAMES TO KUN-SUN

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

PROF THE HONOURABLE JOSEPH LEE KOK-LONG, S.B.S., J.P.

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

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

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

THE HONOURABLE CHAN HAK-KAN, B.B.S., J.P.

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

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

THE HONOURABLE WONG KWOK-KIN, S.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.

4548 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

THE HONOURABLE CLAUDIA MO

THE HONOURABLE STEVEN HO CHUN-YIN, B.B.S.

THE HONOURABLE FRANKIE YICK CHI-MING, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE WU CHI-WAI, M.H.

THE HONOURABLE YIU SI-WING, B.B.S.

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, B.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE LEUNG CHE-CHEUNG, S.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

THE HONOURABLE KWOK WAI-KEUNG, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE DENNIS KWOK WING-HANG

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

DR THE HONOURABLE FERNANDO CHEUNG CHIU-HUNG

DR THE HONOURABLE HELENA WONG PIK-WAN

DR THE HONOURABLE ELIZABETH QUAT, B.B.S., J.P.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4549

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

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

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

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

THE HONOURABLE CHUNG KWOK-PAN

THE HONOURABLE ALVIN YEUNG

THE HONOURABLE ANDREW WAN SIU-KIN

THE HONOURABLE CHU HOI-DICK

THE HONOURABLE JIMMY NG WING-KA, J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE JUNIUS HO KWAN-YIU, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE HO KAI-MING

THE HONOURABLE HOLDEN CHOW HO-DING

THE HONOURABLE SHIU KA-FAI

THE HONOURABLE SHIU KA-CHUN

THE HONOURABLE WILSON OR CHONG-SHING, M.H.

THE HONOURABLE YUNG HOI-YAN

DR THE HONOURABLE PIERRE CHAN

THE HONOURABLE CHAN CHUN-YING, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE CHEUNG KWOK-KWAN, J.P.

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THE HONOURABLE HUI CHI-FUNG

THE HONOURABLE LUK CHUNG-HUNG, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE LAU KWOK-FAN, M.H.

THE HONOURABLE KENNETH LAU IP-KEUNG, B.B.S., M.H., J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE CHENG CHUNG-TAI

THE HONOURABLE GARY FAN KWOK-WAI

THE HONOURABLE AU NOK-HIN

THE HONOURABLE VINCENT CHENG WING-SHUN, M.H.

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

THE HONOURABLE CHAN HOI-YAN

MEMBERS ABSENT:

THE HONOURABLE LEUNG YIU-CHUNG

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

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

THE HONOURABLE IP KIN-YUEN

THE HONOURABLE LAM CHEUK-TING

THE HONOURABLE TANYA CHAN

THE HONOURABLE KWONG CHUN-YU

THE HONOURABLE JEREMY TAM MAN-HO

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PUBLIC OFFICERS ATTENDING:

THE HONOURABLE JAMES HENRY LAU JR., J.P. SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY

DR THE HONOURABLE LAW CHI-KWONG, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE

THE HONOURABLE JOHN LEE KA-CHIU, S.B.S., P.D.S.M., J.P. SECRETARY FOR SECURITY

DR CHUI TAK-YI, J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH, AND SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH

THE HONOURABLE EDWARD YAU TANG-WAH, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

THE HONOURABLE PATRICK NIP TAK-KUEN, J.P. SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS

MR LIU CHUN-SAN, J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT

CLERKS IN ATTENDANCE:

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

MISS ODELIA LEUNG HING-YEE, DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL

MISS FLORA TAI YIN-PING, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL

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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)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Good morning, this is our first meeting in 2019. I wish Members all well and officials good answers to all questions.

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.

Declaration of Constituencies (District Councils) Order 2018 ...... 263/2018

Exemption from Profits Tax (People's Bank of China Debt Instrument) Order ...... 267/2018

Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Regulation 2019 .... 1/2019

Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Passenger Ship Construction) (Ships Built Before 1 September 1984) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2018 (Amendment) Regulation 2019 ...... 2/2019

Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) Regulation 2019 .... 3/2019

Other Paper

Report No. 8/18-19 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments

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ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Questions. First question.

Methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2022 and for forming the Legislative Council in 2020

1. MR JAMES TO (in Cantonese): President, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China ("CPC") pointed out in a report delivered at the 19th CPC National Congress that well-ordered steps must be taken to advance democracy in Hong Kong SAR. Besides, Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law stipulate that the ultimate aim of selecting the Chief Executive ("CE") and electing all the members of the Legislative Council ("LegCo") by universal suffrage ("dual universal suffrage") shall be achieved in the light of the actual situation in Hong Kong SAR and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. In December 2013, which was 33 months away from the general election for the Sixth LegCo, the Government launched public consultations on the methods for selecting CE in 2017 and for forming LegCo in 2016. Given that the general election for the Seventh LegCo is only 20 months away from now, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it will consider afresh launching expeditiously public consultations on the methods for selecting CE in 2022 and for forming LegCo in 2020, as well as commencing the "Five-step Process"; if so, whether it has assessed if there is sufficient time for the relevant work to be taken; if it will not, whether it has assessed if this will run counter to the spirit of the aforesaid remarks and to the ultimate aim of dual universal suffrage being achieved in Hong Kong SAR as stipulated in the Basic Law; and

(2) whether CE, during her duty visit to Beijing on the 17th of last month, discussed with leaders of the Central Authorities issues relating to constitutional reform of Hong Kong SAR; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

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SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, Article 45 of the Basic Law stipulates that the method for selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR") shall be specified in the light of the actual situation in HKSAR and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress, and that the ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures. Article 68 of the Basic Law stipulates that the method for forming the Legislative Council shall be specified in the light of the actual situation in HKSAR and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress, and that the ultimate aim is the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage. According to "The Interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of Article 7 of Annex I and Article III of Annex II to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China" ("the Interpretation") adopted on 6 April 2004, a "Five-step Process" must be followed if there is a need to amend the methods prescribed in the Annexes to the Basic Law for selecting the Chief Executive and forming the Legislative Council. The five steps are: the Chief Executive to make a report to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ("NPCSC") on whether any amendment is necessary; NPCSC to make a determination on whether to make any amendment based on Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law in the light of the actual situation in HKSAR and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress; the amendment to be passed by a two-thirds majority of all Legislative Council Members; the Chief Executive to grant his/her consent; and a report to be made to NPCSC for approval or for the record.

Since the establishment of HKSAR, the methods for selecting the Chief Executive and for forming the Legislative Council have been developing towards the ultimate aim of universal suffrage in a gradual and orderly manner and in light of the actual situation of HKSAR as stipulated in the Basic Law. The method for selection of the Chief Executive has evolved from the nomination and election by a Selection Committee with 400 members for the first-term Chief Executive to the present Election Committee of 1 200 members. As for the Legislative Council, the number of members has been increased from 60 for the first-term Legislative Council to 70 today, and the number of seats returned from direct Geographical Constituencies election has been increased from 20 in 1998 to 35 now. Moreover, the five new Functional Constituency ("FC") seats created in LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4555

2012 return members through election on the basis of one-person-one-vote by some 3.2 million registered voters who previously did not have a vote in the traditional FC.

My reply to the question raised by Mr James TO is as follows:

(1) Universal suffrage of "one person, one vote" for selecting the Chief Executive and electing all Legislative Council Members is enshrined as an ultimate aim in the Basic Law. With this aim in mind, the HKSAR Government of the previous term conducted two rounds of extensive and systematic public consultations spanning seven months in total before putting forward a universal suffrage package for selecting the Chief Executive which is constitutionally in order, lawful, reasonable and rational, and on 2 June 2015 moved at the Legislative Council a motion to amend Annex I to the Basic Law concerning the method for the selection of the Chief Executive. Unfortunately, the motion was voted down at the Legislative Council meeting on 18 June 2015 as it did not obtain support from a two-thirds majority of all Members of the Legislative Council. According to the "Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Issues Relating to the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by Universal Suffrage and on the Method for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the Year 2016" ("the Decision") adopted on 31 August 2014, if the specific method of universal suffrage for selecting the Chief Executive is not adopted in accordance with legal procedures, the method used for selecting the Chief Executive for the preceding term shall continue to apply. Hence, the method used for selecting the Fourth Term Chief Executive in 2012 continued to apply to the selection of the Fifth Term Chief Executive in 2017, which means that the Chief Executive continued to be elected by a 1 200-member Election Committee.

According to clause 2 of the Interpretation, the methods for selecting the Chief Executive and forming the Legislative Council may be amended or remain unamended. For any amendment to be implemented in the methods for selecting the Chief Executive and 4556 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

forming the Legislative Council, tripartite consensus among Legislative Council Members, the Chief Executive and NPCSC is required. The HKSAR Government fully understands the aspirations of the community for universal suffrage. Regrettably, universal suffrage of "one person, one vote" was unable to be secured despite 20 months of efforts by the previous term of Government. Rashly starting discussions on political reform will lead to social conflicts, or may even lead to some people resorting to extreme actions, thus seriously affecting the economic and social development of Hong Kong. Rather than acting rashly, it is imperative for the HKSAR Government to prudently consider all related factors, size up the situation, seek consensuses, and do the best to work towards creating a favourable atmosphere to take forward political reform.

On the method for forming the Legislative Council, it is also stipulated in the Decision that after the election of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage, the election of all the Members of the Legislative Council of HKSAR may be implemented by the method of universal suffrage. At an appropriate time prior to the election of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage, the Chief Executive elected by universal suffrage shall submit a report to NPCSC in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Interpretation as regards the issue of amending the method for forming the Legislative Council. A determination thereon shall be made by NPCSC. In other words, we shall first implement the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage before the Chief Executive selected by universal suffrage and the HKSAR Government under his/her leadership can take forward the method for electing all Legislative Council Members by universal suffrage. Considering the huge controversies it would likely arouse, the HKSAR Government will not propose major amendments to the method for forming the Legislative Council in 2020. In respect of updating election-related laws and enhancing electoral arrangements, however, the HKSAR Government will continue to propose necessary legislative amendments in the local legislation context and consult the Legislative Council Panel on Constitutional Affairs.

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(2) The details of the discussions between the Chief Executive and leaders of the Central Authorities during her duty visit are normally not disclosed.

MR JAMES TO (in Cantonese): President, government officials and the Chief Executive keep saying over and over about creating a favourable atmosphere and seeking consensuses. Supposedly, it is the responsibility of the Chief Executive and the Government to work towards creating a favourable atmosphere and seeking consensuses to take forward constitutional reform. My question for the Secretary is: Will the current-term Chief Executive be held accountable if she fails to do this? Has this failed?

All former Chief Executives―except for Mr TUNG who stepped down early before his 10-year term ended in 2007―had tried to take forward constitutional reform with the aim of achieving universal suffrage, although some succeeded and some failed. Every constitutional reform proposal aroused controversies, and not every former Chief Executive was sure that the proposals stood a good chance of securing passage by a two-thirds majority of all the Members of the Legislative Council. But they did try their best. How about Chief Executive Carrie LAM and her administration? Have they admitted their failure? If yes, should the Chief Executive and her administration be accountable to the Central Authorities and the public?

SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr TO for his supplementary question. First of all, it should be noted that any proposal for amending the method for the selection of the Chief Executive (i.e. constitutional reform) will require the tripartite consent from the Central Government, the Chief Executive and two thirds of the Legislative Council Members. Therefore, the crux of constitutional reform issue is whether there can be a tripartite consensus over a particular constitutional reform proposal for securing its passage.

On the creation of a favourable atmosphere, public sentiment towards the proposal is of course an important consideration, but ultimately, it is essential that compromise and consensus can be reached on a particular proposal among the aforesaid three parties. In this regard, we must bear in mind that it involves three levels: the executive authorities, the legislature and the Central Government. 4558 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Since its establishment, the current-term HKSAR Government has made many efforts to improve the executive-legislative relationship. With the Chief Executive taking the lead, government officials have strengthened communication with Members on various issues. I personally have also communicated with Members of different political affiliations on constitutional issues.

On the other hand, the communication between the Legislative Council and the Central Government is crucial to the success of constitutional reform. However, the channel of communication does not seem to be open, or at least is not smooth, for the time being. For constitutional reform to succeed, we must come back to this critical issue. We do not think it is responsible to rashly reactivate a constitutional reform which is unlikely to succeed. As far as the HKSAR Government is concerned, our ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage and this is stated in the Basic Law. The current-term Government has never stopped its work in this respect since it took office.

Whether public consultation is conducted or not is not the only criterion on which to judge whether the Government has pushed forward constitutional reform. As a matter of fact, work related to constitutional reform has been going on. If there is any chance for the three parties concerned to reach a consensus, we will certainly continue to work toward the realization of constitutional reform.

MR WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese): Just now, the Secretary said that the Government would not initiate a discussion to reactivate constitutional reform if a tripartite consensus is unlikely to be reached. However, as we all know, the constitutional reform proposals for the selection of the Chief Executive are subject to the 31 August framework laid down by the Central Government, which is a fundamental issue that ignites controversies in society. If constitutional reform has to be reactivated under the 31 August framework, there will only be two possibilities: one is that the 31 August framework will be amended; and the second possibility is to present the constitutional reform proposals as a package to seek new consensus in society.

I would like to ask the Secretary: Is it true that the HKSAR Government or the Chief Executive can only start a discussion on reactivating constitutional reform under the 31 August framework? Or is it possible to break through the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4559 constraints of the 31 August framework? For example, will the Government put forth the methods for selecting the Chief Executive and for forming the Legislative Council as a package for discussion concurrently with a view to developing a political system that can keep the HKSAR Government under check while making it accountable to the Central Government so as to break the political deadlock of Hong Kong?

SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr WU for his supplementary question. The 31 August framework referred to by Mr WU is the Decision made by NPCSC on 31 August 2014. I do not think we should merely focus on this Decision in taking forward our constitutional reform. Instead, we should address a number of fundamental issues.

Firstly, we must clearly understand the constitutional order in taking forward a constitutional reform. Under the Basic Law, the Central Government has say in constitutional reform. Hence, it is necessary to have the consent of the Central Government and the endorsement of a two-thirds majority of all Members of the Legislative Council in order to forge a consensus on a constitutional reform proposal. This is the first point.

Secondly, we should understand that the Decision, which was made by NPCSC, has its legal basis and effect. The last constitutional reform proposal put forward by the Government had the consent of the Central Government and the Chief Executive but was, regrettably, not passed by a two-thirds majority of all Members of the Legislative Council. Given that the Decision has its own legal basis, the question now is whether we can discuss the issue of reactivating constitutional reform on a common legal basis.

Thirdly, as there may be diverse views on the specific details of a constitutional reform proposal, all the parties must communicate with each other in order to seek consensus and come up with a constitutional reform proposal which stands a chance of passage. This is why I pointed out earlier that the communication among the executive authorities, the legislature and the Central Government was the crux of the issue. In view of this, we strive to promote communication among different parties, but some Legislative Council Members seem to have much worry about having communication, or even casual 4560 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 conversation or contact (be it open or not), with the Central Government and Mainland officials. In the absence of communication, I think it is not only very difficult but impossible to deal with this controversial issue of constitutional reform.

Therefore, we should not reactivate constitutional reform until these core issues are solved and a foundation is laid for formulating a proposal that we really think should be pursued. I believe that this is the best and most responsible thing to do in the interests of the society as a whole and the HKSAR Government can continue to focus on key priorities including developing economy and improving people's livelihood.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr WU Chi-wai, which part of your supplementary question has not been answered?

MR WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese): Just now, the Secretary did not answer whether the Decision formed the basis on which we sought consensus.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr WU Chi-wai, please sit down. Secretary, do you have anything to add?

SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, I have actually answered this question. The Decision of NPCSC, which is legally binding, provides us with a common legal basis for discussing how our constitutional reform should be taken forward.

DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): President, we know that after the passage of the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom, the people who voted for Brexit in the referendum regretted immediately, saying that they in fact wanted the United Kingdom to stay in the European Union. Some opinion polls have even shown that more people support Remain than Brexit …

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PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr CHIANG Lai-wan, please ask your supplementary question directly.

DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): … as Mr James TO raises this question today, I believe―I am just making a speculation―he may consider the then 31 August package a good one. In this connection, my question is: Will the Secretary have more communication with the pan-democratic Members and opposition Members to see whether they are in support of the 31 August package (i.e. the motion to amend the method for the selection of the Chief Executive for which notice was given to the Legislative Council by the Government on 2 June of that year)? If there had been unanimous or majority support for the 31 August package, would the Bureau have considered advising the Chief Executive to discuss with the Central Government the reactivation of constitutional reform?

(Mr James TO stood up)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr James TO, what is your point of order?

MR JAMES TO (in Cantonese): President, you have heard her say just now that she speculated on what I was thinking. May I clarify that? She seemed like performing a stand-up comedy, cheering up everyone in the Chamber.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr CHIANG Lai-wan, did you speculate on what Mr James TO was thinking?

MR JAMES TO (in Cantonese): She speculated that I supported the 31 August package.

DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): The fact that Mr TO has raised this question makes me believe that he longs for an early implementation of constitutional reform. If I am right to think so, does he want the constitutional reform to be implemented in the way stated in the 31 August package?

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PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Fine, please sit down.

MR JAMES TO (in Cantonese): President, I have to clarify that I still oppose the 31 August package to this day.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr TO, you do not have to make any clarification.

MR JAMES TO (in Cantonese): But Dr CHIANG speculated on what I was thinking.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, please answer.

SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, I thank Dr CHIANG Lai-wan for her supplementary question. On the point of communication, I always have extensive communication with Legislative Council Members from different political parties on constitutional reform and other issues under my purview. On the issue of constitutional reform, I have maintained communication with groups and individuals from different political spectrum, and I have not given up the hope for achieving the ultimate goal of universal suffrage, not even for one single day.

However, for constitutional reform to succeed, we must come up with a constitutional reform proposal which will be consented by not only the Chief Executive and the Central Government but also a two-thirds majority of all Members of the Legislative Council. Of course, the people's views on the proposal are also important because I believe public sentiment will to a certain extent affect the stance of Legislative Council Members. Yet, even if the proposal has wide public support, we must weigh up the chance of getting the proposal passed by a two-thirds majority of all Members of the Legislative Council. We will reactivate constitutional reform if the proposal has a chance of passage. I think this is the most appropriate and responsible way forward.

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MR ALVIN YEUNG (in Cantonese): President, can the Secretary make it clear to Hong Kong people that up till today, the 31 August framework is the foundation that may not be overridden or shaken if we are to help the Chief Executive create a favourable atmosphere and reach consensus on constitutional reform?

SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr YEUNG for his supplementary question. The last-term Government had tried, but failed, to advance constitutional reform; meanwhile, NPCSC made the Decision on the method for selecting the Chief Executive in accordance with its power. This Decision is the legal basis.

If we are to reactivate or further pursue constitutional reform, the Decision is the starting point. However, if we are not even able to reach a consensus or come to a unanimous view on this fundamental legal basis, I do not think we will have a basis for restarting discussion of constitutional reform or stand a better chance of success.

To put it simply, the NPCSC's Decision is a decision made by the Central Government on the method for selecting the Chief Executive, which itself serves as a legal basis. I hope that we can further our communication on the same legal basis so as to reach a consensus on constitutional reform.

MR HUI CHI-FUNG (in Cantonese): President, while we are fighting for universal suffrage, the Government says that it is not going to reactivate constitutional reform, given "the huge controversies it would likely arouse" and the fact that it "will lead to social conflicts". Carrie LAM has also said that she will not "bang her head against the wall". If the Government takes this attitude, Hong Kong will never have universal suffrage and the Government will never take forward constitutional reform. Is the Government virtually telling the world that Hong Kong will become a place where there is no democracy and the rule of law and freedoms are regressing?

My supplementary question is: When the Government says that it has to create a favourable atmosphere in order to take forward constitutional reform, what exactly did it do? Did it just disqualify Members, put Members fighting for 4564 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 universal suffrage behind bars, expel journalists, or choose to not prosecute offending officials? With such an atmosphere, how will people be convinced that we can work together to achieve "genuine universal suffrage"?

SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr HUI for his supplementary question. Regarding the reactivation of constitutional reform, the fact that there has not been any public consultation definitely does not mean that we have not done anything for constitutional reform. As I repeated earlier, the attempt of the last-term Government to pursue constitutional reform has ended in failure; if we are to reactivate constitutional reform now, we must first see a chance of success. Therefore, we are not going to rashly launch a public consultation and invite different parties to take part in discussions for the moment. I can expect that such move will undoubtedly lead to social conflicts.

What we do now is to go back to the core of the issue. A constitutional reform proposal requires the approval of the Central Government, the consent of the Chief Executive and the passage by a two-thirds majority in the Legislative Council. In this regard, all relevant parties must do a good job of understanding and communicating. The Government, apart from enhancing the understanding of the constitutional order and the legal basis of constitutional reform, must also build up a foundation for communication between the Legislative Council and the Central Government to enable the two sides to agree on a mutually acceptable approach to dealing with this controversial issue. This is the direction in which the Government is now working.

As for the communication between the executive authorities and the legislature, under the leadership of the Chief Executive, we have strengthened our communication and liaison with Members of the Legislative Council for quite some time. Our efforts are evident. Therefore, we are indeed taking many concrete actions in the hope to lay a foundation for constitutional reform.

At present, whenever a controversial issue is dealt with in the Council, the executive authorities will communicate with Members from different political parties and, reciprocally, Members will try to gain an understanding of the past experience, views and practices of the officials concerned. This is how the executive and the legislature can reach some form of consensus on controversial issues. If Members do not have any contact or communication with the Central LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4565

Government and Mainland officials, how can we expect the two sides to reach consensus over the complicated and controversial issue of constitutional reform and press forward with the reform? So, we must face up to the facts.

Being a responsible government, the current-term Government is now working hard to improve our economy and people's livelihood, as well as promoting social harmony. According to the report delivered at the 19th National Congress, the HKSAR Government should take well-ordered steps to advance democracy and promote harmony so that Hong Kong can integrate its own development into the overall development of the country. This will create opportunities for the future development of Hong Kong. Looking at the broad picture, we have to take the most responsible and practicable steps in promoting constitutional reform, and that is exactly what we are doing right now. I hope Mr HUI will see the point.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Second question.

Operation and management of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal

2. MR CHUNG KWOK-PAN (in Cantonese): President, the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal ("the Terminal"), built at a cost of over $8.2 billion by the Government, has been in operation for over five years since its commissioning in 2013. It has been reported that as the Terminal received no cruise ship calls for about two thirds of the days of last year, coupled with the facts that the public transport plying the Terminal is inconvenient and the Terminal lacks facilities to attract visits by tourists and members of the public, the Terminal has often been left deserted like a ghost town. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of ship calls at the Terminal, the cruise passenger throughput and its percentage in the total number of visitors to Hong Kong, their per capita spending in Hong Kong, the daily average visitor flow of the Terminal, as well as the percentage of the commercial floor areas leased out and the rental income therefrom, in each of the past five years;

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(2) whether it urged the terminal operator last year to conduct more promotional activities to boost the visitor flow of the Terminal; of the criteria adopted for assessing the performance of the operator, and the circumstances under which the authorities will remove and replace the operator; and

(3) whether it will review afresh the modes of operation and management of the Terminal and hold more events and activities (such as conventions and exhibitions) at the Terminal, so as to boost its visitor flow?

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President and Members, good morning. Thanks to Mr CHUNG Kwok-pan's question. The Government has all along been committed to developing Hong Kong into a cruise hub in the region. Developing cruise tourism not only enriches our tourism portfolios in attracting a different mix of visitors, but its related economic activities also bring benefits to tourism, hotel, retail, transport as well as food and beverage industries in Hong Kong. In 2018, the Government formulated a set of comprehensive strategies and directions for cruise tourism development so as to drive the balanced, healthy and sustainable development of cruise tourism in Hong Kong.

Since its commissioning in mid-2013, the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal ("KTCT") has been an important infrastructure in promoting cruise tourism in Hong Kong. Currently, KTCT has ship calls on almost half of the days each year. The overall utilization of KTCT by cruises has exceeded the then projected performance. Therefore, it is not factual to say that KTCT is vacant for most of the time. With the continuous efforts of relevant Government departments, the transport connectivity of KTCT has greatly improved compared with the early days of its commissioning. At present, apart from daily services provided by franchised buses, green minibus and ferry operator, the terminal operator and some cruise lines would also arrange additional shuttle buses and feeder ferry services to ease cruise passengers' flow. At the same time, the Government is carrying out various projects to improve transport infrastructure in the vicinity, so as to make KTCT more accessible.

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My reply to the three parts of Mr CHUNG Kwok-pan's question is as follows:

(1) The number of ship calls at KTCT went up from 28 in 2014 (its first full year of commissioning) to 186 in 2017, while passenger throughput increased from 130 608 in 2014 to 784 073 in 2017. Both recorded a surge of over 500%. At present, KTCT has accounted for over 80% of the number of ship calls and cruise passenger throughput in Hong Kong as a whole.

Back in the earlier years when the Government was considering the construction of KTCT, it was projected that the number of ship calls and cruise passenger throughput in Hong Kong as a whole would range from 181 to 258 and from 564 102 to 1 041 031 respectively by 2023. With the joint efforts of the Government and the trade, the number of ship calls and cruise passenger throughput at KTCT in 2017 have both achieved the then projected performance by 2023.

As for the leasing condition at KTCT, all seven shops in the ancillary commercial area with a total area of about 5 600 sq m were leased. The rent of the shops is commercially agreed between the terminal operator and individual shop owners and it is not appropriate for the Government to disclose such information. It is worth noting that in addition to the fixed rent, the terminal operator is also required to pay a variable rent at a designated percentage based on rentals and other income.

KTCT is an infrastructure dedicated for cruise berthing and cruise passengers embarking/disembarking. As cruise passengers include local residents, it is inappropriate to make direct comparison between the cruise passenger throughput and the total number of visitors to Hong Kong. The Government also has no record of the daily average passenger flow of KTCT.

Other detailed figures in relation to the cruise tourism industry in Hong Kong and KTCT in the past five years are summarized at Annex.

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(2) and (3)

KTCT is a purpose-built infrastructure for berthing of cruise ships and handling large number of cruise passengers in immigration and customs control. The ancillary commercial area is also mainly for supporting cruise operation.

Currently, the cruise operation and ancillary commercial area of KTCT are operated on commercial principles by a terminal operator through open tender. The terminal operator is required to comply with various requirements as set out in the tenancy agreement, e.g. promote cruise tourism, ensure smooth operation of the terminal, engage regularly with the trade and report regularly to the relevant terminal management committee, comprising representatives from the Tourism Commission and relevant Government departments. The Government has been overseeing the performance of the terminal operator through various means such as meetings and site inspections, and has, from time to time, requested the terminal operator to make improvements in various aspects so as to ensure an orderly and effective operation at KTCT.

Despite the positioning of KTCT is to receive cruise ships and handle passengers, the Government, in order to better utilize the existing facilities, has been working closely with the terminal operator and other parties concerned to attract more people flow and add vibrancy to KTCT.

Without affecting cruise service, the terminal operator would lease out KTCT to hold various large scale private or public events, e.g. sport activities, product launches, media functions, carnivals, exhibitions, etc. In the past five years, there were about 230 days (including the time for set up, removal and reinstatement) with various events held at KTCT, attracting from hundreds to over fifty thousand participants. In the last year alone, KTCT was leased to hold a total of 10 non-cruise events. The terminal operator will continue to liaise closely with event organizers, and actively put in resources to participate in trade fairs, including overseas large scale trade exhibition, so as to promote KTCT as an event venue and widen its usage.

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Looking ahead, the Government would continue to strengthen the transport connectivity in the vicinity of KTCT and support different organizations to make use of KTCT for holding events. As various developments adjacent to KTCT, including hotels, office buildings, Kai Tak Sports Park, etc. will be completed progressively in the coming years, KTCT and the adjacent area will form a commercial and entertainment cluster, the synergy of which will greatly uplift the people flow and vibrancy there.

Annex

Number of ship calls and cruise passenger throughput at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in the past five years

Year Number of Ship Calls Cruise Passenger Throughput 2013 9 46 158 2014 28 130 608 2015 56 264 572 2016 95 424 868 2017 186 784 073

Cruise passenger spending per capita in Hong Kong

Passenger embarking or Transit Passenger Year disembarking in Hong Kong (HKD) (HKD) 2013 1,545 4,699 2014 1,312 3,480 2015 1,597 2,950 2016 1,424 2,308 2017 1,359 3,897

MR CHUNG KWOK-PAN (in Cantonese): President, according to the Government's main reply, in 2017, KTCT has almost achieved the initially set targets for 2023, i.e. it has exceeded the performance target. Nevertheless, I believe Members present will agree that on the whole, KTCT has not made good 4570 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 use of its resources at all. I do not know whether the number of 186 ship calls in the main reply refers to only one ship calling per day or two or three ships calling per day in the peak seasons. As Members may know, KTCT receives no ship calls for half of the time of the year, and that certainly is a waste of resources. The Secretary pointed out in the main reply that a total of 10 events were held at KTCT last year; but is it not a waste of resources when only 10 events were held among 365 days less the number of days with ship calls?

Thus, I urge the Government to demand the terminal operator to make improvements and not to waste the $8.2 billion investment by Hong Kong in KTCT.

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr CHUNG Kwok-pan for his suggestions. First of all, I agree that improvements can be made by KTCT whether in receiving cruise passengers (i.e. the purpose of building KTCT) or in holding other events without affecting cruise service. We have been working in this respect and I understand that Members are very concerned about it. In the past, we have joined efforts with members of the industry, Members of the Legislative Council and District Council members in this regard and will certainly continue to do so.

KTCT is mainly built to berth cruise ships. Being a new terminal, KTCT has achieved ship calls for about half of all the days in a year within a short period of five and a half years. Its effectiveness is satisfactory when compared to similar facilities elsewhere. If we make reference to examples in other places, cruise terminals may not be able to achieve 100% utilization in a year within a short period of time.

Mr CHUNG Kwok-pan mentioned that KTCT received 190 or so ship calls in 2017 and there were more than 40 days when both berths were used. Certainly, this shows that there is room for further expansion of KTCT, but the question is, on days without ship calls, can we make room at KTCT for holding other events? In this regard, I have listed the relevant figures in my main reply earlier. We keep working on it every year, and will continue to promote the non-cruise services of KTCT, so that KTCT can perform the functions of attracting visitors and serving local residents. We will continue to work in this direction.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4571

MR TOMMY CHEUNG (in Cantonese): President, I believe the Secretary has just missed the point. In fact, the Liberal Party has supported KTCT all along. Now we are talking about the number of ship calls in Hong Kong after the commissioning of KTCT. In fact, as people enjoy travelling on cruise ships more, business of cruise tours is becoming more prosperous. In the past 10 years, I have travelled mostly on cruise ships in my vacations and I understand that cruise terminals all over the world have little business.

Our biggest concern is that KTCT is a very costly facility, let us not discuss whether other events should be held there for the time being, but many shops at KTCT are in dire straits and "on saline drips", so to speak, particularly those in the sectors which I and Mr SHIU Ka-fai represent respectively. May I ask the Government whether it should set performance objectives for the operator of KTCT instead of casually appointing a company to operate it; and whether the Government should punish the operator in accordance with the penalties or replace the operator as soon as possible if it cannot achieve the objectives? The problem lies not in the number of ship calls, as cruise ships will not bring much business to KTCT anyway; most importantly, we should utilize KTCT and not waste such a big place. We should consider the matter from the perspective of how to promote utilization of KTCT by local residents. Will the Secretary urgently discuss with the current operator and impose pressure on it, or use business revenue and good management as factors of consideration in selecting the operator in the next tender exercise for KTCT; and require the operator to pay the Government a certain amount of fine if it fails to achieve the performance objectives?

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, I believe my main reply and our work in the past have not in any way contradicted the direction suggested by Mr Tommy CHEUNG.

First, KTCT has achieved satisfactory results in providing cruise service, and actually, it has exceeded the expectations. This shows that Hong Kong has attracted more cruise ship calls with the help of KTCT. Regarding the Member's question of whether the current 5 600 sq m commercial area at KTCT can be more effectively used, I would say that all seven shops have been leased, and one of the shop tenants is in default of rental payment and involved in legal disputes at present. The operator and the shop tenant have already commenced legal 4572 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 proceedings and we must wait for the resolution of the case. Certainly, if the commercial dispute can eventually be resolved, or if a new tender exercise is to be conducted, I entirely agree that the work should be done as soon as possible.

Furthermore, regarding the suggestion of holding other events in the non-commercial area when KTCT is not providing cruise service, just now I have given examples of our previous work in this regard. So, I agree to the suggestions of Mr Tommy CHEUNG. We will continue to monitor the operator and strive to increase the opportunities for better utilization of the place by organizing tourism promotion activities, or conducting negotiations with organizers of mega events through the operator. We will continue to follow up on the work.

MR JIMMY NG (in Cantonese): I remember from my past experience that embarking or disembarking arrangements at KTCT were very smooth and I must give it commendation, but KTCT is actually not a busy area. May I ask the Government whether it will consider providing more ancillary facilities there? I remember that the Government indicated a few years ago that it would consider issuing licences to operators of cross-boundary helicopter service; may I know whether such service can dovetail with the ancillary facilities at KTCT? For example, can helicopter service be provided at the roof-top or nearby area of KTCT, so that cross-boundary or high-end visitors can take a helicopter to Hong Kong from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, directly board a ship upon arrival and take a helicopter home after the cruise? Will the Government consider this proposal? Alternatively, what is the current progress of the provision of helicopter service proposed some years ago?

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): I thank Mr Jimmy NG for his proposal. First, I agree that if there is only a single facility at the entire Kai Tak area (i.e. the old airport and the runway area), it will be very hard to gather visitors. Thus, apart from providing good ancillary transport facilities, holding more events, and broadening the road surfaces, etc., we have to make efforts in other respects. Members may be aware that invitations for tender regarding some pieces of land in the peripheral areas of KTCT have progressively commenced, and land auctions have been conducted one after another for several sites for building hotels. I hope that with LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4573 the completion of Kai Tak Sports Park and other hotel facilities in a few years, as I mentioned in the main reply, the ancillary facilities of the whole area will bring more visitor flow.

Regarding helicopter services, I understand that the Transport and Housing Bureau has conducted studies on sites suitable for provision of helicopter services in Hong Kong. But, as to whether the scope is limited to those places currently proposed, I have to refer the matter to the Transport and Housing Bureau for consideration. Generally speaking, if we can utilize the ancillary facilities which will progressively be completed in the entire Kai Tak area, it should help to increase the utilization of the whole area, including KTCT.

MR MA FUNG-KWOK (in Cantonese): President, the Government's reply attaches great emphasis on the increase in numbers, including the number of ship calls and the growth in visitor flow, but the actual utilization of KTCT is really unsatisfactory, otherwise, there will not be any rental dispute. Thus, my view is that the Government should not consider that there is no problem just by looking at the increase in numbers.

May I ask the Government since there is so much time without ship calls, will it consider adopting measures to encourage the terminal operator to lease more areas of KTCT, e.g. for holding more cultural and arts or recreational events, so as to increase visitor arrivals at KTCT and enhance its business performance?

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, regarding Mr MA Fung-kwok's proposal of holding non-cruise service events, I have actually mentioned earlier in my main reply that we hold such events every year. Ten events of the kind were held in 2017. Similar events also took place in the past six months, which included sports or performance events, e.g. some organizations have applied to hold a marathon race or exhibitions in the peripheral areas, or even in the garden at the roof-top of KTCT, etc. We will keep up the work as in the past years and gradually hold more of such events, with a view to enhancing the attractiveness of KTCT so that it can accommodate more events. We will not exclude the possibilities of holding cultural or sports events mentioned by Mr MA.

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MR HO KAI-MING (in Cantonese): President, I think Members know that the main problem with KTCT is the lack of transportation services, thus segregating it from the surrounding community. Apart from constructing Shing Kai Road (Road D2) as recently announced, does the Policy Bureau have any further measures to improve the transportation services for KTCT? At present, the bus services there will be suspended at 4:00 pm, and the 16-seated minibus service, which is the only transportation service available after that time, is not even adequate to cater for the needs of staff members of the Hong Kong Children's Hospital. If we cannot even provide adequate transportation services and use KTCT only as a cruise terminal but not a tourism facility, it is actually extremely wasteful.

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): We are following up the issue raised by Mr HO in his supplementary question. As I said in the main reply, improvements have been made in the services of buses, minibuses and ferries. Regarding improvement on the operation times of certain bus routes which Mr HO mentioned, we have also discussed the matter with the transportation authorities.

It is worth mentioning that we may conduct a tender exercise in the first quarter of this year for introducing a ferry tour service, in the hope that the new route will connect KTCT with places in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Apart from improving transportation services, the new service can also serve as a tourism service. I believe with more commercial activities and better utilization of the whole area, the demand for transportation services will also increase. These two aspects can be mutually beneficial, thus improving the situation.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Third question.

Threats posed to Hong Kong by nuclear incidents occurring at nuclear power stations caused by natural disasters

3. MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): In view of the extensive damage caused by super typhoon Mangkhut during its onslaught in Hong Kong in September last year, and the fact that the nuclear power stations in Daya Bay, Taishan, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4575

Yangjiang and Lufeng of the Guangdong Province are, at the farthest, only 220 kilometres away from Hong Kong, quite a number of members of the public are concerned about the threats posed to Hong Kong by nuclear incidents occurring at such nuclear power stations caused by natural disasters. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it knows the maximum sustained winds and the maximum gusts recorded at each of the nuclear power stations as well as the heights of the maximum storm surge and the maximum sea level recorded in the nearby waters during the onslaught of Mangkhut; the designed maximum wind pressure that each of the nuclear power stations can withstand;

(2) whether the Government's work on guarding against Mangkhut included seeking information from the Guangdong provincial authorities about the pre-typhoon preparatory measures and emergency response plans put in place for the nuclear power stations in the Province, and whether it received, after the onslaught of Mangkhut, any reports from the Guangdong provincial authorities on how such nuclear power stations had been affected by the typhoon (including if any safety incident had occurred); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) whether it will provide in the Contingency Plan for Natural Disaster that where a major natural disaster (such as typhoon, earthquake or tsunami) which may cause damage to such nuclear power stations has occurred, the Government must expeditiously seek information from the Guangdong provincial authorities on how the nuclear power stations have been affected, and make public the information so obtained; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, the construction and operation of nuclear power stations on the Mainland are governed by national regulations for civilian nuclear facilities, which are formulated with reference to relevant international standards. When considering the siting for a nuclear installation, all previous tropical cyclones which took place within 300 km to 400 km of a site will be analysed for the purpose of deducing the most damaging paths that may be taken by the most severe storms and typhoons, and 4576 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 correspondingly adopt in the plant's design a sufficient flood protection margin. Impacts of extreme incidents such as earthquakes, tsunamis and air crashes will also be given due consideration. For example, compared to normal construction projects, substantially larger amounts of steel bars are used in the construction of nuclear power stations to achieve very high level of structural strength which enables the plants to withstand super typhoons, air crashes and other scenarios to ensure that the safety of the nuclear power stations will not be jeopardized. Besides, the designs of the breakwaters of nuclear power stations have taken into account the designed base flood level, maximum typhoon surge and wave overtopping discharge corresponding to the wind speed. In addition, operators of each nuclear power plant on the Mainland are required under relevant laws and regulations to formulate their own contingency plans for natural disasters, prescribing response actions in a planned and structured manner to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plants.

The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station ("DBNPS"), comprising the Guangdong Nuclear Power Station and the Ling Ao Nuclear Power Station, is relatively closer to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR") (at about 50 km northeast of the city's urban area). Regular cooperation and communication channels are in place between the HKSAR Government and the Guangdong authorities for periodic review of issues such as nuclear incident monitoring and notification arrangements. This is to ensure that, in case of a nuclear incident, relevant information can be obtained promptly for implementation of corresponding measures. In this regard, as early as the mid-1990s, the HKSAR Government and Guangdong authorities established an official contingency notification channel with specific time requirements, including notification within two days for non-emergency events and immediate notification for serious off-site emergencies in DBNPS. Over the years, the notification mechanism for incidents at DBNPS has been working effectively. Furthermore, the Government has put in place a comprehensive Daya Bay Contingency Plan ("DBCP"), which sets out appropriate contingency measures to be adopted immediately by government departments for the protection of public health and safety in the event of a release of radioactive materials at any nuclear power station. It also stipulates that the provision of accurate, timely and appropriate information and advice to the public, via the media, Internet and other communication channels, is essential to stem panic arising from a radiological release, or even rumours of such a release, and to advise members of the public what to do and what not to do.

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As for other nuclear power stations in Guangdong, the one closest to Hong Kong is about 130 km from our urban area, and the rest are even further away. The general assessment made on the basis of international standards is that the threat to Hong Kong posed by nuclear power stations outside Daya Bay is small, hence the risk to which we are exposed is very low. Nevertheless, in view of the nuclear development in Guangdong in recent years, the HKSAR Government and the Nuclear Emergency Committee Office of the Guangdong Province ("GDNECO") have drawn up notification mechanisms for new nuclear power stations in the Province, so to ensure that the HKSAR Government receives sufficient information to respond. DBCP formulated by the HKSAR Government is applicable to all nuclear power stations beyond Daya Bay that are in operation.

My reply to the specific questions raised by Mr Gary FAN is as follows:

(1) Based on the information available, super typhoon Mangkhut weakened into a severe typhoon in the morning of 16 September 2018, and made landfall in the coastal areas of Taishan in Guangdong at around 5:00 pm that day. According to the information from the Mainland, when Mangkhut arrived in Guangdong, DBNPS was the most impacted among the nuclear power stations in the Province, with the maximum wind speed reaching 41.75 m/second, or about 150 km/h. Based on the information published by the Mainland marine authorities, before and after the landfall of Mangkhut, maximum heights of the storm surge recorded by monitoring points in Mainland waters near the various nuclear power stations ranged from 1 m to 3 m. This maximum height of the storm surge caused by Mangkhut was much lower than the plants' design basis―as an example, DBNPS is situated at about 6.5 m to 7 m above sea level, and the height of its breakwater is some 13.8 m to 14 m―hence the storm surge caused by Mangkhut posed no impact on the safety of the stations. Despite serious damage caused to many places by its strong wind and storm surge, Mangkhut did not affect the safety of the nuclear power stations in Guangdong.

(2) Before and after the onslaught of Mangkhut in Guangdong, the HKSAR Government maintained close liaison with relevant Guangdong authorities and nuclear power enterprises in respect of the typhoon protection contingency arrangements of nuclear power 4578 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

stations in the Province, so to understand their safety condition. According to our understanding, to tackle the attack of Mangkhut, GDNECO advanced its typhoon protection contingency preparations a few days ahead of Mangkhut's arrival, including the inspection and implementation of nuclear contingency plans and stocking up of emergency supplies; test-run and protection of the nuclear emergency command system; requesting power stations to strengthen their backup power supply and circuit protection; further enhancement of information exchange and operational liaison among fellow nuclear emergency response units (on meteorology, power supply and communication) and nuclear power stations. All nuclear power stations also carried out inspections on various typhoon protection preparations and measures, as well as communication, logistics support and protection of emergency supplies in anticipation of the super typhoon. GDNECO also notified the HKSAR Government of its activation of contingency procedures for nuclear emergencies. The Mainland authorities and the China General Nuclear Power Group (which manages the nuclear power stations in Guangdong) disseminated to the public information about the typhoon protection preparations, contingency measures and safety condition of the four nuclear power stations in the Province before and after the landfall of the typhoon through various media (including television and radio broadcast, newspapers, web pages, WeChat, Weibo, etc.). During the typhoon, the Department of Ecology and Environment of Guangdong Province strengthened the protection of emergency radiation monitoring to ensure effective capture of information on the ambient gamma dose-rate and meteorology data throughout the period of the storm. The Guangdong Power Grid Company closely monitored the safety of the nuclear power grid to ensure that the electricity transmission paths of the nuclear power stations stayed intact during the typhoon. All the power stations also conducted 24-hour monitoring of the movement of Mangkhut and the effectiveness of their typhoon protection measures. After the passage of the typhoon, the 11 nuclear-generating units in the Province remained in safe condition.

(3) The HKSAR Government attaches importance to the safety of nuclear power stations across the border. The operations of various nuclear power stations mentioned in the question (including their LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4579

contingency arrangements) are strictly governed by relevant legislations of the Mainland. DBCP and the notification mechanism set out in paragraphs two and three above are applicable to safety incidents at DBNPS and other nuclear power stations, including those caused by natural disasters. In the case of the attack by Mangkhut on this occasion, the HKSAR Government had, in accordance with the established notification mechanism, contacted the Guangdong authorities to obtain information on the relevant contingency arrangements. Therefore, there is no need to make a separate provision in the Contingency Plan for Natural Disasters. We will continue to maintain in communication with the relevant Mainland authorities under the existing notification mechanism in respect of contingency issues of the nuclear power stations, so to ensure that, where the situation requires, the Government could implement appropriate measures and disseminate necessary information to the public.

MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): President, I think that the Government has not answered my question specifically and clearly. In respect of part (3) of my question, the Government said that it had taken the initiative to contact the Guangdong authorities and in part (2) of the main reply, he said that the Guangdong authorities did notify the HKSAR Government of various aspects. However, my question was whether the Guangdong authorities had notified Hong Kong of various aspects before Mangkhut made landfall in Hong Kong. After the landfall of Mangkhut, on what day and in what month did the Government take the initiative to inquire with the Guangdong authorities about the situation or did the Guangdong authorities take the initiative to inform the Government about the situation? It is very important to have a grasp of the time. On what day and in what month did the Government make the inquiry, especially about the safety conditions of the four nuclear power stations?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): The present notification mechanism is concerned with two aspects, first, the notification of incidents. I have already pointed out in the main reply that notification is within two working days for non-emergency events and in case of emergency, the notification time will be shortened accordingly and sometimes immediate notification is required.

4580 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

The second aspect is preparation work. Before the onslaught of Mangkhut in the coastal areas of Hong Kong and Guangdong, China, both sides had begun communicating with each other in their daily telephone liaisons. Most importantly, GDNECO advanced its typhoon protection contingency preparations a few days ahead of Mangkhut's arrival in Guangdong. These preparations may not be absolutely necessary under normal circumstances but as a precaution and for the sake of safety, GDNECO went a step further to make sure that the public could learn of the situation promptly. I have already mentioned the additional preparations in detail in the main reply.

In fact, before the onslaught of Mangkhut, both sides had had sufficient communication. I hope Members will understand that if any incident occurs in or within the vicinity of a nuclear power station, the Guangdong authorities will notify us and take necessary contingency measures immediately. However, nuclear power stations on the Mainland are governed by different organizations through various laws and regulations. Hence, we have mainly requested the nuclear power regulatory authorities in Guangdong to inform us of any incidents and their preparation work promptly, so that we can take precautions and disseminate the information to the public as early as possible, as mentioned in the main reply.

MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): President, the Secretary has evaded answering my supplementary question. When did the communication take place? Was it the Guangdong authorities or the HKSAR Government who notified the other side first and on what day and in what month did the communication take place? As regards this question, why did the Secretary not answer me? Why did he evade answering my question?

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, do you have anything to add?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, I have nothing to add. I have already answered the question. I have not evaded his supplementary question. I have already pointed out that we constantly communicate with the other side on the telephone. During the very early days …

(Mr Gary FAN stood up to speak)

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PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Gary FAN, you have already asked your question. Please sit down.

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): During the very early days, I already encouraged my colleagues to have mutual communications with the other side through official as well as unofficial channels concerning any events as soon as possible. Hence, a few days before the typhoon arrived, we had had a good grasp of what was going on.

MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): President, I wish to ask the HKSAR Government about the contingency measures in response to super typhoons. According to the Hong Kong Observatory, it was not during a spring tide when Mangkhut hit Hong Kong; otherwise, the significant rise in sea level would bring even greater damage. In case of a super typhoon's landfall during a spring tide, has the Government assessed the possibility of tremendous disasters thus caused and what contingency measures it has in place when such a case does occur?

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr CHAN, the theme of the main question is about DBNPS. But, Secretary, do you have anything to add?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr CHAN for his supplementary question. The people are concerned about the storm surge caused by a super storm and whether the HKSAR will face even higher risks as a result. I understand the public's concern and I also see why Mr CHAN raised such a supplementary question. In this respect, let me tell everyone that the site selection, design and construction of a nuclear power station must meet international standards, including those of the International Atomic Energy Agency ("IAEA"). Therefore, one of the essential structures to a nuclear power station is a breakwater that protects it against possible incidents.

The height of the breakwater in Yangjiang is 10 m to 13.5 m and the breakwater of DBNPS that I have mentioned in the main reply is about 14 m high. According to the IAEA requirement, when deciding on the site of a nuclear power station, essential factors that have to be considered include 4582 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 meteorological records and the maximum heights of storm surges caused by storms in the past. All these require thorough scientific analyses.

According to available information, some huge storms had caused storm surges in the past. For example, storm surge of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was about 8 m in height, Typhoon Haiyan 7 m, Typhoon Wanda 6 m, and those in Yangjiang are about 3.25 m. As I have reported to the Legislative Council just now, the breakwater of Daya Bay is 14 m in height, and Yangjiang is 10 m to 13.5 m. The heights are determined according to the statistics obtained concerning meteorological events and the change of sea levels over the years. It is obvious that the breakwaters have been able to provide full protection against the waves caused by storm surges as far as the past records go.

President, I would like to add that, aside from a breakwater, a more important factor that ensures the safety of a nuclear power station is the height of the location of the nuclear-generating unit. In the Fukushima Nuclear Plant, because the nuclear-generating unit was not located in a place high enough, many facilities were flooded by seawater and that led to the nuclear incident. But as I have said, DBNPS is at least 6.5 m above sea level and the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station is built beside a hill and its nuclear-generating unit is located at a place higher than the foot of the hill, which is at least 20 m above sea level.

When our State approves the construction of a nuclear power station, the requirements for the site and hardware are very stringent and the standards of these nuclear power stations totally conform with the IAEA standards.

MS YUNG HOI-YAN (in Cantonese): President, the Secretary just said that in case of an incident, GDNECO will notify the HKSAR Government within two working days, right? I would like to confirm this point. If it takes two working days to notify Hong Kong, will it be too late? Should it inform us immediately?

Also, the Mainland authorities and the China General Nuclear Power Group, which manages the nuclear power stations in Guangdong, disseminate to the public information about the typhoon protection preparations, contingency measures and safety condition of the four nuclear power stations through various media including television and radio broadcast, newspapers and web pages. May I ask whether we have access to such information in Hong Kong? Can we LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4583 do so through the web pages of the Security Bureau or the Hong Kong Observatory or anywhere else? Do we have access to it through the television channels, Radio Television Hong Kong and newspapers in Hong Kong? Besides, I would like to ask …

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Ms YUNG Hoi-yan, you have asked two supplementary questions. Secretary, you may answer one of them.

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, my thanks to Ms YUNG. Nuclear incidents are divided into eight levels, level 0 to level 7. Incidents that require notification in two working days are in the category of levels 0 and 1. Level 0 refers to incidents that have no safety significance while level 1 refers to minor problems and the nuclear power stations still have significant capabilities to defend themselves against the threats. In other words, levels 0 and 1 incidents are non-emergency events. In case of emergency, different levels of measures are required. The serious ones are incidents that require contingency measures, concerning which the Guangdong authorities must inform us within 24 hours. In the case of very serious incidents, the urgency for notification increases, some require to be notified within two hours and the most serious ones require immediate notification. This mechanism conforms with those of many countries. The incidents that need to be notified in two working days that I mentioned just now are in the category of levels 0 and 1. DBNPS has never had any nuclear radiation releases.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Fourth question.

Manpower of doctors

4. MR TOMMY CHEUNG (in Cantonese): President, it has been reported that with the successive commissioning of cross-boundary infrastructure facilities, a "one-hour living circle" has basically been realized in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. As a result, more and more Mainlanders come to Hong Kong to seek medical treatment. Quite a number of doctors in the public hospitals have switched to work in the thriving private 4584 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 healthcare market, thereby aggravating the problem of shortage of doctors in the public hospitals. Consequently, the waiting time of new cases at various public specialist outpatient clinics has become longer and longer in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it knows the top 10 specialist departments in the public hospitals with the highest wastage rates of doctors last year; and the respective wastage rates concerned;

(2) whether it has projected afresh the respective manpower demands for doctors in the public and the private healthcare sectors in the coming five years, having regard to the factors that more and more doctors have joined the private healthcare sector and that the number of Mainlanders coming to Hong Kong to seek medical treatment has continued to increase; if so, of the respective specific figures; if not, whether it will expeditiously make such projections; and

(3) of the long-term solutions to the problem of shortage of doctors in the public hospitals; whether it will draw reference from the practice of Singapore and permit those doctors who graduated from medical schools of renowned universities outside the territory to practise in the territory without sitting for any examination, and whether it will provide incentives to encourage Hong Kong people who have completed medical training overseas to return to Hong Kong to work in the public hospitals; if so, of the details (including the implementation timetables for the relevant measures); if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, my reply to the question raised by Mr Tommy CHEUNG is as follows:

(1) In 2017-2018, the overall attrition rate of full-time doctors in public hospitals was 5.8%. The top 10 specialties in public hospitals with the highest attrition rates of full-time doctors were Anaesthesia, Clinical Oncology, Family Medicine, Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics and Traumatology, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4585

Pathology, Psychiatry and Radiology. The respective attrition rates of the above specialties ranged from 5% to 10.6%. Details are set out at Annex 1.

(2) The Government published the Report of Strategic Review on Healthcare Manpower Planning and Professional Development (Report) in mid-2017. For doctors' manpower, the projections have taken into account demographic changes and other relevant factors, including the known and planned services and developments, the requirements of public and private health care, social welfare and education sectors, as well as the demand for primary, secondary and tertiary care services in Hong Kong. It is projected that there will be continuous manpower shortage of doctors in the medium to long term. The manpower gaps for doctors in 2020, 2025 and 2030 are set out at Annex 2.

As an ongoing initiative to monitor the manpower of health care professionals, the Government will conduct manpower planning and projections for health care professionals once every three years in step with the triennial planning cycle of the University Grants Committee ("UGC"). A new round of manpower projection exercise has already commenced, and the results are expected to be published in the first half of 2020. In conducting health care manpower planning, the Food and Health Bureau will, in collaboration with relevant Policy Bureaux and departments, assess the manpower situations of various health care professionals by taking into account all the known and planned services/developments as far as possible, such as the latest development of public and private hospitals, the development of the Greater Bay Area and its implications, etc.

(3) I will elaborate on the following measures which have been taken to increase doctors' manpower:

Firstly, the Government has substantially increased UGC-funded medical training places over the past decade. The number of places was 470 in the 2016-2017 academic year, representing an increase of 90% when compared with 250 in the 2005-2006 academic year. In 4586 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

the 2019-2020 to 2021-2022 UGC triennium, the Government will further increase the number of UGC-funded medical training places by 60 each year. We expect that increasing the number of medical training places will alleviate the manpower shortage of doctors in the medium to long term.

Health care professionals in the public sector are of utmost importance. The Hospital Authority ("HA") will recruit all qualified locally trained medical graduates and provide them with relevant specialist training. There will be a total of over 2 000 medical graduates becoming registered doctors in the coming five years. Moreover, HA will continue to proactively recruit doctors, retain existing health care professionals and rehire retired doctors to address the manpower shortage of doctors in the public health care system.

Secondly, upon commencement of the Medical Registration (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, the validity period and renewal period of limited registration have been extended from not exceeding one year to not exceeding three years. It is expected that more eligible non-locally trained doctors, particularly those who are Hong Kong people, will be attracted to serve in the public sector in Hong Kong through limited registration, thus alleviating the manpower shortage problem. HA and the Department of Health ("DH") will continue to proactively recruit eligible non-locally trained doctors through the limited registration arrangement to provide clinical services in the public health care system. So far, about 20 applications for positions under limited registration submitted by non-locally trained doctors to HA have preliminarily been assessed as eligible. Successful applicants will start providing services in 2019-2020 gradually.

To further encourage Hong Kong students studying medicine overseas to return to Hong Kong to practise, the Food and Health Bureau, HA and DH have collaborated with overseas Economic and Trade Offices in conducting promotion activities to encourage qualified non-locally trained doctors to practise in Hong Kong. The Secretary for Food and Health went to the United Kingdom in May LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4587

last year to meet with Hong Kong students studying medicine there and encourage them to return to Hong Kong to practise after graduation. Their responses were positive. A seminar was held in Hong Kong in August last year by Hong Kong students studying medicine in the United Kingdom, at which the Secretary for Food and Health and representatives from HA and DH were invited to speak on the opportunities for overseas medical students to practise in Hong Kong. The Chief Secretary for Administration and HA Chairman visited the United Kingdom in September last year to promote HA's recruitment scheme. The Secretary for Food and Health has also planned to visit Australia in the middle of this year to promote the scheme.

Thirdly, to facilitate more non-locally trained medical graduates to practise in Hong Kong after passing the Licensing Examination ("LE"), the Medical Council of Hong Kong ("MCHK") has, on the premise of upholding professional standards, enhanced the arrangements for LE, including increasing the frequency of LE to twice a year, and introducing more flexible arrangements for relevant internship requirement since 2016. In addition, MCHK officially launched the Virtual Education Resource Centre in October 2018 to improve the transparency of LE and refine the examination questions.

Fourthly, for non-locally trained doctors who have passed LE and worked in HA for three years under limited registration, MCHK is exploring if their internship requirement could be exempted. This is to provide more incentive for eligible non-locally trained doctors to serve in the public health care system in Hong Kong through limited registration.

The Government will continue to take forward the recommendations of the Report with a view to planning ahead for the long-term manpower demand. It will also take into account the effectiveness of extending the period of limited registration and responses from the health care sector before deciding on the way forward.

4588 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Annex 1

Top 10 Specialties in Public Hospitals with the Highest Attrition Rates of Full-time Doctors and the Respective Attrition Rates in 2017-2018

Specialty Attrition Rate of Full-time Doctors Anaesthesia 7.0% Clinical Oncology 6.0% Family Medicine 6.8% Medicine 5.0% Obstetrics and Gynaecology 9.2% Ophthalmology 10.6% Orthopaedics and Traumatology 5.5% Pathology 6.0% Psychiatry 7.3% Radiology 10.1%

Annex 2

Manpower Gaps for Doctors in 2020, 2025 and 2030

2020 2025 2030 5th percentile 320 596 829 (2.6%) (4.4%) (5.7%) Best guestimate 500 755 1 007 (3.9%) (5.5%) (6.8%) 95th percentile 989 1 296 1 575 (7.5%) (9.0%) (10.3%)

Note:

A positive number indicates shortfall. Percentages in brackets refer to the percentages of manpower gaps in full-time equivalent terms over the overall demands for doctors.

MR TOMMY CHEUNG (in Cantonese): President, I have a lot of doubts about the figures provided by the Secretary.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4589

Let me first discuss the issue of enhancing LE arrangement mentioned in the last part of the main reply. Many people may not know that the candidates have to pass in one go all the examination papers for which Hong Kong medical students are required to sit throughout their five years of study; how can a specialist remember the examination contents of the first year of university? In particular, there are many differences between overseas and local medicine programmes. The Secretary has also pointed out that MCHK is exploring if the internship requirement for doctors could be relaxed, but the Secretary should understand one point, and that is, how can a surgeon put down the scalpel for two years and then work as a surgeon again after completing internship? Moreover, whether or not a doctor can become a specialist is subject to approval. These are the thresholds blocking non-locally trained doctors. Will the Bureau be bold and decisive and make reference to the practice of Singapore to implement this arrangement as soon as possible? If patients in Hong Kong, including elderly people like me, have to wait for enough doctors to provide services, it might be too late.

SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr CHEUNG for his question. If a doctor trained in a certain place is going to practise in another place, he usually needs to pass professional examinations and this is a very common measure. In the past few years, MCHK has gradually introduced different measures in respect of examination planning and contents, parts that can be exempted and how to shorten the internship period after the candidates' passing the examination, to attract more people to come to Hong Kong to participate in LE for non-locally trained doctors to practise in Hong Kong.

As I mentioned earlier, MCHK has considered exempting those who have passed LE and worked in HA for three years under limited registration, MCHK is exploring if the internship requirement could be exempted for those who have come to Hong Kong through limited registration and have completed three years of internship. This will help attract more non-locally trained doctors to come to Hong Kong through limited registration and serve in the public sector in Hong Kong.

4590 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Tommy CHEUNG, which part of your supplementary question has not been answered?

MR TOMMY CHEUNG (in Cantonese): The Secretary has not answered whether he will consider adopting the practice of Singapore of attracting overseas doctors to practise there.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Tommy CHEUNG, you have pointed out the part of your supplementary question that has not been answered, please sit down. Secretary, do you have anything to add?

SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr CHEUNG for his supplementary question.

Since last year, the validity period and renewal period of limited registration have been extended from not exceeding one year to not exceeding three years and the number of applicants has increased. We need time to see whether the improved scheme can attract more people to come to Hong Kong for examinations or practice through the relevant scheme. We will consider other schemes after looking at its effectiveness.

MS CHAN HOI-YAN (in Cantonese): President, after reading the figures provided by the Government, I have looked up the data on the wastage of doctors in public hospitals in the past 10 years (i.e. from the year 2008-2009 to the year 2016-2017). I have learnt that the wastage rate was 3.9% to 5.2% and the wastage of doctors in the year 2017-2018 hit a new record high in 10 years. Given a serious wastage problem of doctors coupled with the surge of influenza twice a year, doctors in public hospitals have to work themselves to exhaustion. Therefore, the morale is low and the patients suffer because the waiting time is very long, and the medical quality is also affected.

I would like to ask the Government, apart from waiting for medical graduates to join the public medical system, can it consider introducing immediate measures such as providing one-off grants, for public hospitals or LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4591 specialist clinics facing a tighter supply of manpower to improve the remunerations of doctors in order to retain talents and to attract other professionals to continue to serve in public hospitals. This will avoid wastage of manpower, affecting the quality of services and increasing the patients' waiting time?

SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, I thank Ms CHAN for her supplementary question.

The life expectancy of Hong Kong people is getting longer and there is a larger proportion of elderly people, as well as a high ratio of chronic diseases and multiple chronic illnesses. This trend that we have observed put some pressure on the local medical system.

As we all know, public demand for public medical services is strong, both in normal times and during the winter surge of influenza. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust manpower or service capacity in order to strike a proper balance or make suitable improvements. In terms of manpower, in addition to increasing the places for medical degree programmes, the Government will also introduce different measures during the surge to increase manpower. These measures target doctors as well as nurses and support staff because many services in hospitals require teamwork. We will also attract more people to provide dedicated services through special remuneration packages.

In addition, we believe that service rationalization is needed; e.g. nurses, pharmacists or other allied health professionals can participate in medical procedures to reduce the workload of doctors. In this regard, new programmes will gradually be launched.

As regards increasing the capacity of medical services, hospital development plans respectively amounting to $200 billion and $300 billion are being implemented. HA will also increase the number of fixed beds each year and there will be additional temporary beds during the surge of influenza.

Lastly, in respect of the retention of talents, I think that an incentive for doctors to stay in the public sector is that they have the opportunities to receive training locally and overseas. We will try to retain manpower by work 4592 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 reorganization and the internal personnel measures of HA, including regular review of the promotion mechanism.

MR MARTIN LIAO (in Cantonese): President, with the changing demographic structure and the rapidly ageing population in Hong Kong, some research reports have estimated that there will be a shortage of 1 500 doctors in Hong Kong in 2030. On the other hand, there has been an imbalance in the local public and private medical systems; 60% of the health care workers employed in the public medical system are serving 90% of the patients while 40% of the health care workers employed in the private medical system are serving 10% of the patients.

President, I would like to ask the Government: In addition to increasing the manpower of doctors through training and introduction of additional doctors, are there any specific measures to coordinate the public and private medical systems to make better use of the health care worker resources?

SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr LIAO for his supplementary question.

Regarding Hong Kong people's demand for health care services, we all know that Hong Kong has a dual-track system comprising a public system and a private system and the Government has introduced different schemes to increase public-private partnership over the years. Of course, a balance must be struck if a public-private partnership is adopted. If the private market is too prosperous, doctors in the public system will be attracted to enter the private market as we have observed. There were successful public-private partnerships in the past, including the public-private partnership for cataract surgery. Some outpatient services such as hypertension cases can be provided by the private sector through public-private partnership so that some members of the public can seek medical services from the private sector.

Second, the Bill on the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme was passed last year. We believe that, after the introduction of the new Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme, some members of the public who used public medical services such as non-emergency surgery, medical procedures or examination procedures, will be attracted to choose to receive medical services from the private sector.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4593

DR PIERRE CHAN (in Cantonese): President, the morale of the doctor is really low and there is a serious wastage of doctors but the authorities have not "stopped the bleeding" and they have only dropped stones. If they have not "stopped the bleeding" and they have just resorted to "blood transfusion", there will be "drastic blood exchange".

I would like to ask if the Secretary knows that one of the key reasons for the wastage of middle-level health care workers is related to HA1 and HA2. I would like to ask if the Secretary knows what HA1 and HA2 refer to. Will the Government review the mechanism so as to address the manpower problem?

SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, I thank Dr CHAN for his supplementary question. Regarding the work pressure of public health care workers, we understand that very well because there are many media reports on how crowded hospitals are, especially during the surge of influenza. We understand the hardship of health care workers very well and we are grateful for their efforts.

The morale of health care workers involves many factors and we are also aware of the terms of employment of different health care workers as mentioned by Dr CHAN just now. In the light of different economic cycles in the past, HA has developed different remuneration packages, and this is the internal staffing arrangement of HA. As to whether the arrangement should be reviewed in an appropriate time in the future to alleviate the problems arising from different remuneration packages for health care workers, we will communicate with HA and we hope that HA would conduct a review.

Concerning the retention of manpower, as I have mentioned, apart from the issue of remuneration, HA has a very powerful function of providing professional training. HA provides a wider range of local or overseas professional training to all medical graduates in Hong Kong. I believe that HA should step up its efforts to attract more public hospital doctors to remain in their posts and continue to serve the public.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Fifth question.

4594 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Visits conducted outside Hong Kong in relation to the work on preventing terrorist activities

5. MR ALVIN YEUNG (in Cantonese): President, it has been reported that some human rights organizations have alleged that the Chinese Government has set up "re-education camps" in Xinjiang for detaining about a million people from the ethnic minorities, the majority of whom are ethnic Uighurs believing in Islam. A number of ethnic Uighurs alleged that their family members, relatives and friends had lost contact with them after being taken away by public security officials for no reason. Also, some people who had been detained in such camps alleged that they had been psychologically abused and even tortured there. However, the Chinese Government has stated that the camps concerned are vocational skills training institutes established with the aim of eliminating extremism from the root and preventing the emergence of terrorism. On the other hand, there are reports that the Under Secretary for Security led a delegation to Xinjiang last month to exchange views with local officials on the work on preventing terrorist activities. Regarding the visits conducted outside Hong Kong in relation to the work on preventing terrorist activities, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the details of the aforesaid visit, including the time and location of each event on the itinerary; whether the delegation visited the "re-education camps"; if so, of the details;

(2) of the names and post titles of the officials who proposed, arranged and participated in the visit, and set out such information by whether they work under the Government of the Hong Kong SAR or the Mainland authorities; and

(3) of the number of visits conducted outside Hong Kong by government officials in the past five years in relation to the work on preventing terrorist activities, as well as the destination and date of each visit?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR") Government attaches great importance to the combat and prevention of terrorist activities, and has been assessing the threat level of Hong Kong being subject to terrorist attack. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4595

Currently, the threat level is assessed to be "moderate", indicating that there is a possibility of attack but there is no specific intelligence suggesting that Hong Kong is likely to be a target. That said, as terrorist activities around the globe and their trend have been changing and diversified modus operandi have evolved, the HKSAR Government must stay on full alert to guard against any unexpected challenges.

HKSAR's counter-terrorism strategy is four-pronged, i.e. vigilant "prevention", adequate "preparation", prompt "response" and speedy "recovery". Under the strategy, law enforcement agencies ("LEAs") strive to prevent terrorist activities in Hong Kong under an intelligence-led approach, and ensure preparedness at all times among response and emergency services, supporting personnel and other relevant parties via repeated drills and training. All departments have in place various contingency plans, which are subject to continuous review and improvement, for enhancing their capability to deal with any possible terrorist incidents.

To further strengthen Hong Kong's counter-terrorism capability and preparedness, the Government set up the Inter-departmental Counter-terrorism Unit ("ICTU") in April 2018, comprising members from six LEAs, namely the Hong Kong Police Force ("HKPF"), Immigration Department ("ImmD"), Customs and Excise Department ("C&ED"), Correctional Services Department ("CSD"), Fire Services Department ("FSD") and Government Flying Service ("GFS"). ICTU is tasked with monitoring the global terrorism trend and counter-terrorism measures, reviewing and improving the counter-terrorism strategy in Hong Kong, developing specialized counter-terrorism training, optimizing various contingency plans, etc. Serving as an inter-departmental counter-terrorism platform on top of the original counter-terrorism framework, ICTU not only fosters closer liaison and smoother collaboration among relevant departments, but also synergizes counter-terrorism intelligence, training, emergency response education and other related efforts, with a view to enhancing Hong Kong's overall counter-terrorism deployment and preparedness.

Instead of a local challenge of any single region, counter-terrorism efforts hinge on cross-boundary and international collaboration. Therefore, the HKSAR Government has been arranging representatives to visit other places from time to time to know about their practices and experience through in-depth exchange with the respective government authorities and officials. The 4596 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 observations from these visits serve as reference or lessons for the HKSAR Government in formulating counter-terrorism policies, such as strengthening various counter-terrorism measures, enhancing capability and preparedness of officers concerned, etc.

Mr Alvin YEUNG has raised three questions about the visit to Xinjiang by a delegation led by the Under Secretary for Security in December 2018 for exchange with local authorities regarding efforts on preventing terrorist activities. My reply is as follows.

(1) and (2)

A nine-member HKSARG delegation visited Xinjiang on 6 to 10 December 2018, with the Under Secretary for Security as the leader and one Assistant Secretary for Security and seven ICTU representatives (including one Senior Superintendent and one Senior Inspector from HKPF, one Senior Pilot from GFS, one Divisional Officer from FSD, one Principal Officer from CSD, one Assistant Superintendent from C&ED and one Chief Immigration Officer from ImmD) as members.

The trip was the first visit of ICTU outside Hong Kong, with the aim of study, exchange and understanding. Xinjiang was selected because a number of terrorist attacks took place there but the situation was brought under control and improved in recent years. ICTU was of the view that Xinjiang's counter-terrorism experience could be of reference to Hong Kong in formulating and optimizing our counter-terrorism strategy and capability.

During the study trip in Xinjiang, ICTU visited a number of local counter-terrorism units and police facilities, counter-terrorism tactical training centre, security checkpoints at tourist attractions, border control points, public convenience management centres, district police stations and the police training school; and attended seminars and exchanged views with local officials. The itinerary did not include the "vocational skills training institutes" as mentioned in the question.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4597

(3) From time to time, major LEAs on counter-terrorism (including HKPF) in the Government have maintained exchange with counterparts outside Hong Kong on prevention of terrorist activities and law enforcement, and enhancing officers' knowledge and skills on the operational level via mutual visits. During every visit, departmental representatives will, apart from understanding the practices and experience of other places, introduce Hong Kong's latest development and work in various areas, with a view to expanding and enhancing liaison and cooperation between Hong Kong and other places in different related fields. As the itinerary of each visit covers different subjects and content, we have not kept statistics on individual subjects and therefore do not have the information as requested in part (3) of the question. In addition to the Mainland, some destinations of previous visits outside Hong Kong involving counter-terrorism include the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Germany and Indonesia, etc.

President, relevant departments have to make reference to the experience and latest development of other places in order to effectively support our disciplined services in their multi-faceted law enforcement on counter-terrorism and different related aspects. For example, the Police have in recent years vigorously strengthened training of frontline officers on Immediate Tactical Intervention to ensure that those arriving earliest at the scene are capable of making swift responses to provide members of the public with immediate care for the sake of their safety; ImmD and C&ED have been closely monitoring the latest intelligence in various places and have implemented immigration and import/export control under a professional and risk-based approach to intercept persons and cargoes suspected of involving terrorist activities; and CSD has stepped up efforts of counter-terrorism work in penal institutions having regard to experience in other places.

Besides, taking account of and in response to the latest trends in terrorist attacks worldwide, LEAs have been examining the procurement of suitable equipment, such as the Police's modular vehicle barrier and radiological detector as well as C&ED's ion scanner and portable spectroscopic equipment, so as to enhance the tactics or upgrade the equipment commonly employed for preventing and detecting terrorist attacks. 4598 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

As always, the HKSAR Government endeavours to maintain Hong Kong as one of the safest cities in the world. We will stay vigilant for proactive prevention and keep enhancing Hong Kong's counter-terrorism capability and preparedness to ensure a long-term safe environment in our city. ICTU will actively monitor measures adopted by other regions which are exposed to higher risks, while paying close attention and making reference to the latest advice or guidance and news released by different international organizations, with a view to continuously enhancing Hong Kong's counter-terrorism capability.

MR ALVIN YEUNG (in Cantonese): President, I believe the Secretary is a person with independent thinking and the purpose of the visits is not necessarily to make direct reference, but is also to learn to think in reverse. May I ask the Secretary if counter-terrorism measures that fail to comply with Hong Kong's human right standards have been observed during this visit to Xinjiang, for example, whether Xinjiang's police training school has adopted any measure that violated human rights, from which the Hong Kong Government should draw reference and must not adopt?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, I can briefly answer Mr YEUNG's question that there is none, because all the measures that we have come across during the visit comply with human rights. In my opinion, whoever raised this question has put on tinted glasses. Of course, we do hope that Members would understand our counter-terrorism work. We chose to visit Xinjiang because terrorist attacks with massive casualties took place there year after year in the past, but for nearly two years, no terrorist attack causing injuries or casualties has been reported. This change is worthy of our reference.

As I said in the main reply earlier on, we will choose to visit different places and would not bias or discriminate against any of them. Each exchange has enhanced our knowledge and understanding of the global trend of counter-terrorism, and this is important because terrorist attacks may spread from one region to another. We must therefore have a global perspective and avoid being biased or discriminative. Hence, we will continue to visit different places to enhance our counter-terrorism capability.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4599

MR WONG KWOK-KIN (in Cantonese): President, talking like a parrot, echoing others' views and picking up others' lines, what I am trying to say is that some people are imitating what foreign anti-Chinese forces did to attack and bad mouth China in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, in an attempt to attack and humiliate their own nation. Their motive is indeed condemnable.

President, in recent years, there has been a term called the "convergence of five independence", which refers to the collusion of advocates of Hong Kong independence with advocates of "Tibetan independence", "Taiwan independence", "Mongolian independence" and "Xinjiang independence". This has seriously undermined the law and order of society. I endorse and support the Security Bureau's exchange of views with Xinjiang as this is essential. In 2009, about 10 years ago, a major riot took place in Xinjiang, leaving thousands of people injured and dead. Similarly, in 2016, a riot took place in Mong Kok which dealt a serious blow to the law and order of the society of Hong Kong. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to conduct exchanges on the prevention of these disturbances and terrorist activities.

May I ask the Secretary whether, after an exchange with Xinjiang, there is any update on the assessment of the threat level in face of the "convergence of five independence", that is, the collusion of advocates of Hong Kong independence with foreign secession forces?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): I thank Mr WONG for his supplementary question. No matter what the motive behind any terrorist attack is, the HKSAR Government will be on the alert to prevent and combat terrorist attacks.

This visit to Xinjiang has reinforced our belief of the importance of the following aspects. First, it is the importance of having a full mastery of the trend of terrorist activities. As we all know, at present, terrorist attacks have changed their pattern from hijacking and taking hostage of persons to suicide bomb attack and then to lone-wolf attack, and they have become more radical as well. Therefore, it is very important to have a good mastery of the trend of terrorist attacks, which is also essential to the formulation of policies. This is the first point.

4600 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

The second point is the importance of tactics. It is of paramount importance to effectively deploy adequate resources in the first instance to combat terrorist activities. The fact that Xinjiang has not recorded any terrorist attack in the past two years tells us precisely the importance of tactics training.

The third point is the importance of equipment. As I have reported to the Legislative Council in the main reply earlier, different disciplinary forces are working towards this direction and are continuously updating and upgrading their equipment and devices.

The fourth point is the importance of public participation. Apart from the relevant counter-terrorism units, Xinjiang has also attached great importance to public participation in respect of intelligence, report, joint combat actions and prompt response to contingencies. Public participation is very important in these aspects. All the above mentioned points are useful to the formulation of counter-terrorism policies.

DR JUNIUS HO (in Cantonese): President, just now I heard the Secretary say that he had exchanged views with the Mainland in this regard, and explored what could be done to enhance the equipment and capability in combating terrorist activities. He also pointed out in the main reply that the threat level of Hong Kong being subject to terrorist attack was assessed to be "moderate".

I would like to highlight one point, and that is, the need to prepare for the rainy days. While the present terrorist threat level was assessed to be "moderate", are HKPF capable of handling highly dangerous and very serious events when they take place? If not, do we have the necessary legal basis when there is a need to work with Mainland's counter-terrorism units under the national security law? I am seriously concerned if the local facilities can provide adequate protection for the people of Hong Kong if a group of terrorists causing disturbances in Hong Kong was arrested. If they cannot and there is a need to borrow counter-terrorism facilities from our Motherland, have the authorities thoroughly considered the legal basis for the transfer of prisoners in order to prevent the recurrence of the Causeway Bay Books incident, during which the authorities were accused of not working in accordance with the law? May I ask if the Secretary can provide the relevant information for our reference?

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4601

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): I thank Dr HO. It is perfectly reasonable for Dr HO to request an assurance from us that the HKSAR Government is capable of handling such events, and I am expected to do so in the formulation of policies.

We certainly have to prepare for the rainy days so that we can properly handle risks when they actually come. As Dr HO said just now, actions will be taken when we receive concrete intelligence. I am confident that the relevant government departments have the capability in handling any terrorist events. Why would I say so? Firstly, we have conducted numerous exchanges with foreign countries on intelligence collection training and intelligence handling practices. Just as I have briefed Members earlier on, this is precisely the reason why we visited and conducted exchanges with the counter-terrorism units of different countries and regions. In respect of cooperation, the exchange of intelligence is very smooth, especially in the provision of mutual assistance in the gathering, analysis and sharing of intelligence as well as counter-terrorism financing. Hong Kong's law enforcement departments are highly respected by the Interpol and other related bodies, including the World Customs Organization ("WCO"). We are capable, forward looking and adequately prepared. This is the first point.

Secondly, regarding the questions about regimes and manpower raised by Dr HO, I can tell Members that we have sufficient number of police officers and skills in this regard. First of all, there are different professional units under HKPF. Just now, I mentioned that we have established ICTU, which is jointly participated by six disciplinary forces and is a cross-departmental counter-terrorism platform set up under the existing counter-terrorism framework.

Furthermore, I also want to introduce the counter-terrorism work of different disciplinary forces so as to enhance Members' understanding and confidence. Firstly, as Members may be aware, HKPF have set up the dedicated Special Duties Unit (also known as "the Flying Tiger Squad") to combat terrorists. Besides, there are the Airport Security Unit, the Counter Terrorism Response Unit, the Emergency Units, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau, negotiators of the Police, Key Points and Search Division, Critical Infrastructure Security Coordination Centre, Financial Investigation Group, Joint Financial Intelligence Unit and the Railway Response Team. These are dedicated response teams set up under HKPF to combat terrorist attacks.

4602 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Furthermore, CSD and C&ED also engage in counter-terrorism work. For example, C&ED is conducting a study on the several areas covered in the global counter-terrorism strategy formulated by WCO in 2016, which include strengthening the communication and cooperation in various perspectives, enhancing the abilities of the members states of WCO in combating threats related to border security as well as formulating implementation guidelines for counter-terrorism measures and providing relevant training, with a view to enhancing the coordination and support of various members states in anti-terrorism actions.

Furthermore, CSD has, in the light of the United Nations …

(Dr KWOK Ka-ki stood up)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr KWOK Ka-ki, what is your point of order?

DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): The Secretary for Security is obviously not responding to Dr Junius HO's supplementary question. I wonder if he is filibustering because there are still three more Members waiting for their turns to ask questions but he has almost used up the remaining question time.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr KWOK, please sit down. Secretary, please give a brief answer.

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): Let me continue to give a brief answer. CSD has also taken actions in accordance with the handbook on counter-terrorism promulgated by the United Nations. Hence, various departments will, according to their respective purview, ensure that Hong Kong has adequate preparedness for and prevention of terrorism.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Last oral question.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4603

Combating money laundering and terrorist financing activities

6. MR HOLDEN CHOW (in Cantonese): The Government has stated that it has all along been striving to combat money laundering and terrorist financing activities in accordance with relevant international standards, in order to maintain Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of reports about suspicious transactions involving money laundering or terrorist financing activities received by the Joint Financial Intelligence Unit, and the number of such cases it referred to other units for investigation, as well as the respective numbers of relevant prosecutions and convictions, in each of the past five years;

(2) whether it has assessed the aggregate value of property relating to money laundering and terrorist financing activities carried out in Hong Kong, as well as the aggregate value of such property confiscated, in each of the past five years; of the measures put in place to ensure that all such property can be confiscated; and

(3) given the diversified means for money laundering and terrorist financing, how the Government will step up its training for the law enforcement officers to enhance their ability to combat such activities?

SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): President, as an international financial centre with a highly externally-oriented economy, Hong Kong is not immune from the threats of money laundering and terrorist financing. We should stay vigilant against those threats.

Hong Kong is committed to combating money laundering and terrorist financing together with the international community. Hong Kong has become a member of the Financial Action Task Force ("FATF") since 1991. Over the years, we have put in place a robust anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism ("AML/CFT") regime having regard to international standards set by 4604 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

FATF. To stay ahead of the curve, we put the AML/CFT regime under continuous review to ensure that it can live up to challenges posed by the fast-changing financial market and security landscapes.

Over the past few years, the Government has adopted various measures to strengthen the AML/CFT regime so as to ensure that our system is keeping with international standards. To identify and assess money laundering/terrorist financing threats facing Hong Kong, we have conducted a territory-wide risk assessment to examine the money laundering/terrorist financing threats and vulnerabilities confronting financial businesses, designated non-financial businesses and professions, and the city as a whole. The risk assessment report was published in April 2018 and will be updated from time to time. Informed by the risk assessment, over the past year, we have taken forward various enhancement measures. These include updating the legal and regulatory framework, reinforcing the adoption of a risk-based approach in preventive and supervisory measures, stepping up efforts to restrain and confiscate crime proceeds, and strengthening international cooperation. In respect of updating the legal framework, to mitigate the identified risks, the Government implemented four new ordinances last year, including (i) the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, (ii) the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, (iii) the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 and (iv) the Cross-boundary Movement of Physical Currency and Bearer Negotiable Instruments Ordinance.

On the questions raised by Mr CHOW, my response is as follows:

(1) It is stipulated in the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance ("OSCO"), the Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds) Ordinance ("DTROP") and the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance that any person who knows or suspects that any property represents proceeds of an indictable offence or drug trafficking, or is terrorist property, must report his/her knowledge or suspicion to the Joint Financial Intelligence Unit ("JFIU") as soon as is reasonable or practicable. From 2013 to 2017, JFIU received more than 280 000 suspicious transaction reports ("STRs"). About 44 000 of them were referred to other law enforcement agencies ("LEAs") or regulatory authorities for follow-up, whereas the remaining 238 000 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4605

STRs were archived due to the lack of sufficient grounds for further action. During the same period, 828 persons were prosecuted for money laundering offences and 620 persons were convicted.

(2) Under section 14 of OSCO, where proceedings have been instituted against the defendant for a specified offence, the prosecution can make an application to the Court of First Instance for restraint of the realisable property (assets and funds) of the defendant so as to prohibit any persons from dealing with the property. Upon conviction, the Court of First Instance may assess the value of proceeds gained from relevant offences by the defendant according to section 9 of OSCO and make a confiscation order against the defendant to recover the relevant monies pursuant to section 8 of OSCO. DTROP also has similar provisions pertaining to drug trafficking offences. From 2013 to 2017, proceeds confiscated under confiscation orders amounted to over $1.6 billion.

LEAs will continue to strengthen money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment so as to understand the latest typologies, step up investigation and prosecution of money laundering/terrorist financing activities through exchange of financial intelligence and inter-agency cooperation, and foster closer cooperation with overseas institutions, with a view to combating money laundering syndicates and recovering proceeds dissipated from Hong Kong.

(3) LEAs are committed to building the investigative capability and related knowledge of investigators of all ranks (including officers of JFIU) through regular training. LEAs also maintain close cooperation with each other and overseas enforcement agencies and financial institutions in an effort to jointly combat money laundering offences. Apart from providing regular financial investigative training to investigators, LEAs also send officers to attend conferences convened by international organizations on an ongoing basis, so as to enhance their understanding of the latest international security landscape and facilitate exchanges with overseas enforcement agencies on investigative experience and knowledge.

4606 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

MR HOLDEN CHOW (in Cantonese): President, I raise this question because when I participated in a work conference on anti-terrorism and combating money laundering earlier in Washington DC, I was told by a United States counter-terrorism expert that it is very difficult to recover proceeds of crime and terrorist financing; now there are also virtual currencies but the authorities' regulation against relevant crimes is still immature, the difficulty is thus greater. The Secretary mentioned in the main reply to this question that JFIU has received more than 280 000 STRs, amongst which 238 000 reports lacked sufficient information for further action. My supplementary question is: According to the main reply, proceeds confiscated by the authorities under confiscation orders amounted to over $1.6 billion; does this amount include proceeds of money laundering and terrorist financing as well as crimes pertaining to virtual currencies? If the amount recoverable is $1.6 billion, then what is the estimated amount that cannot be recovered? I hope the Bureau can answer me on this.

SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): President, the $1.6 billion we have successfully recovered as mentioned by Mr Holden CHOW just now includes the proceeds of all relevant crimes. As for crime proceeds involving virtual currencies, we do not have figures in this regard. Nevertheless, I would like to remind everyone that in respect of the trading of virtual currencies, the Group of Twenty ("G20") has agreed in November 2018 to consider strengthening the transparency and regulation in this regard; at the G20 meeting, member states have expressed concern about the risk, trading and transparency issues of virtual currencies. Relevant international organizations, such as FATF, the Financial Stability Board and the International Organization of Securities Commissions that I just mentioned, are still yet to request the formulation of criteria for regulating virtual currencies; therefore, there are certain difficulties with us in terms of transparency or investigation. I hope that we can do more in this regard upon formulation of better international standards.

MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): President, I am also concerned that JFIU has received 280 000 STRs, but only less that 20% of them, i.e. 44 000 reports, were worth following up. I would like to ask if this reflects a problem of quality with such kind of so-called suspicious transaction reports? This is because there is no reason that only 1.5 out of 10 reports were worth following up. Does the Government have any measure that can raise the quality in this regard, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4607 i.e. increase the number of worth pursuing reports? As such, there will be no need to submit so many reports and banks or other relevant institutions can be more precise in their reporting; alternatively, they may submit reports on a need basis and make no submissions if there is no need to do so, instead of having reports that are numerous in number yet hardly of practical use as now. How will the Government improve the reporting procedures?

SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): President, I believe it is worth pointing out that the 92 115 STRs that JFIU received in 2017 actually represent an increase of 20.3% compared to the 76 590 reports recorded in 2016. The rise in the STRs mainly reflects an enhanced degree of awareness of anti-money laundering legislation and relevant statutory reporting obligations among various industries. Moreover, the number of STRs rose faster after the implementation of the relevant ordinance in 2016. In particular, the figure of 2016 was higher than that of 2015 by 80%. We think that one of the possibilities is that while various industries submitted STRs proactively responding to the encouragement of the authorities, they were rather cautious that they reported even those transactions which they had the faintest suspicion. In view of this situation, JFIU proactively liaised with the financial sector and designated non-financial businesses or professions to enhance the quality of STRs, so as to equip the trades concerned with the sensitivity to distinguish STRs in a more precise manner. For this reason, the number of STRs for the first nine months of 2018 has dropped to 60 313, representing a slight decrease in the overall number of STRs.

Besides, the implementation of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) Ordinance in 2012 has raised the community's awareness of AML/CFT significantly, and this is a reason accounting for the rise in the number of STRs I mentioned just now. Notwithstanding this, since the information concerned is crucial to investigation and prosecution, LEAs have all along maintained much communication with designated non-financial businesses and professions on relevant STRs and advised them on how to improve the reporting quality and ensure adequate submission of information, so as to facilitate follow-up efforts by LEAs. In our view, the figures concerned reflect that we actually have a rather robust regime for combating money laundering, which is capable of effectively preventing and detecting crimes, as well as imposing deterrent sanctions against criminals.

4608 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

MR JIMMY NG (in Cantonese): The Government published the Hong Kong's Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Report on 30 April 2018. The Report points out that the terrorist financing threat of Hong Kong is assessed as medium-low; there is no confirmed case of terrorist financing activity in Hong Kong; and the very small number of mutual legal assistance or other information requests bears out this understanding. However, I note from members of the industry that when conducting customer due diligence ("CDD") process regarding account opening requests, most banks would be rather unreasonable to require submission of documents that the people who want to open bank accounts (who are not customers yet) cannot possibly have, e.g. documents on past profitability and business activities of newly established companies. It is simply not possible for them to provide such documents.

Such excessively stringent CDD process will hamper the development of Hong Kong as an international financial centre, rendering it unable to attract foreign capital or local emerging enterprises particularly when the Government is now actively encouraging the development of start-ups. In the light of Mr CHAN Kin-por's supplementary question just now, I would like to point out that since the start-ups are still not bank customers, how can banks suspect that these enterprises will engage in illegal activities or illegal financing when their accounts are yet to be opened? Moreover, I also notice that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") has issued circulars earlier to point out that banks should refrain from adopting a de-risking approach that could result in financial exclusion. What is the progress in this regard? Is there relevant data to prove the improvement of the situation?

SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): President, at present, there are on average about 10 000 corporate accounts successfully opened in the retail banking sector each month, of which about 60% to 70% belong to small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") and start-ups, and about 2 000 of them belong to SMEs and start-ups outside Hong Kong; amongst the successful cases of bank account opening, an average of 50% to 60% are able to complete the account opening formalities within two weeks, and some even within a few days. As for the actual time required for opening a bank account, it depends on the complexity of the case and whether the applicant is able to submit the information required.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4609

As Mr NG also mentioned earlier, HKMA has repeatedly reminded the banking industry to implement robust control in conducting CDD process. In combating money laundering and terrorist financing, the industry should also be careful to not impede the access of banking services by legitimate businesses (including start-ups) and ordinary citizens. Therefore, HKMA has issued guidance to banks in the past two years to remind them that they should also adopt CCD measures in a proportionate manner having regard to the customer's background and likely money laundering/terrorist financing risk in addition to adopting a risk-based approach. HKMA will also continue to follow up with banks to facilitate better arrangements.

In this connection, it is worth mentioning that all retail banks now offer a pre-vetting service, whereby applicants are allowed to submit account opening documents via email, fax or mail for initial pre-screening or pre-assessment by banks before attending face-to-face meetings, so as to provide greater convenience for customers. Moreover, some banks have also set up dedicated hotlines and dedicated branches where matters relating to account opening are handled by frontline staff with relevant training, who will also render assistance to start-ups and so forth in seeking solutions. In order to provide more comprehensive information relating to bank account opening and maintenance, and to collect enquiries and views from the public, local and overseas business communities as well as stakeholders, HKMA has set up a dedicated web page on its website and launched a dedicated email account, i.e. , to facilitate submission of feedback from the customers. We hope to provide assistance as far as possible to enterprises in bank account opening in these aspects.

MR KENNETH LEUNG (in Cantonese): President, it is mentioned in part (1) of the Secretary's main reply that a total of 828 persons were prosecuted by LEAs and 620 persons were convicted from 2013 to 2017. In connection with these two figures, will the Secretary inform the Legislative Council that how many cases amongst them were pertaining to the implementation of the Resolutions of the United Nations Security Council in relation to sanctions?

4610 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): President, regarding Mr LEUNG's enquiry about a breakdown of the cases pertaining to the implementation of the Resolutions of the United Nations Security Council in relation to sanctions, we do not have the relevant information.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, can you provide the information after the meeting?

SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): We will follow up on the matter further. (Appendix I)

MR CHAN CHUN-YING (in Cantonese): President, the Secretary and Mr Jimmy NG just now referred to the first Hong Kong's Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Report published in April 2018, in which it is mentioned that the banking sector faces high money laundering risk if categorized by industry. Notwithstanding this, I consider that banking practitioners should, in their course of business, not be subject to a criminal liability equivalent to that for money laundering if no participation or complicity in money laundering is involved. According to the Report, in 2015, there were 16 conviction cases involving money service operators being used for money laundering, and only one of those cases involved the participation of money service operator as an accomplice in money laundering. I would like to ask the Secretary that since the commencement of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) Ordinance, are there any banking practitioners in Hong Kong prosecuted and convicted for the criminal offences of assisting and participating in money laundering?

SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): President, we have tried to gain an understanding of the prosecution data as well as the breakdown of the statistics on successful prosecutions, but the LEAs do not keep any statistics on money laundering by occupation. In this connection, we will try to see if we can acquire relevant figures in this regard.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Oral questions end here.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4611

WRITTEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

Prevention of youth suicides

7. MR CHAN HAN-PAN (in Chinese): President, earlier on, the Task Force on Prevention of Youth Suicides submitted a report ("the Report") to the Chief Executive. The Report proposes 13 recommendations on enhancing the Government's strategies and services. The Report points out that "[e]xcessive homework and assessment … have been seen as sources of pressure for students", and it therefore recommends that schools should make efforts to improve the quality of homework and enhance assessment literacy. On the other hand, the Education Bureau ("EDB") issued to schools in 2000, and thereafter updated from time to time, guidelines on homework and tests. Nevertheless, some parents have relayed to me recently that the problem of excessive homework and assessment remains serious. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) (i) of the new measures put in place by EDB to ensure that the recommendations made in the Report will be implemented, and (ii) whether EDB will consider afresh introducing measures to make it mandatory for schools to reduce homework and the number of examinations; if EDB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2) when the recommendation made in the Report that one school social worker be provided for each primary school will be fully implemented; and

(3) given that the authorities launched the Joyful@School Campaign in the 2016-2017 school year to assist schools in promoting mental health and reducing the stigma attached by students to the help-seeking behaviour, of (i) the respective numbers of applications for grants under the Campaign received and approved, and (ii) the total amount of grants approved, by the authorities so far; the details and effectiveness of the activities funded?

SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION (in Chinese): President, the Government attaches great importance to the developmental needs and mental health of young people, and has been providing support to young people with mental health needs (including those with suicidal risk) through cross-sector and multidisciplinary 4612 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 collaboration among different bureaux and departments. The Education Bureau has been encouraging schools to adopt the Whole School Approach, synchronizing the school policies, culture and practices with involvement of all stakeholders (including school personnel, parents and students) to promote mental health and to identify as well as support students with mental health needs. School professionals, including guidance teachers, school social workers and educational psychologists, provide support and counselling services for students with learning and adjustment difficulties (including those with mental health needs). The Education Bureau has also been actively promoting diversified development programmes, continuously enhancing the school curriculum and promoting life education so as to facilitate students' learning and development.

In the earlier report submitted to the Chief Executive by the Task Force on Prevention of Youth Suicides, a number of recommendations are provided. Although the report pointed out that excessive homework and assessment have been seen as part of the sources of pressure on students, it also clearly stated that "If used appropriately, these are in fact useful and indispensable tools in school education. The Education Bureau has called on schools to design homework that are stimulating can help students to consolidate and apply what they have learnt at school rather than giving out homework that has the effect of mechanical drilling only." This shows that we are concerned about pressure exerted on students, yet we should not focus excessively on the homework load, frequency of tests and examinations and assessment results, thereby neglecting the importance of quality homework and assessment in enhancing student learning. Thus, the focus of the report is on improving the quality of homework and enhancing assessment literacy of teachers.

Regarding the questions raised by Mr CHAN Han-pan, my reply is as follow:

(1) The purposes of homework are to enable students to consolidate their learning in class, stimulate thinking, enhance their understanding of lesson topics and construct knowledge. The amount of homework given should definitely not be excessive, nor should it be meaningless with mechanical copying/drilling. The Education Bureau always emphasizes that it is the quality rather than the quantity of homework that matters. We do not agree to simply equate homework with study pressure and thereby negate the positive educational functions of quality homework. This may LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4613 mislead the public and students that affect the overall educational outcome in the long run. In fact, the education sector generally agrees that homework has positive educational functions in the learning and teaching process, and is conducive to revision and consolidation of learning.

Regarding assessment, it facilitates students' learning by collecting evidence of their learning process and outcomes as reference for reviewing the effectiveness of curriculum implementation and students' learning so as to help refine the curriculum and teaching strategy. Assessments are not equivalent to examinations, they can be short tests, project work or daily coursework that assess students' performance continuously. Schools should formulate the appropriate assessment policy in the light of their context and students' needs. Besides, schools should explain to parents these arrangements in a timely manner.

To enhance the assessment literacy of school leaders and teachers so that they can design quality assessment tasks, make good use of assessment data and communicate with parents appropriately, we will continue to provide them with effective supports, for example, organizing professional training programmes for teachers and recommending good practices employed by schools; conducting school visits and inspections, etc. to gain an understanding of the school implementation of relevant policies and give feedback to schools; reviewing and updating relevant circulars and curriculum documents in a timely manner. Besides, we will continue to maintain liaison with school sponsoring bodies and school councils on homework and assessment matters.

We are of the view that it is not appropriate to set any rigid indicators/guidelines of homework load and frequency of tests and examinations for schools on an across-the-board basis. Instead, schools and teachers should be allowed to assign homework and formulate the school-based assessment policy professionally based on their school context and students' learning needs. As for individual students with learning difficulties, their schools/teachers should communicate with the parents, and adapt homework and assessment arrangements. 4614 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(2) Starting from the 2018-2019 school year, the policy of One School Social Worker for Each School has been implemented in public sector primary schools. The new measure is implemented on the basis of the Comprehensive Student Guidance Service under which more resources are provided for schools. The objective of the new measure is to further enhance the overall quality of guidance services by ensuring that every public sector primary school is served by at least one school-based registered graduate social worker with professional qualifications.

For schools currently not employing student guidance teachers, the Education Bureau has provided a three-year transitional period for them to switch to the New Funding Mode under the policy of One School Social Worker for Each School before the 2021-2022 school year. In the 2018-2019 school year, about half of the public sector primary schools have opted to change to the New Funding Mode and there are currently over 80% public sector primary schools employing registered social workers. In case schools need more time to handle personnel matters in respect of their serving student guidance personnel and cannot switch to the New Funding Mode after the three-year transitional period, they may discuss with the Education Bureau separately.

The Education Bureau will continue to review the mode of collaboration between student guidance and social work services, and explore with the sector together various feasible proposals, so as to enable schools to adopt the best way to provide social work and guidance services for students.

(3) The Education Bureau and Department of Health has jointly launched the "Joyful@School" Campaign to promote students' engagement in promoting mental well-being, cultivate positive culture and attitudes towards acceptance of help-seeking, raise students' knowledge and understanding of mental health through the three key elements of "Sharing", "Positive Thinking" and "Enjoyment of Life", so as to strengthen their ability to cope with challenging situations. One of the initiatives facilitating the implementation of the "Joyful@School" Campaign is the provision of additional resources by the Quality Education Fund ("QEF") for LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4615

proposals from schools, non-governmental organizations and tertiary education institutions through simplified procedures for mini scale applications for organizing activities related to the "Joyful@School" Campaign, including a series of activities to enhance students' awareness and understanding of mental health as well as strengthening their ability to cope with adversity. The proposals would also provide teacher development programmes to empower teachers with the related skills for identifying and supporting students with lower level of resilience. From September 2016 to November 2018, QEF received more than 900 related applications among which about 740 applications were approved with a total amount of funding of over $140 million. Schools use different methods, including pre- and post-tests, focus group interviews and questionnaires to evaluate the effectiveness of the projects. The Education Bureau also arranges visits to schools, observation of activities, interviews with students and conducts seminars for schools to share good practices, etc. to examine the progress of the projects. Overall speaking, schools find that the importance of mental health is promoted and students' as well as teachers' understanding of mental health is also enhanced through the project activities.

Receipt of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance by elderly persons and their residing in residential care homes for the elderly

8. MR LEUNG CHE-CHEUNG (in Chinese): President, regarding the receipt of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") by elderly persons (i.e. persons aged 60 or above) and their residing in residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs"), will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of elderly CSSA recipients residing in private RCHEs in each of the past three years;

(2) of the respective average monthly amounts of special grants and supplements currently received, on top of the standard rates, by elderly CSSA recipients, broken down by level of their disabilities (i.e. in need of constant attendance, 100% disabled and able-bodied/50% disabled); 4616 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(3) whether the authorities will consider raising the amount of Residential Care Supplement disbursed to elderly CSSA recipients so as to enable them to receive residential care services of a higher quality; if so, of the details; and

(4) of the number of eligible RCHEs under the Pilot Scheme on Residential Care Service Voucher for the Elderly and the number of elderly persons participating in the Scheme as at the end of last month, with a tabulated breakdown of the number of such elderly persons by the co-payment level to which they belonged?

SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE (in Chinese): President, my reply to Mr LEUNG's question is as follows:

(1) In the past three financial years, the number of elderly Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") recipients residing in non-subsidized places of residential care homes for the elderly and residential care homes for persons with disabilities is as follows:

Financial year Number of recipients 2015-2016 24 340 2016-2017 24 434 2017-2018 24 607

The above number of recipients reflects the position as at the end of the respective financial year (i.e. the end of March).

(2) The average monthly CSSA payments received by elderly singletons residing in non-subsidized care places according to their levels of disabilities are as follows:

Average monthly CSSA Level of disabilities paymentsNote Able-bodied/50% disabled $6,657 100% disabled $8,074 Requiring constant attendance $10,467

Note:

The payments are calculated in accordance with the CSSA payment rates effective from 1 February 2018. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4617

(3) The Government provides a monthly residential care supplement to CSSA recipients who are elderly, disabled or medically certified to be in ill health and residing in non-subsidized residential care places to ease their financial burden. The supplement is currently $330 and will be adjusted to $340 on 1 February 2019 according to the established mechanism.

(4) Launched in March 2017, the Pilot Scheme on Residential Care Service Voucher ("RCSV") for the Elderly ("the Pilot Scheme") is implemented in three phases from 2017 to 2019. The RCSV value is adjusted annually, with the latest value being $13,287 per month (with effect from 1 October 2018). Based on their financial means, RCSV holders under the Pilot Scheme are designated under a scale of copayment at eight levels, ranging from the lowest Level 0 to the highest Level 7. RCSV holders at Level 0 are not required to pay for RCSV services as they are fully subsidized by the Government. Meanwhile, RCSV holders from Level 1 to Level 7 are required to pay an amount of copayment equivalent to 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 62.5% or 75% of the RCSV value respectively.

As at the end of December 2018, there were 103 residential care homes for the elderly participating in the Pilot Scheme, with a total of 975 elderly persons issued with RCSVs. The copayment levels at different percentages of the RCSV value and the respective number of RCSV holders are as follows:

Copayment Copayment level at different Number of Level percentage of the RCSV value RCSV holders 0 0% 845 1 10% 115 2 20% 1 3 30% 1 4 40% 1 5 50% 0 6 62.5% 0 7 75% 12 Total 975

4618 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Handling of the registration and disciplinary offences of engineers

9. DR PIERRE CHAN (in Chinese): President, the Engineers Registration Board ("ERB") is a statutory body established under section 3 of the Engineers Registration Ordinance (Cap. 409), and is mainly responsible for handling matters relating to the registration and disciplinary offences of professional engineers, etc. Regarding the handling of the registration and disciplinary offences of engineers, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the existing channels and procedures for members of the public to lodge complaints to ERB about registered professional engineers committing disciplinary offences;

(2) of (i) the number of complaints about registered professional engineers committing disciplinary offences received by ERB and, among this type of complaints, the respective numbers of those (ii) which involved the disciplinary offences as stated in sections 20(1)(b) or (g) of Cap. 409, (iii) which were referred to an inquiry committee under ERB for conducting an inquiry, (iv) which were found unsubstantiated, and (v) the processing of which is not yet completed, in each of the past five years (set out in Table 1);

Table 1 Complaints about registered Number of complaints professional engineers 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 committing disciplinary offences (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v)

(3) of the (i) average, (ii) longest and (iii) shortest time taken by an inquiry committee under ERB to process the complaints the processing of which was completed in each of the past five years;

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4619

(4) of the respective numbers of cases in each of the past five years in which an inquiry committee under ERB found that the registered professional engineers concerned had committed the following disciplinary offences (set out in Table 2):

(i) committing misconduct or neglect in any professional respect,

(ii) failure, without reasonable excuse, to attend before an inquiry committee when summoned either as a witness or as a person in respect of whom the inquiry committee was meeting, and

(iii) having been convicted in Hong Kong or elsewhere of any offence which might bring the profession into disrepute and sentenced to imprisonment;

Table 2 Disciplinary offence found to have Number of cases been committed by registered professional engineers 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (i) (ii) (iii)

(5) as section 28 of Cap. 409 provides that any person who is aggrieved by any disciplinary order made by an inquiry committee in respect of him may appeal to the Court of Appeal, of the respective numbers of appeals which were (i) lodged to the Court of Appeal, (ii) rejected, (iii) allowed and (iv) withdrawn, in each of the past five years (set out in Table 3);

Table 3 Appeals lodged under section 28 Number of appeals of Cap. 409 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

4620 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(6) of the respective numbers of (i) engineers whose names were removed from the register as they had been found to have committed disciplinary offences, (ii) applications made by these engineers for restoration of their names to the register, and (iii) cases in which those engineers were allowed to restore their names to the register, in the past five years (set out in Table 4);

Table 4 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (i) (ii) (iii)

(7) apart from ERB, of the organizations and government departments which are responsible for handling the registration of engineers;

(8) given that the registration of an engineer under the Lifts and Escalators Ordinance (Cap. 618) was suspended last year, whether ERB has, in collaboration with the monitoring organizations and government departments mentioned in (7), established a reciprocal notification mechanism on irregularities/disciplinary offences of registered engineers, so that ERB can take follow-up actions in accordance with the provisions under Cap. 409; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(9) of the number of lay members of ERB in each of the past five years?

SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, my reply to Dr Pierre CHAN's question with regard to handling of registration and disciplinary offences of professional engineers by the Engineers Registration Board ("ERB") pursuant to the Engineers Registration Ordinance (Cap. 409) ("the Ordinance") is as follows:

(1) Any person may lodge a complaint in writing to ERB in relation to disciplinary offence of a registered professional engineer. Upon receipt of a complaint, ERB shall appoint two members of ERB to LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4621

review the relevant facts and information in accordance with the provision of the Ordinance. The two members shall determine whether there is sufficient prima facie evidence of the complaint and report to ERB.

If there is prima facie evidence, ERB shall refer the complaint to an inquiry committee comprising three persons to conduct a hearing. Upon completion of the hearing and the inquiry committee finds that the concerned individual has committed a disciplinary offence, the case together with the order made by inquiry committee will be submitted to a review committee comprising four persons appointed by ERB for review before implementation.

ERB will inform the complainant of the decision with reason for any complaints that are found unsubstantiated due to insufficient prima facie evidence or by the inquiry committee after hearing.

(2) In the past five years, the number of complaints about registered professional engineers committing disciplinary offences was:

Table 1 Complaints about registered Number of cases professional engineers committing disciplinary offences 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (i) the number of complaints 3 1 3 0 1 received by ERB (ii) the disciplinary offences related 0 1 1 0 1 to sections 20(1)(b) or (g) of Cap. 409 (iii) referral to an inquiry committee 2 1 1 0 0 under ERB for conducting an inquiry (iv) unsubstantiated due to 1 0 2 0 0 insufficient prima facie evidence (v) unsubstantiated after hearing 0 0 0 0 0 (vi) the processing not yet 0 0 0 0 1 completed

4622 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(3) In the past five years, the time taken by an inquiry committee under ERB to complete processing of the complaints was:

(i) the average time was one year and 11 months;

(ii) the longest time was two years and six months; and

(iii) the shortest time was 10 months.

(4) In the past five years, the number of cases in which an inquiry committee under ERB found that the registered professional engineers concerned had committed the following disciplinary offences was:

Table 2 Disciplinary offence found to have Number of cases been committed by registered professional engineers 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (i) committing misconduct or 2 0 1 0 0 neglect in any professional respect (ii) failure, without reasonable 0 0 0 0 0 excuse, to attend before an inquiry committee when summoned either as a witness or as a person in respect of whom the inquiry committee was meeting (iii) conviction in Hong Kong or 0 1 0 0 0 elsewhere of any offence which might bring the profession into disrepute and sentenced to imprisonment

(5) In the past five years, ERB did not receive any appeal case to the Court of Appeal.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4623

(6) In the past five years, the numbers of engineers whose names were removed from the register as they had been found to have committed disciplinary offences; applications made by these engineers for restoration of their names to the register; and cases in which those engineers were allowed to restore their names to the register were:

Table 3 Number 2014# 2015 2016 2017 2018 (i) engineers whose names were 1 0 1 0 0 removed from the register as they had been found to have committed disciplinary offences (ii) applications made by these 0 0 0 0 0 engineers for restoration of their names to the register (iii) cases in which those 0 0 0 0 0 engineers were allowed to restore their names to the register

Note:

# For the second case of disciplinary offence found to have been committed by a registered professional engineer in 2014, the inquiry committee reprimanded the registered professional engineer in writing and recorded the reprimand on the register.

(7) ERB is a statutory body established under the provision of the Ordinance. ERB acts independently on matters related to registration of professional engineers, on which other organizations or government departments are not involved.

(8) The Lifts and Escalators Ordinance (Cap. 618) and this Ordinance are two independent pieces of legislation with different aspects of regulation. In handling matters on disciplinary offence of a registered professional engineer, ERB will consider the relevant provisions of the Ordinance, but not the provisions of the Lifts and Escalators Ordinance (Cap. 618). Hence, there is no such mutual notification mechanism.

4624 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(9) Pursuant to the provision of the Ordinance, ERB consists of not less than 20 members appointed by the Council of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and, in addition, may include one member appointed by the Chief Executive. The above mentioned Council shall not appoint a person as a member of ERB unless he is a member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers.

Nuisance caused by wild pigs

10. MRS REGINA IP (in Chinese): President, in recent years, the number of complaints received by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") about appearance of wild pigs or their causing nuisance has been on the rise, namely from 294 cases in 2013 to 738 cases in 2017, and the number of cases on Hong Kong Island rose from 98 to 324 in the same period, representing the highest rate of increase among all districts. Moreover, it has been reported that AFCD received 111 reports on appearance of wild pigs or their causing nuisance in the Southern District alone between January and July last year. Such figures reflect that the area of movement of wild pigs has expanded to the urban areas, posing serious threats to the personal safety of members of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective numbers of (i) complaints about appearance of wild pigs or their causing nuisance and (ii) reports on wild pigs damaging public property and injuring people, which were received by AFCD last year, with a breakdown by District Council ("DC") district;

(2) whether it knows the respective current numbers of wild pigs in various DC districts in Hong Kong; if not, whether it will make estimations;

(3) as the Government indicated last year that AFCD "is conducting a comprehensive review of the current strategies and measures for the management of wild pigs [and therefore] the hunting operations by the [wild pig] hunting teams have been suspended since 2017", and a two-year Pilot Study on the Contraception and Relocation of Wild Pigs ("Pilot Study") was launched in October of the same year, of the time when the review will be completed, and the number of wild LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4625

pigs injected with contraceptive vaccines to date; the effectiveness of the Pilot Study; if the Pilot Study is ineffective, whether it will let the wild pig hunting teams resume their hunting operations; and

(4) of the number of cases in the past five years in which members of the public were prosecuted for feeding wild pigs; whether it will enhance the liaison work with the property management companies, owners' corporations and residents in the vicinity of the locations where wild pigs have appeared before, and provide them with guidance on how to guard against attacks by wild pigs?

SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (in Chinese): President, the Government is very concerned about the nuisance and potential hazards to the public caused by wild pigs. We are reviewing our existing measures and strategies for the management of wild pigs and will submit a discussion paper to the Panel of Environmental Affairs of the Legislative Council in due course. In consultation with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD"), our responses to the various parts of the questions raised by Mrs IP are as follows:

(1) AFCD received 679 reports on wild pig sighting or nuisance from January to October 2018, of which five of them involved injury to members of the public. AFCD does not have records of public facilities damaged by wild pigs. The number of reports on wild pig sighting or nuisance and injury with break down by district is tabulated as follows:

Number of reports on wild pig sighting or District nuisance/number of reports on injury* Central and Western 70 (1) Wan Chai 69 Eastern 42 Southern 173 (1) Yau Tsim Mong 0 Sham Shui Po 2 Kowloon City 7 Wong Tai Sin 9 (1) Kwun Tong 8 4626 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Number of reports on wild pig sighting or District nuisance/number of reports on injury* Kwai Tsing 8 Tsuen Wan 36 Tuen Mun 38 Yuen Long 10 North 26 Tai Po 40 (2) Sha Tin 50 Sai Kung 86 Islands 5

Note:

* Figures in brackets denote the number of reports on injury.

(2) Wild pigs used to be more abundant in the countryside of the New Territories. However, according to AFCD's surveys, wild pigs are now commonly sighted in various districts of Hong Kong. Since wild pigs are generally solitary or live in small groups, secretive in nature, widely distributed and have very extensive home range, AFCD does not have the number of wild pigs in Hong Kong. Technically speaking, there is no reliable approach to estimate the number of wild pigs in Hong Kong.

(3) To address the nuisance of wild pigs, AFCD adopts a multipronged approach, namely managing wild pig nuisance and monitoring wild pig population, reducing food attraction, strengthening public education to remind the public not to feed wild animals (including wild pigs) with a view to relieving wild pigs' nuisance to the public, and AFCD will evaluate the effectiveness of the measures from time to time.

In order to alleviate more effectively the potential nuisance caused by wild pigs in residential areas, AFCD is conducting a comprehensive review on the measures and strategies for the management of wild pigs. Considering different opinions from the society, as well as the oppositions from some concern groups on animal interests, AFCD has suspended hunting operations arranged by the civilian hunting teams since 2017 until the completion of the review on management measures and strategies.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4627

After the suspension of hunting operations, AFCD has introduced the Pilot Capture and Contraception/Relocation Programme ("Pilot CCRP") to handle the immediate nuisance of wild pigs at residential areas. AFCD will provide contraceptive treatment and/or relocate the wild pigs captured. Since the launch of Pilot CCRP, an average of three wild pigs were captured in each operation, which is more efficient than the hunting operation (on average less than one wild pig captured per operation). In addition, the trial of treating wild pigs causing nuisance with contraceptive vaccine and sterilization surgery is the first of its kind in the world. The aim of the trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of the contraceptive vaccine and the feasibility of arranging sterilization surgery for wild pigs in the field. The trial contraceptive/sterilization programme was officially launched in February 2018. As at December 2018, AFCD rendered contraceptive/sterilization treatments to 54 wild pigs. AFCD expects to complete the evaluation by the end of 2019.

(4) Under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170), feeding of wild animals (including wild pigs) in feeding ban areas, such as Kam Shan, Lion Rock and Shing Mun Country Parks, part of Tai Mo Shan Country Park, Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, area of Caldecott Road and Piper's Hill section of Tai Po Road, will be liable to prosecution and a maximum fine of $10,000. AFCD conducts regular patrols at the feeding ban areas. There were three successful cases of prosecution against feeding of wild pigs in the feeding ban areas over the past five years.

If wild pigs are frequently spotted scavenging for food from feeders in the vicinity of residential areas outside the feeding ban areas, AFCD will put up banners or posters at suitable places in these areas to remind the public not to feed wild animals. Wherever possible, AFCD will also set up infrared automatic cameras to monitor the feeding activities and appearance of wild pigs. The information so collected will be referred to relevant departments, which could issue $1,500 fixed penalty notices to persons who violate the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness and Obstruction) Ordinance (Cap. 570) and follow-up on the environmental hygiene problems caused by such feeding. AFCD will continue to offer advice to members of 4628 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

the public who may be potentially affected, property management offices, owners' corporations and District Councillors on the handling and prevention of nuisance caused by wild pigs.

Besides, wild animals will mistake feeding as a stable food supply and will be attracted to urban or residential areas in the vicinity. To tackle the issue of feeding, AFCD is conducting a series of publicity and education programmes, including promotion on TV, radio and public transports, organizing fun days, roving exhibitions, public lectures and visits, etc. to publicize the negative consequences of feeding wild animals. AFCD has also recently launched and broadcasted Announcements in the Public Interest together with a series of micro-movies titled "Don't Feed Wild Animals and Feral Pigeons" at social media platforms and public areas, to inform the public about the negative consequences of feeding wild animals. Furthermore, AFCD has commissioned a contractor to conduct a pilot education programme in the feeding ban area designated under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance since November last year. The contractor staff will not only share information about wild animals with the public, but also advise them not to feed wild animals (including monkeys and wild pigs).

Local tourism industry

11. MS CLAUDIA MO (in Chinese): President, the Financial Secretary said last month that visitor arrivals in 2018 would exceed 60 million, breaking the record of 2014. Regarding the local tourism industry, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) in respect of (i) overnight visitors to Hong Kong, (ii) same-day visitors to Hong Kong and (iii) all visitors to Hong Kong respectively, of their overall numbers and annual growth rates and, among them, the relevant figures respectively for those who came from the Mainland and other places, in each of the years from 2013 to 2018 (set out in tables of the same format as the table below);

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4629

(i) Overnight visitors to Hong Kong Overall From the Mainland From other places Number Annual Number Annual Number Annual Year of growth of growth of growth arrivals rate arrivals rate arrivals rate 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

(2) whether there was an increase in the number of visitors to Hong Kong in the past three months as compared with the preceding three months; if so, of the markets with the major growth; whether it has studied the reasons for the growth in the number of visitors, and whether those reasons include the recent commissioning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB") and the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link;

(3) of the visitor throughput of the various boundary control points in each month of last year;

(4) as the Financial Secretary pointed out last month that to continuously strengthen the tourism industry is an integral part of the Government to "stabilize the economy", of the new measures put in place by the Government to balance the economic contributions made by the tourism industry and its impact on the daily lives of members of the public;

(5) whether it will roll out new measures in the coming three months to alleviate the problem of an excessive number of visitors in Tung Chung caused by the commissioning of HZMB;

(6) whether it will consider setting up a steering committee led by the Chief Secretary for Administration to take charge of the co-ordination among the various policy bureaux and government 4630 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

departments on handling and following up the impacts of visitors on people's livelihood, as well as formulating mitigation measures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(7) whether it will discuss with the Central Authorities the tightening of the Individual Visit Scheme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(8) as the Financial Secretary indicated last month that the Government would consider relaxing the visa arrangements for residents of the Belt and Road countries and regions to visit Hong Kong, of the Belt and Road countries and regions with which the Government is holding or plans to hold discussions on the relevant arrangements, as well as the details of the discussions?

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, the Government attaches great importance to the sustainable and healthy development of the tourism industry. Whilst ensuring the industry's stable and orderly growth, we also seek to minimize as far as possible the impact of tourist activities on the local community. With the relevant bureaux and departments consulted, our reply to the question raised by Ms Claudia MO is set out below.

(1) The figures and the annual growth rate of overnight, same-day, and overall visitor arrivals to Hong Kong provided by the Hong Kong Tourism Board ("HKTB"), as well as the breakdown of number of visitors from the Mainland and non-Mainland source markets, are at Annex 1.

(2) and (3)

The number of visitor arrivals to Hong Kong during September to November 2018 increased by about 500 000 as compared to that during June to August, and increased by about 11.5% as compared to the same period in 2017. Among them, the number of arrivals in October and November 2018 grew by 11.5% and 20.6% over a year LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4631

earlier respectively, while those from the Mainland surged by 15.4% and 25.8% respectively. These show that the rise of Mainland visitor arrivals is the main driver of overall visitor arrival growth after the commencement of services of the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link ("XRL") and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB") which commenced operation on 23 September and 24 October 2018 respectively. Although the number of visitors using other control points has seemingly declined during the same period, it is likely that some visitors (same-day visitors in particular) came visiting Hong Kong for experiencing the newly opened XRL and HZMB. Whether XRL and HZMB will become the main control points used by new visitors remains to be seen, and the Government will continue to monitor the situation closely.

The monthly figures of visitor throughput of various boundary control points in 2018 are provided at Annex 2.

(4) In view of the steady growth in overall visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in recent years and the successive commissioning of various cross-boundary infrastructures, the Government has strived to increase and improve Hong Kong's tourism facilities, as well as to enhance the city's tourist-receiving capacity. In the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong's Tourism Industry published in October 2017, one of the four development strategies therein is to nurture and develop tourism products and initiatives with local and international characteristics to cater for the needs and preferences of different visitor segments, thereby diverting tourists to sightsee and shop in different districts of Hong Kong as planned, and increasing the overall economic benefits brought by the tourism industry to all citizens in Hong Kong.

The Government is developing new tourist attractions and implementing various cultural and creative tourism projects in different districts, as well as promoting green tourism development in New Territories and outlying islands along the principles of nature conservation and sustainable development. Apart from the 4632 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

revitalization of Dr SUN Yat-sen Historical Trail completed earlier on and the promotion campaign "Old Town Central" launched by HKTB, the Government will enhance the appeal of Sham Shui Po and Wan Chai as tourism spots, through collaboration with the Hong Kong Design Centre and the Hong Kong Comics and Animation Federation, by launching the "Design District Hong Kong" project, which comprises public art place-making works, creative tourism events, local comic characters with Hong Kong's originality, multimedia and creative technology, etc. HKTB also rolled out the "Hong Kong Neighbourhoods―Sham Shui Po" campaign in September 2018, which encourages visitors to explore the district and experience the local culture and characteristics. Besides, a number of facilities in the West Kowloon Cultural District will also be completed in phases in the next few years. This, coupled with HKTB's efforts in promoting various activities in relation to traditional festivals with local distinctive characteristics, can also entice more tourists to patronize different districts of Hong Kong.

In respect of theme parks, the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort is taking forward its expansion and development plan. Following the launch of new stage show "Moana: A Homecoming Celebration" last year, the new ride "Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle!" will be opened this year. Other attractions will also be completed progressively in the coming years. As regards the Ocean Park, it is taking forward its all-weather water park and two new hotels. Whilst one of the hotels was soft-launched in October 2018, the water park and the other hotel will be completed progressively by 2021.

Furthermore, the Government has been pragmatic in tackling problems brought about by tourist flows in different districts. In view of the inconvenience caused by inbound tour groups to the community, the Government has, in collaboration with the trade, adopted various targeted measures to minimize the impact to the community. Such measures include encouraging tour coaches to use legal parking spaces, appealing to the trade to maintain order when receiving tour groups and make good use of information LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4633

technology to strengthen visitor and vehicular flow control, etc. As regards crowd management, in case of tourists crowding up in certain areas, the Police will deploy more manpower on a need basis to maintain public order and public safety, as well as smooth traffic flow thereat.

(5) Since the commissioning of HZMB, the Government has been monitoring the vehicular and passenger flows crossing the border through HZMB and the operation of the Hong Kong Port ("HKP"). The Government has convened several inter-departmental meetings and rolled out various measures within a short period of time to alleviate the pressure on HKP and areas nearby. The measures include: simplifying the application arrangements for domestic coaches to enter the HKP's designated pick-up areas; launching a pre-booking system for group visitors taking shuttle buses; coordinating the local trade in easing the visitor flow near HKP and encouraging them (including operators of the tourist attractions) to launch travel itineraries and products to help divert tourists; and improving the queuing and boarding/alighting arrangements of Route B6 in Tung Chung, such as arranging passengers to buy return tickets in advance, arranging passengers to get aboard two buses at a time during peak hours, and deploying more staff and mounting railings to facilitate passengers boarding in a swift and orderly manner, in order to minimize the impact on local residents. Moreover, the Police has, depending on the developing crowd situation, suitably deployed additional manpower to maintain public order and public safety on site.

After the implementation of the aforementioned measures, the situation in Tung Chung has improved since late November 2018. Meanwhile, the passenger flow of HZMB in the last weekend of December was almost 30% less than that of the peak in mid-November. To further alleviate the impact of tourist activities on Tung Chung residents, the government departments concerned are actively processing the occupation application of the new public transport interchange ("PTI") at Citygate with a view to securing the early completion of the acceptance inspection to provide additional 4634 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

pick-up/drop-off spaces for use by franchised buses. By the time the PTI is commissioned, the Transport Department ("TD") will relocate the bus stop of Route B6 now located in Tung Chung Town Centre to reduce the impact of tourist activities on residents nearby. Furthermore, in view of Islands District Council Members' concerns and suggestions, TD has looked into and evaluated the proposals of temporary relocation of Route B6 prior to the commissioning of the new PTI. Consultation with the Islands District Council on the evaluation findings is under way.

The Government will continue to closely monitor the implementation of the various measures and make adjustments as necessary.

(6) High-level tourism coordinating meetings are chaired by the Financial Secretary. Two meetings were already convened in 2017 and 2018. At the meetings, the Financial Secretary directed bureaux and departments to drive the implementation of various tourism-related measures in the areas of tourist support and management, planning of tourism facilities and transport support, and tourism diversification through closer cooperation and coordination.

The Tourism Commission ("TC") will continue to play its role in tourism policy planning and, in accordance with the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong's Tourism Industry, collaborate with relevant bureaux and departments, as well as different stakeholders including HKTB and the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, to ensure the industry's stable and orderly growth and seek to minimize as far as possible the impact of tourist activities on the local community at the same time.

(7) The Government attaches great importance to the policy for Mainland tourists to visit Hong Kong as it is crucial to the Government's overall administration and planning. TC will continue to closely monitor the travel patterns of Mainland tourists and maintain close liaison with the Mainland authorities on relevant arrangements.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4635

(8) Hong Kong has all along adopted an open immigration policy to facilitate entry of bona-fide visitors. At present, nationals of about 170 foreign countries and territories, including some Belt and Road countries, may visit Hong Kong visa-free.

The Government reviews its visa policy from time to time. Factors to be considered include immigration control and security, bilateral economic, social and cultural ties between Hong Kong and the countries concerned, track records of its nationals visiting Hong Kong and the circumstances of the individual country. In negotiating mutual visa exemption arrangements with the Belt and Road countries, the Government will make holistic consideration with a view to providing more travel convenience to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport holders and genuine visitors to Hong Kong on the one hand, and maintaining effective immigration control on the other.

Annex 1

Number and growth rate of overnight, same-day, and overall visitor arrivals to Hong Kong, 2013 to 2018

(i) Overnight visitors to Hong Kong

Overall From the Mainland From other places Annual Annual Annual Year Number of growth Number of growth Number of growth arrivals rate arrivals rate arrivals rate (%) (%) (%) 2013 25 661 072 +8.0 17 089 509 +13.1 8 571 563 -1.0 2014 27 770 459 +8.2 19 077 014 +11.6 8 693 445 +1.4 2015 26 686 026 -3.9 17 996 827 -5.7 8 689 199 * 2016 26 552 681 -0.5 17 364 946 -3.5 9 187 735 +5.7 2017 27 884 543 +5.0 18 526 210 +6.7 9 358 333 +1.9 2018 (January to 26 351 767 +4.5 17 971 309 +7.0 8 380 458 -0.4 November)

4636 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(ii) Same-day visitors to Hong Kong

Overall From the Mainland From other places Annual Annual Annual Year Number of growth Number of growth Number of growth arrivals rate arrivals rate arrivals rate (%) (%) (%) 2013 28 637 732 +15.3 23 655 768 +19.5 4 981 964 -1.2 2014 33 068 377 +15.5 28 170 661 +19.1 4 897 716 -1.7 2015 32 621 570 -1.4 27 845 533 -1.2 4 776 037 -2.5 2016 30 102 222 -7.7 25 413 199 -8.7 4 689 023 -1.8 2017 30 587 614 +1.6 25 919 049 +2.0 4 668 565 -0.4 2018 (January to 32 209 520 +16.4 27 945 294 +19.3 4 264 226 +0.2 November)

(iii) Overall visitors to Hong Kong

Overall From the Mainland From other places Annual Annual Annual Year Number of growth Number of growth Number of growth arrivals rate arrivals rate arrivals rate (%) (%) (%) 2013 54 298 804 +11.7 40 745 277 +16.7 13 553 527 -1.1 2014 60 838 836 +12.0 47 247 675 +16.0 13 591 161 +0.3 2015 59 307 596 -2.5 45 842 360 -3.0 13 465 236 -0.9 2016 56 654 903 -4.5 42 778 145 -6.7 13 876 758 +3.1 2017 58 472 157 +3.2 44 445 259 +3.9 14 026 898 +1.1 2018 (January to 58 561 287 +10.7 45 916 603 +14.2 12 644 684 -0.2 November)

Notes:

* Annual growth rate is between -0.05% and +0.05%.

Source: Hong Kong Tourism Board

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4637

Annex 2

Monthly visitor throughput of various boundary control points in 2018 (in thousand)

Airport Lok Ma Chau Man Kam To Sha Tau Kok Arrival Arrival Arrival Arrival Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and departure departure departure departure Jan 1 183 1 241 2 424 512 368 880 112 81 193 50 42 92 (+5.8%) (+1.2%) (+3.4%) (+17.1%) (+1.5%) (+10.0%) (-7.1%) (-6.2%) (-6.7%) (-14.3%) (-9.2%) (-12.0%) Feb 1 154 1 052 2 206 376 393 769 111 79 190 57 47 103 (+4.1%) (+11.8%) (+7.7%) (+14.1%) (+33.9%) (+23.5%) (+51.3%) (+33.9%) (+43.6%) (+50.7%) (+39.8%) (+45.6%) Mar 1 272 1 142 2 414 435 346 781 96 73 170 43 37 80 (+12.5%) (+6.3%) (+9.5%) (-6.0%) (+22.0%) (+4.7%) (+20.9%) (+17.2%) (+19.3%) (+13.4%) (+16.9%) (+15.0%) Apr 1 165 1 173 2 338 520 358 878 106 73 179 47 37 84 (+5.8%) (+14.3%) (+9.9%) (-0.9%) (+19.3%) (+6.5%) (+24.5%) (+14.4%) (+20.2%) (+16.3%) (+11.5%) (+14.2%) May 1 176 1 100 2 276 466 381 847 94 69 162 43 37 80 (+7.5%) (+3.4%) (+5.5%) (-3.9%) (+27.1%) (+7.9%) (+14.2%) (+9.3%) (+12.1%) (+6.0%) (+6.8%) (+6.3%) Jun 1 169 1 071 2 240 409 333 741 88 62 150 41 35 76 (+6.7%) (+8.6%) (+7.6%) (-4.2%) (+23.4%) (+6.5%) (+24.0%) (+10.1%) (+17.9%) (+9.4%) (+7.7%) (+8.6%) Jul 1 136 1 135 2 271 529 386 915 101 69 171 52 42 94 (+1.0%) (+2.3%) (+1.6%) (-13.6%) (+16.2%) (-3.1%) (+10.8%) (+2.7%) (+7.4%) (-0.1%) (-0.4%) (-0.3%) Aug 1 256 1 153 2 409 547 433 980 106 69 175 55 46 101 (+5.0%) (+4.3%) (+4.7%) (-2.2%) (+11.3%) (+3.3%) (+25.0%) (+11.6%) (+19.3%) (+16.6%) (+15.3%) (+16.0%) Sep 1 021 1 064 2 085 404 302 706 91 60 150 41 33 75 (-0.3%) (+2.5%) (+1.1%) (-21.9%) (+5.3%) (-12.2%) (-2.5%) (-14.5%) (-7.6%) (-1.4%) (-0.3%) (-0.9%) Oct 1 309 1 113 2 422 463 402 865 98 67 165 49 42 91 (+1.6%) (-0.8%) (+0.5%) (-18.5%) (+2.5%) (-9.9%) (+0.9%) (-7.9%) (-2.9%) (+5.2%) (+5.9%) (+5.5%) Nov 1 232 1 157 2 390 478 389 867 90 58 148 41 33 75 (+4.5%) (+4.0%) (+4.3%) (-15.9%) (+19.2%) (-3.1%) (-9.2%) (-11.7%) (-10.2%) (-2.6%) (-6.3%) (-4.3%)

Notes:

As visitor throughput of River Trade Terminal is smaller than 1 000, the figures are excluded from this table.

( ) Figures in brackets are year-on-year rates of change.

(*) Year-on-year rate of change is between -0.05% and +0.05%.

Source: Immigration Department

Monthly visitor throughput of various boundary control points in 2018 (in thousand) (Cont'd)

Shenzhen Bay Hung Hom Lo Wu Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Arrival Arrival Arrival Arrival Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and departure departure departure departure Jan 929 910 1 839 104 98 202 998 1 072 2 070 1 026 977 2 002 (-6.8%) (-3.9%) (-5.4%) (-6.0%) (+0.5%) (-3.0%) (-9.7%) (-7.5%) (-8.6%) (-4.3%) (-5.6%) (-4.9%) Feb 997 1 016 2 014 108 103 211 1 058 1 159 2 217 974 919 1 893 (+52.3%) (+33.4%) (+42.1%) (+33.9%) (+22.3%) (+28.0%) (+39.0%) (+40.4%) (+39.7%) (+31.0%) (+20.5%) (+25.7%) 4638 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Shenzhen Bay Hung Hom Lo Wu Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Arrival Arrival Arrival Arrival Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and departure departure departure departure Mar 815 841 1 656 98 93 191 897 966 1 863 921 866 1 787 (+17.3%) (+16.6%) (+16.9%) (+11.7%) (+11.9%) (+11.8%) (+10.8%) (+16.0%) (+13.4%) (+2.7%) (-3.0%) (-0.1%) Apr 916 868 1 784 114 102 216 999 1 051 2 050 1 024 930 1 954 (+22.2%) (+15.2%) (+18.7%) (+13.9%) (+12.8%) (+13.3%) (+15.8%) (+18.8%) (+17.4%) (+12.2%) (+2.9%) (+7.6%) May 826 874 1 700 102 97 199 912 995 1 907 933 872 1 805 (+14.5%) (+12.5%) (+13.5%) (+13.0%) (+12.2%) (+12.6%) (+11.2%) (+15.2%) (+13.2%) (+6.3%) (-1.8%) (+2.2%) Jun 802 829 1 632 96 89 184 873 927 1 800 891 815 1 706 (+23.6%) (+19.9%) (+21.7%) (+20.4%) (+19.4%) (+19.9%) (+20.5%) (+25.7%) (+23.2%) (+15.5%) (+5.5%) (+10.5%) Jul 971 958 1 929 122 110 232 1 072 1 128 2 201 1 058 959 2 017 (+12.9%) (+11.1%) (+12.0%) (+17.5%) (+14.0%) (+15.8%) (+11.1%) (+12.0%) (+11.6%) (+13.3%) (+5.0%) (+9.2%) Aug 1 044 1 072 2 116 128 117 246 1 162 1 266 2 428 1 120 1 024 2 144 (+27.4%) (+24.3%) (+25.9%) (+27.3%) (+23.6%) (+25.5%) (+23.7%) (+25.2%) (+24.5%) (+28.1%) (+20.2%) (+24.2%) Sep 836 825 1 661 81 73 154 884 931 1 816 901 813 1 715 (+3.9%) (+5.2%) (+4.6%) (-7.3%) (-4.4%) (-5.9%) (+5.1%) (+7.4%) (+6.3%) (+0.8%) (-4.0%) (-1.5%) Oct 901 995 1 896 74 74 148 982 1 093 2 076 888 841 1 729 (+5.2%) (+8.3%) (+6.8%) (-33.1%) (-33.9%) (-33.5%) (+2.5%) (+4.8%) (+3.7%) (-4.0%) (-4.8%) (-4.4%) Nov 814 870 1 684 62 54 116 879 938 1 818 821 734 1 555 (+1.2%) (+8.4%) (+4.8%) (-37.7%) (-38.0%) (-37.9%) (-0.8%) (+0.3%) (-0.3%) (-7.0%) (-10.6%) (-8.7%)

Notes:

As visitor throughput of River Trade Terminal is smaller than 1 000, the figures are excluded from this table.

( ) Figures in brackets are year-on-year rates of change.

(*) Year-on-year rate of change is between -0.05% and +0.05%.

Source: Immigration Department

Monthly visitor throughput of various boundary control points in 2018 (in thousand) (Cont'd)

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Express Rail Link West Kowloon China Ferry Terminal Macau Ferry Terminal Bridge Arrival Arrival Arrival Arrival Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and departure departure departure departure Jan n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 161 201 361 230 429 659 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a (-9.9%) (-4.7%) (-7.1%) (-8.6%) (+41.6%) (+18.8%) Feb n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 177 201 378 240 312 552 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a (+25.8%) (+5.5%) (+14.1%) (+8.3%) (+6.1%) (+7.1%) Mar n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 142 176 318 227 378 605 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a (+10.4%) (-4.8%) (+1.5%) (+10.6%) (+6.2%) (+7.8%) Apr n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 144 184 328 222 410 632 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a (+8.7%) (+2.1%) (+4.9%) (+2.2%) (+1.4%) (+1.6%) May n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 140 183 323 215 395 610 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a (+7.2%) (-1.5%) (+2.1%) (-0.7%) (-1.5%) (-1.2%) Jun n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 133 164 297 202 335 537 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a (+9.7%) (*) (+4.1%) (+5.1%) (+1.0%) (+2.5%) Jul n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 162 201 363 224 422 646 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a (+7.3%) (-2.8%) (+1.4%) (-1.2%) (-10.6%) (-7.6%) Aug n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 184 228 412 251 474 725 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a (+27.4%) (+18.0%) (+22.0%) (+13.2%) (+11.8%) (+12.3%) Sep 143 106 250 n/a n/a n/a 117 143 260 178 312 490 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a (+9.3%) (-6.8%) (-0.2%) (-3.3%) (-21.4%) (-15.7%) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4639

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Express Rail Link West Kowloon China Ferry Terminal Macau Ferry Terminal Bridge Arrival Arrival Arrival Arrival Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and departure departure departure departure Oct 615 556 1 171 105 112 217 140 180 320 216 373 589 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a (-8.4%) (-11.3%) (-10.0%) (-6.3%) (-16.6%) (-13.1%) Nov 531 462 993 693 824 1 518 113 139 252 195 250 445 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a (-20.5%) (-29.5%) (-25.7%) (-13.8%) (-52.0%) (-40.5%)

Notes:

As visitor throughput of River Trade Terminal is smaller than 1 000, the figures are excluded from this table.

( ) Figures in brackets are year-on-year rates of change.

(*) Year-on-year rate of change is between -0.05% and +0.05%.

Source: Immigration Department

Monthly visitor throughput of various boundary control points in 2018 (in thousand) (Cont'd)

Harbour Control Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Arrival Arrival Arrival and Arrival Departure Arrival Departure and Arrival Departure and departure departure departure Jan 3 1 4 3 3 6 23 22 45 (+32.3%) (-4.5%) (+16.4%) (-4.8%) (+14.4%) (+3.4%) (+9.3%) (+3.1%) (+6.2%) Feb 2 1 3 4 3 7 23 24 47 (-17.3%) (-16.5%) (-16.9%) (+26.7%) (+40.8%) (+32.9%) (-6.7%) (-3.2%) (-5.0%) Mar 3 2 4 3 2 5 43 44 86 (-12.2%) (-13.8%) (-12.8%) (+23.5%) (+31.2%) (+26.8%) (-8.5%) (-8.7%) (-8.6%) Apr 2 2 4 3 3 6 40 41 81 (-27.3%) (-22.2%) (-25.2%) (-0.4%) (-8.3%) (-4.6%) (-10.6%) (-15.8%) (-13.3%) May 2 2 4 3 2 5 41 39 80 (-6.4%) (-14.7%) (-10.5%) (+6.6%) (+3.7%) (+5.3%) (+74.1%) (+91.1%) (+81.9%) Jun 2 1 3 3 2 5 35 33 68 (-17.1%) (-19.2%) (-18.0%) (-4.9%) (-9.2%) (-6.9%) (+13.8%) (+28.2%) (+20.4%) Jul 2 1 3 4 3 7 28 26 55 (-23.6%) (-34.7%) (-28.9%) (+0.7%) (+2.8%) (+1.6%) (-31.0%) (-28.1%) (-29.7%) Aug 2 2 4 4 4 8 37 37 75 (-12.1%) (-10.1%) (-11.2%) (+1.6%) (+37.7%) (+16.3%) (+21.5%) (+21.3%) (+21.4%) Sep 2 1 3 3 2 5 15 16 31 (+0.1%) (-20.5%) (-8.3%) (+0.2%) (+17.8%) (+7.6%) (-56.6%) (-46.1%) (-51.9%) Oct 2 2 4 3 3 6 39 41 80 (+0.3%) (-18.3%) (-8.4%) (-18.6%) (+1.5%) (-9.6%) (+1.4%) (+0.6%) (+1.0%) Nov 2 2 4 3 3 6 41 38 79 (+14.4%) (+16.7%) (+15.4%) (-5.6%) (+5.2%) (-0.5%) (+11.1%) (-9.2%) (+0.3%)

Notes:

As visitor throughput of River Trade Terminal is smaller than 1 000, the figures are excluded from this table.

( ) Figures in brackets are year-on-year rates of change.

(*) Year-on-year rate of change is between -0.05% and +0.05%.

Source: Immigration Department

4640 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Assistance provided to small and medium enterprises

12. MR CHAN CHUN-YING (in Chinese): President, to relieve the impacts of the Sino-United States trade conflicts on the small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") of Hong Kong, the Government has put in place a number of measures since the middle of last year. Such measures include the three enhancement measures for the 80% Guarantee Product under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme ("the Scheme") introduced by the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Insurance Limited in November last year, namely, (i) increasing the maximum loan amount to HK$15 million, (ii) reducing the guarantee fee by 50%, and (iii) lengthening the maximum loan guarantee period to seven years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the number of applications received under the Scheme, and the total amount of loans involved in those applications, have increased since the introduction of the aforesaid enhancement measures; whether it has assessed if the effectiveness of such measures meets the expectations; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the negative, of the reasons for that, and the specific improvement measures in place;

(2) given that the Scheme stipulates that "the loans must be used for providing general working capital for the enterprises' business operations, acquisition of equipment or assets in relation to the enterprises' business or refinancing any facilities with a guarantee issued under the Scheme", of a breakdown by usage of the amount of the loans approved under the Scheme since November last year and their respective percentages in the total loan amount; whether it has studied SMEs' demand for capital as reflected by these figures; if so, of the outcome; and

(3) notwithstanding that China and the United States have restarted a three-month negotiation on their trade conflicts since early last month, there are comments that the trade conflicts are unlikely to be fully resolved in the short run, whether the Government has any medium and long term solutions to improve the business environment of SMEs (e.g. lowering various kinds of government fees and charges, reducing taxes, and attracting more tourists to Hong Kong so as to stimulate domestic consumption and sustain economic growth)?

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4641

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, our reply to the three parts of the question is as follow:

(1) The HKMC Insurance Limited ("HKMCI") implemented several enhancements to the special concessionary measures under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme ("SFGS") (i.e. the 80% guarantee product) on 19 November 2018, including reducing the guarantee fee rates by 50%; increasing the maximum loan amount from $12 million to $15 million; and lengthening the maximum loan guarantee period from five years to seven years. The enhancements would last till 30 June 2019. The Government has also extended the application period of the special concessionary measures to 30 June 2019.

Since the launch of the enhancement measures, there has been a marked increase in the number of applications received and the amount of loan involved for the 80% guarantee product.

The number of applications approved in December 2018 and the amount of loan involved have increased month-on-month by 31% and 40% respectively, and year-on-year by 46% and 53% respectively (see the table below for details).

November 2018 December 2018 Increase Number of 131 172 +31% Applications Approved Amount of Loan 540 million 757 million +40% Involved in Approved Applications (HKD)

December 2017 December 2018 Increase Number of 118 172 +46% Applications Approved Amount of Loan 496 million 757 million +53% Involved in Approved Applications (HKD)

4642 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

As seen from the number of approved applications in the above tables, enterprises reacted favourably to the enhancement measures, reflecting the effectiveness of the new measures in assisting enterprises in obtaining financing. HKMCI will continue to maintain dialogue with business chambers and associations as well as participating lenders, and endeavour to reduce the financing burden of local enterprises and assist enterprises in obtaining financing through SFGS.

(2) As shown from the applications approved under the special concessionary measures under SFGS from November to end-December of last year, the loans applied are mainly for providing general working capital for enterprises' business operations. Details can be found in the table below:

Number of Percentage Applications Approved of Use of Loan (Amount of Loan Involved in Individual (can be more than one) HKD) Use to November December Total Total 2018 2018 1. Providing general 118 165 283 93.4% working capital for (471 (710 (1.181 (91.1%) the enterprises' million) million) billion) business operations 2. Refinancing 0 0 0 0% existing (0) (0) (0) (0%) loan(s)/facility(ies) guaranteed under SFGS 3. Providing general 13 7 20 6.6% working capital for (69 (47 (116 (8.9%) the enterprises' million) million) million) business operations and refinancing existing loan(s)/facility(ies) guaranteed under SFGS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4643

Number of Percentage Applications Approved of Use of Loan (Amount of Loan Involved in Individual (can be more than one) HKD) Use to November December Total Total 2018 2018 4. Acquisition of 0 0 0 0% equipment or assets (0) (0) (0) (0%) to facilitate business operations of the enterprises 131 172 303 100% Total (540 (757 (1.297 (100%) million) million) billion)

From the accumulated number of applications approved under the special concessionary measures under SFGS since its launch to the end of last year, it is noted that the use of loan is also mainly to provide general working capital for enterprises' business operations. Details can be found in the table below:

(As at end-December 2018) Number of Percentage Use of Loan Applications of Individual (can be more than one) Approved Use to Total 1. Providing general working capital 13 557 93.1% for the enterprises' business operations 2. Refinancing existing 29 0.2% loan(s)/facility(ies) guaranteed under SFGS 3. Providing general working capital 950 6.5% for the enterprises' business operations and refinancing existing loan(s)/facility(ies) guaranteed under SFGS 4. Acquisition of equipment or assets 22 0.2% to facilitate business operations of the enterprises Total 14 558 100%

4644 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(3) The Government has been closely monitoring developments of the China-United States trade conflict and their impact on Hong Kong economy, maintaining close communication and exchanging information with the trade, and discussing with them how to respond. The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and the Trade and Industry Department ("TID") have met with major local chambers and associations of small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") many times to gauge their views. TID has also set up a dedicated liaison platform for better communication with and dissemination of information to the trade. Apart from the enhancements to SFGS as mentioned above, we have introduced a number of support measures last year, including:

(i) The Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation has introduced in phases special enhanced measures to strengthen protection for Hong Kong exporters affected by the United States tariff measures, including providing six free buyer credit assessment for each Hong Kong exporter; providing 30% discount on premium for "Small Business Policy" ("SBP") holders (i.e. Hong Kong exporters with annual sales turnover less than $50 million); increasing the credit limit on the United States buyers for SBP holders by 20% to a maximum of $5 million; and providing free pre-shipment cover for SBP holders affected by the United States tariff measures;

(ii) TID has been strengthening the dissemination of information in respect of the Hong Kong rules of origin to the trade and following up with the trade on the related review; and

(iii) The Hong Kong Trade Development Council ("TDC") organizes free seminars with expert speakers to help the trade understand the relevant trade measures and possible responses, and will also continue to help the trade develop emerging markets and production base through organizing trade missions, business matching services, etc.

In addition, the Government has also strengthened support to the trade in developing markets. The Government has launched the ASEAN Programme under the Dedicated Fund on Branding, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4645

Upgrading and Domestic Sales ("BUD Fund") on 1 August 2018 to provide funding support to individual non-listed Hong Kong enterprises to undertake projects for enhancing their competitiveness and furthering business development in the ASEAN market. Enterprises can obtain a maximum funding of $1 million on a matching basis for carrying out up to 10 ASEAN projects. In addition, to strengthen support to SMEs in exploring new markets and new business opportunities, the cumulative funding ceiling per enterprise for the current SME Export Marketing Fund and the Mainland Programme under the BUD Fund has been doubled, i.e. from $200,000 and $500,000 to $400,000 and $1,000,000 respectively.

Moreover, the Government has capped the charge for each import and export declaration at $200 since 1 August 2018, so as to further lower the cost of importing and exporting high-value goods(1) to and from Hong Kong, and enhance Hong Kong's advantage as a trading hub for these goods. SMEs can also benefit from the measure.

The outcome of the meeting between the Chinese and the United States leaders on the margin of the G20 Leaders' Summit was positive. We are pleased to see that China and the United States return to the negotiation table and continue dialogue on trade matters. The above progress can in the short run alleviate the tense sentiment in the market.

In the medium to long term, the Government will continue to closely monitor developments, maintain close communication with the trade and adopt a multipronged approach. We will continue to establish stronger bilateral ties with like-minded trading partners and deepen Hong Kong's economic integration with different parts of the world through negotiating and forging Free Trade Agreements and investment agreements. We will expand our overseas Economic and Trade Office coverage to new partners and markets with close economic and trade relations with Hong Kong and with development potential, so as to tap business opportunities and boost foreign direct

(1) This refers to goods with value above $1.644 million. Prior to implementation of the cap, import and export of goods exceeding the above value threshold used to draw declaration charges above $200. 4646 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

investment into Hong Kong. We will continue to organize business missions with TDC for the trade to explore business opportunities in new markets. We will also continue to assist the trade in grasping the opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

In addition, the Government will continue to promote the development of tourism industry to drive spending and support the continued growth of the Hong Kong economy. We will support the Hong Kong Tourism Board's promotion work in overseas and Mainland source markets, nurture and develop tourism projects and products with Hong Kong and international characteristics, including culture, heritage, green and creative tourism, strengthen and enhance Hong Kong's status as a destination for Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition tourism, a regional cruise hub as well as the Events Capital of Asia to attract more visitors to Hong Kong.

Opening up School Facilities for Promotion of Sports Development Scheme

13. MR MA FUNG-KWOK (in Chinese): President, since the last school year, the Education Bureau and the Home Affairs Bureau have jointly launched the Opening up School Facilities for Promotion of Sports Development Scheme ("the Scheme"). Through providing financial incentives, the Scheme encourages schools to hire out their facilities to sports organizations. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the details, as set out in the table below, of the programmes which were held/have been confirmed to be held under the Scheme (i) in the last school year and (ii) in the current school year (set out separately in tables of the same format as the table below);

School year: ______Name of Name of School Number of Type of Number of sports school facilities programmes sports participants organization (District) hired

Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: Total:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4647

(2) as the authorities indicated that they would collect views on the Scheme from the schools and sports organizations concerned after the end of the last school year, of the views so collected; the enhancement measures taken by the authorities in the light of such views; whether these measures include (i) further encouraging sports organizations and schools to participate in the Scheme, and (ii) enhancing the matching between sports organizations and schools; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) as some sports organizations have relayed that the levels of the hire charges for school facilities levied by some schools are higher than the relevant levels of charges for the facilities under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, whether the authorities will (i) encourage such schools to lower their hire charges and (ii) provide subsidies to sports organizations for hiring school facilities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) whether the authorities will expand the lists of sports organizations eligible for participating in the Scheme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(5) given that sports organizations participating in the Scheme are required to take out, on their own, insurance with adequate coverage (including third party risks insurance) for the programmes to be held by them in schools, whether the authorities will consider collectively purchasing the required insurance for such sports organizations so as to boost the incentives for sports organizations to participate in the Scheme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Chinese): President, since its launch in the 2017-2018 school year, the Opening up School Facilities for Promotion of Sports Development Scheme ("the Scheme") has been well received by the sports sector and schools. In consultation with the Education Bureau, the consolidated reply to the questions raised by Mr MA Fung-kwok is as follows:

(1) The details of the programmes organized under the Scheme in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years are at Annex.

4648 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(2) According to the respective questionnaire surveys conducted by the Education Bureau and the Home Affairs Bureau, the feedback of participating schools and eligible sports organizations of the Scheme in its first year of operation was positive.

Participating schools were of the view that the Scheme could strengthen their community connection, enable the community to make effective use of schools' facilities and collaborate in the development of sports, provide more opportunities for students to participate in physical activities, and enhance the sporting culture on campus. On the other hand, they also suggest that the Government should step up promotion of the Scheme and increase the number of eligible sports organizations so that more students and sports organizations could be benefited.

Sports organizations generally considered that the Scheme could provide a wider range of sports venues, facilitate promotion of their respective sports and reaching out to target participants, help build partnerships with schools, as well as contribute to the promotion of sports in the community.

Having regard to the feedback collected, we have implemented a number of improvement measures in the 2018-2019 school year, which include:

- increasing the amount of subsidy for schools from $20,000 to $30,000 for the first programme, and from $15,000 to $20,000 for each subsequent progamme. The cap of the subsidy is also raised from $80,000 to $130,000 for each school per school year;

- extending the Scheme to the 72 schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme;

- increasing the number of eligible sports organizations from 81 to 117;

- encouraging participating schools to charge sports organizations at the reduced rates specified in the guidelines issued by the Education Bureau; and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4649

- arranging briefing sessions for school representatives and sports organizations.

For the 2018-2019 school year, among some 130 schools which indicated willingness to open up their facilities under the Scheme, 31 schools have confirmed opening up their facilities to 25 sports organizations for around 180 squad and young athletes training and district sports activities. In the 2017-2018 school year, 12 schools opened up their facilities to 15 sports organizations for running 38 sports programmes in total, which demonstrates a significantly higher participation of the Scheme in its second year.

(3) The daily operational expenses of public sector schools are mainly subsidized by the Government. The Education Bureau has through the years been issuing guidelines to public sector schools to set out the recommended charges for the hiring of accommodations in schools. Generally speaking, schools should charge hirers on a full-cost recovery basis. Since the operation, target groups, management policies and funding sources of schools and leisure facilities under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") are entirely different, their levels of charges are not directly comparable.

Nonetheless, to encourage more sports organizations to join the Scheme, the Education Bureau has in September 2018 updated the "Guidelines for Levying Charge for Hire of Accommodation in Schools" for public sector schools, and incorporated eligible sports organizations under the Scheme into the category of organizations eligible for reduced rates. The discount rates range from 48% to 86% depending on the types of facilities hired. According to the information provided by schools participating in the Scheme in the 2018-2019 school year, around 90% of them have adopted the reduced rates or even lower fees when charging sports organizations. Some schools even took the initiatives to waive the charges altogether.

Currently, most of the eligible sports organizations are receiving subvention from LCSD or the Home Affairs Department, which covers expenses associated with training, purchase of equipment and rental of sports venues. We consider the present reduced rates 4650 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

adopted by schools under the Scheme are at an affordable level for these eligible sports organizations. Therefore, we have no plan to provide additional subsidy for them.

(4) Given some schools and parents concern that opening up school facilities may bring security and operational issues, and that some places of the sports programmes are also reserved for students, the Scheme is currently opened for "national sports associations" recognized by the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China and their affiliated club members, district sports associations and sports organizations subvented by LCSD. These organizations are experienced with proven track record in organizing sports programmes, so that the participating schools, students and parents could have more confidence in them. If other organizations are interested in hiring school facilities to organize sports programmes, they may collaborate with eligible sports organizations to join the Scheme.

The Education Bureau and the Home Affairs Bureau will continue to enhance the Scheme and take into account schools' feedback in considering whether to further expand the list of sports organizations so that more school facilities can be used for sports activities.

(5) To provide schools with appropriate coverage, the Education Bureau has taken out Block Insurance Policy ("BIP") for aided schools and caput schools, which currently covers their public liability as the occupier and/or landlord and/or property owner. If a school hires out school premises/facilities to outside organizations for holding activities and a user gets injured due to the use of facilities during the hiring period, it is covered by the Public Liability Insurance section of BIP provided that the injury is caused by the negligence of the school. However, the legal liability of outside organizations for accidents caused by their oversight when holding activities in schools falls outside the scope of BIP.

Participating sports organizations of the Scheme are required to take out adequate insurance policy for the use of school facilities, including third party liability insurance, and include the school as the insured as appropriate to ensure adequate protection for staff, property and facilities in the school premises. Given the scale, type of sports, risks involved and number of participants of the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4651

programmes vary, and that the facilities hired are also different, it is more prudent and practical for sports organizations to procure suitable insurance separately having regard to the nature of the programmes organized.

Annex

Opening up School Facilities for Promotion of Sports Development Scheme Details of programmes

School year: 2017-2018 Sports School Number of Type of School Number of Organization (District) Programmes sports facilities participants Eastern SKH Li 5 Basketball, Playground 100 District Fook Hing volleyball Recreation & Secondary Sports School Advancement (Eastern) Association Limited Eastern Force Cheung 4 Archery Covered 247 Archery Club Chuk Shan playground College (Eastern) Hong Kong Hong Kong 1 Badminton Badminton 24 Badminton & Kowloon court Association Chiu Chow Limited Public Association Secondary School (Yau Tsim Mong) Shatin Sports HKTA 1 Baseball Baseball 30 Association Shun Yeung field Baseball Club Primary Sha Tin School (Sha 4 Baseball Baseball 118 Sports Tin) field Association Limited 4652 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Sports School Number of Type of School Number of Organization (District) Programmes sports facilities participants Hong Kong Lung 2 Rope Hall, 150 Rope Cheung skipping activity Skipping Government room Association, Secondary China School (Wong Tai Sin) Hong Kong SKH St. 2 Kendo Hall 200 Kendo Benedict's Association School Limited (Wong Tai Sin) Hong Kong TWGHs S 1 Karting Hall 17 Kart Club C Gaw Limited Memorial School (Kwai Tsing) Hong Kong YOT Tin 5 Ice hockey Synthetic 70 Ice Hockey Ka Ping ice rink Association Primary Limited School (Sai Kung) Explorer HKSKH 1 Handball Playground 23 Sports Club Bishop Hall Secondary School (Kwun Tong) Yan Chai 2 Handball Basketball 60 Hospital court Leap Judo Wong Wha 1 Judo Covered 28 Club San playground/ Secondary activity School (Sai room Sai Kung Kung) 1 Badminton Badminton 20 District court Sports Association Limited LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4653

Sports School Number of Type of School Number of Organization (District) Programmes sports facilities participants Hong Kong Tin Shui 1 Rope Hall 95 Rope Wai skipping Skipping Methodist Club Primary School (Yuen Long) Hong Kong HKTA 2 Baseball Baseball 66 Baseball Shun Yeung field Association Primary Limited School (Sha Tin) Tuen Mun Ho Ngai 5 Basketball Hall, 85 Sports College playground Association (Sponsored Limited by Sik Sik Yuen)(Tuen Mun) Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: 15 sports 12 schools 38 11 types 8 types 1 333 organizations programmes persons

School year: 2018-2019 Estimated Sports School Number of Type of School number of Organization (District) Programmes sports facilities participants Explorer HKSKH 6 Handball Playground 150 Sports Club Bishop Hall Secondary School (Kwun Tong) Hong Kong HKTA 6 Baseball Baseball 86 Baseball Shun Yeung field Association Primary Limited School (Sha Tin) Shatin Sports 6 Baseball Baseball 150 Association field 4654 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Estimated Sports School Number of Type of School number of Organization (District) Programmes sports facilities participants Hong Kong YMCA of 12 Rugby Artificial 314 Rugby Union Hong Kong turf football Christian pitch College (Islands) De La Salle 4 Rugby Grass pitch 80 Secondary School NT (North)

Sai Kung Yan Chai 2 Badminton Hall 60 District Hospital Sports Wong Wha Association San Limited Secondary Leap Judo School (Sai 3 Judo Activity 20 Club Kung) room, playground Hong Kong 3 Rope Activity 120 Rope skipping room, Skipping playground Club Hong Kong 2 Rope Hall 40 & Kowloon skipping Chiu Chow Public Association Secondary School (Yau Tsim Mong) Tin Shui 6 Rope Hall 40 Wai skipping Methodist Primary School (Yuen Long) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4655

Estimated Sports School Number of Type of School number of Organization (District) Programmes sports facilities participants Heung To 6 Rope Pitch 40 Middle skipping School (Sham Shui Po) SKH Li 4 Rope Hall 40 Fook Hing skipping Secondary School (Eastern) Mu Kuang 6 Rope Hall, 40 English skipping playground School (Kwun Tong) Maryknoll 5 Rope Playground 160 Fathers' skipping School (Sham Shui Po) Eastern SKH Li 5 Volleyball Volleyball 20 District Fook Hing court Recreation & Secondary Sports School Advancement (Eastern) Association Limited Central Islamic 2 Baseball Playground 34 Baseball Club Kasim Tuet Memorial College (Eastern) Scout SKH Good 6 Athletics, Hall, 180 Association Shepherd basketball, classroom, of Hong Primary badminton activity Kong, 120th School room Kowloon (Kowloon Group City) 4656 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Estimated Sports School Number of Type of School number of Organization (District) Programmes sports facilities participants Tai Po Lam Tsuen 6 Balance Playground 150 Balance Bike Pub Wong bike Club Fook Luen Mem School (Tai Po) Tuen Mun Ho Ngai 14 Basketball, Basketball 342 Sports College Football court, hall Association (Sponsored Limited by Sik Sik Yuen) (Tuen Mun) Ching 6 Football Basketball 22 Chung Hau court Po Woon Secondary School (Tuen Mun) Yuen Long Buddhist 6 Football Playground 15 Football Club Wing Yan School (Yuen Long) Golden Trust Lung 3 Archery Pitch 60 Archery Cheung Government Secondary School (Wong Tai Sin) Hong Kong YOT Tin 6 Ice hockey Synthetic 300 Ice Hockey Ka Ping ice rink Association Primary Limited School (Sai Kung) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4657

Estimated Sports School Number of Type of School number of Organization (District) Programmes sports facilities participants Fukien 3 Ice hockey Synthetic 90 Secondary ice rink School Affiliated School (Kwun Tong) Hong Kong Yan Chai 1 Rope Hall 35 Rope Hospital skipping Skipping Lan Chi Pat Union Memorial Secondary School (Sai Kung) Eastern Force Cheung 6 Archery Playground 96 Archery Club Chuk Shan College (Eastern) Unicycling Chan's 3 Unicycling Playground 90 Association Creative of Hong School Kong, China (Islands) (Eastern) PLK Chong 2 Unicycling Playground 20 Kee Ting Primary School (Sha Tin) Kwok Man 3 Unicycling Playground 20 School (Islands) HKFEW 3 Unicycling Hall 30 Wong Cho Bau School (Islands) 4658 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Estimated Sports School Number of Type of School number of Organization (District) Programmes sports facilities participants Fukien 3 Unicycling Hall 90 Secondary School Affiliated School (Kwun Tong) The Central Lok Sin 6 Basketball Playground 60 and Western Tong Leung District Kau Kui Recreation College and Sports (Central and Association Western) Tai Po Sports Buddhist 3 Dancing Playground 60 Association Tai Kwong Limited Chi Hong College (Tai Po) Sam Shui 3 Dancing Playground 60 Natives Asso Huen King Wing School (Tai Po) Chinese Chinese 8 Handball, Pitch, 69 YMCA of YMCA walking cycling Hong Kong College football, room, (Sha Tin) cycling and gymnasium physical fitness Attack Islamic 1 Taekwondo Activity 16 Taekwondo Kasim Tuet room Association Memorial College (Eastern) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4659

Estimated Sports School Number of Type of School number of Organization (District) Programmes sports facilities participants Hong Kong Kwok Man 3 Taekwondo Activity 20 Chido School room Taekwondo (Islands) Association Limited Hong Kong True Light 1 Archery Rooftop 18 East Archery Middle sports Club School of ground Leap Judo Hong Kong 1 Judo Rooftop 30 Club (Wan Chai) sports ground Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: 25 sports 31 schools 175 19 types 14 types 3 267 organizations programmes persons

Road safety of non-franchised buses

14. MR HO KAI-MING (in Chinese): President, on 30 November last year, a serious traffic accident involving a non-franchised bus happened on Cheung Tsing Highway in Tsing Yi, causing six deaths and some 30 persons injured as well as arousing public concern. The Transport Department subsequently held a meeting with the trade in respect of the road safety of non-franchised buses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of traffic accidents involving non-franchised buses in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by type of accidents;

(2) of the progress of the authorities' work on formulating guidelines on the working hours, rest times and meal breaks for non-franchised bus captains; and

(3) whether the authorities will take measures (e.g. stepping up law enforcement) to improve the road safety of non-franchised buses; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

4660 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, the Government attaches great importance to road safety and has been adopting a multi-pronged approach to enhancing the road safety of non-franchised buses ("NFBs"). My reply to the various parts of Mr HO Kai-ming's question is as follows:

(1) The number of traffic accidents involving NFBs each year from 2016 to November 2018 by the degree of severity is tabulated below:

Number of accidents

Fatal Serious Slight 2016 6 43 388 2017 8 40 391 2018 (January to November)* 4 28 338

Note:

* Provisional figures

(2) and (3)

The Government has been adopting a multi-pronged approach to enhancing the road safety of NFBs. On law enforcement, the Police have been taking stern and vigorous enforcement actions in recent years to combat improper driving behaviour. To this end, roadside equipment such as red light cameras and speed enforcement cameras as well as mobile instruments such as laser guns, are used for enforcement actions. At the same time, the Police are taking enforcement actions according to the "Selected Traffic Enforcement Priorities" (such as operations that target speeding, use of mobile phones/telecommunications equipment while driving, drink driving, drug driving, etc.). In addition, the Police take regional and territorial level traffic enforcement actions regularly with a view to reminding motorists to stay alert, reducing the risk of traffic accidents and enhancing road safety.

Apart from enforcement, the Government also joins forces with the Road Safety Council to launch publicity and educational activities on a regular basis, and produce announcements of public interest LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4661

("APIs") and publications targeting motorists (including drivers of commercial vehicles) for the promotion of road safety. For example, a new API on television recently produced reminds motorists to "always concentrate when driving" and "stay alert while driving". Every year, the Transport Department ("TD") organizes the Safe Driving and Health Campaign, and produces pamphlets such as Road Safety Bulletin and Non-franchised Bus Bulletin to provide motorists with comprehensive road safety information to enhance their understanding of matters on road safety that require attention. TD also collaborates with the Police in holding regular Road Safety Seminars for Franchised and Non-franchised Bus Captains, at which police officers are invited to give bus captains of franchised buses and NFBs tips on safe driving and analyse causes of traffic accidents so as to enhance the road safety awareness of bus captains and promote good driving behaviour.

In addition, TD holds meetings with the NFB trade regularly to discuss matters on the trade's operation, including operational safety. In response to the recent traffic accident involving an NFB, TD held a special meeting with the trade on 5 December 2018 to discuss ways to enhance operational safety of NFBs, including installing and providing safety devices on NFBs, applying technologies to enhance operational safety, and drawing up guidelines on working hours and rest times for NFB drivers, etc.

Regarding seatbelts, the major NFB operators have been purchasing new buses equipped with seatbelts in recent years. The trade also supports enacting legislation to compulsorily require newly registered NFBs to be fitted with seatbelts. TD will review the suggestions on installing seatbelts on NFBs and requiring passengers to fasten seatbelts. Consideration will be given to various factors, such as safety benefit, technical feasibility, overseas practices, as well as impact on vehicle operation, passengers and the trade, and views from stakeholders, etc.

At the said meeting, TD also suggested that the NFB trade should install other safety devices on vehicles and use technology to enhance safety, including speed limiter, tachograph (commonly 4662 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

known as "blackbox") and electronic stability control system. The trade was in support of these suggestions, and would proactively consider installing relevant devices when procuring new buses. Where actual operational condition permitted, the trade would be willing to introduce a bus driver monitoring system (for example, collision prevention alert system) to some NFBs for testing purposes. TD will offer assistance and advice in that regard.

Meanwhile, TD has been attaching great importance to the occupational health of NFB drivers, and urging the NFB operators to ensure not only operational safety of NFBs, but also a good balance between work and rest for their drivers to avoid fatigue driving. As regards formulating guidelines on the working hours, rest times and meal breaks for NFB drivers, the trade has agreed to the proposal in principle. Since the NFB operation involves different types of services, mainly providing hire services based on the demand of specific passenger groups, the trade considers that the formulation of the details of such guidelines should take into account the existing mode of operation of NFBs. The trade has pledged to continuously engage in further discussions with TD with a view to formulating and implementing relevant guidelines as promptly as possible.

In order to follow up on and expedite the implementation of the above specific measures for enhancing NFBs' operational safety, TD will set up a special working group under its regular meetings with the NFB trade to further discuss and follow up on the aforementioned matters. The working group will hold its first meeting in mid-January 2019.

Administration Guides and the relevant regulations applicable to aided schools and kindergartens

15. MR IP KIN-YUEN (in Chinese): President, regarding the School Administration Guide for aided schools and the Kindergarten Administration Guide for kindergartens joining the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme promulgated by the Education Bureau ("EDB"), as well as the relevant regulations, will the Government inform this Council:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4663

(1) whether the contents of the School Administration Guide were cited in the judgments handed down by courts in the past five years; if so, set out the case numbers of such cases;

(2) whether, in the past five years, EDB received any reports about schools breaching the requirements in the School Administration Guide, or uncovered breaches of this type after investigation; if EDB did, of the details and effectiveness of the follow-up actions taken, and whether there were school authorities ignoring such follow-up actions; if so, how EDB handled the situation;

(3) as some members of the sector have relayed that the guideline for handling staff complaints provided in paragraph 5.5 of the Kindergarten Administration Guide is vague and general (e.g. not providing a detailed approach for handling staff complaints), whether EDB will formulate more specific guidelines (including a recommended procedure);

(4) whether it has assessed if the chapters and sections in the two guides, other than those parts specifying that compliance with the relevant regulations is required, are legally binding; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the details, and whether the two guides have the same legal binding effect; if they do not, of the differences;

(5) given that Regulation 76(2)(a) of the Education Regulations (Cap. 279 sub. leg. A) stipulates the requirement that the dismissal of a teacher in the establishment must be approved by the managers of the school, and Section 6 of the Compendium to Code of Aid for Aided Schools sets out in detail the conditions and procedures for dismissal of teachers by aided schools and for termination of service by their teachers, but these provisions are not applicable to kindergartens joining the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme, whether EDB will introduce relevant provisions for this type of kindergartens; if EDB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(6) whether EDB consulted, in the past decade, members of the sector each time before it amended the School Administration Guide; if EDB did, of the consultation channels involved; if not, the reasons 4664 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

for that, and whether EDB will consult members of the sector when revising the two guides in future; if EDB will not, of the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION (in Chinese): President, all schools (including primary and secondary schools as well as kindergartens ("KGs")) are required to comply with the Education Ordinance, Education Regulations, other legislations, and circulars and guidelines issued by the Education Bureau.

For aided primary and secondary schools, the Government has put in place various measures to facilitate schools' implementation of school-based management, including more flexible funding arrangements, streamlined administrative procedures, and devolved more responsibilities in personnel management, financial and curriculum matters to schools. These measures give schools greater flexibility in their daily operation, resources management and planning for school development. As a result, schools can formulate their own school-based policies which better meet their needs as well as those of their students, develop their own characteristics and enhance the learning outcomes. The School Administration Guide, containing relevant excerpts of the Education Ordinance, Education Regulations, other legislations, and requirements and guidelines from the Education Bureau on different areas for the reference and compliance of aided schools, facilitates schools in achieving the spirit of school-based management by formulating school-based policies and relevant procedures in respect of major areas of school administration and management to ensure smooth daily operation.

For KGs, the Government has implemented the new KG education scheme ("Scheme") starting from the 2017-2018 school year. The Education Bureau has promulgated the implementation details of the Scheme by issuing a series of circulars and guidelines, organizing briefing sessions and uploading the relevant information to the Education Bureau website. In tandem, KGs have to comply with the Operation Manual for Pre-Primary Institutions, the KG Education Curriculum Guide as well as instructions and circulars issued by the Education Bureau. For ease of reference by KGs, the Education Bureau compiled the KG Administration Guide by consolidating the relevant information, delineating some basic principles, providing detailed operating procedures and incorporating some existing practices. Given the differences in nature, operation and funding mode between aided schools and KGs joining the Scheme ("Scheme-KGs"), it is not appropriate to make direct comparison between the two guides. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4665

Regarding the question raised by Mr IP Kin-yuen on the School Administration Guide and the KG Administration Guide, my reply is as follows:

(1) The Education Bureau does not compile statistics on whether the contents of the School Administration Guide were cited in the court judgments. Hence, such information is not available.

(2) When conducting investigations on complaints or financial audit inspections, etc., the Education Bureau has uncovered individual cases of non-compliance, such as not following the established procurement procedures. In such cases, we will obtain further details from the schools concerned and provide them with appropriate guidance and advice, including requiring the schools to make rectifications or formulate follow-up/improvement plans as practicable. Schools generally heed our advice on making suitable rectifications and reviewing their school-based mechanisms to prevent the recurrence of similar cases. If the schools still fail to make improvements without reasonable justifications, we will take further actions on a case-by-case basis. These include issuing advisory or warning letters and drawing up follow-up measures with the incorporated management committees and school sponsoring bodies to ensure that the schools comply with the Education Ordinance, Education Regulations, Codes of Aid, relevant legislations and the requirements and guidelines from the Education Bureau.

(3) Notwithstanding that Scheme-KGs are subsidized by the Government, they differ from aided schools in operation and monitoring. There can be wide differences among individual KGs in terms of their scale of operation and management structure. Hence, the Education Bureau sets out the basic principles for handling staff complaints, leaving essential room and flexibility for KGs to make their school-based arrangements in the light of their circumstances. We will continue to seek stakeholders' views on the feasibility of providing more specific guidelines.

(4) The School Administration Guide and KG Administration Guide are not legislative provisions. As stated above, these two guides incorporate the respective requirements and guidelines on daily operation for reference and compliance by aided schools and 4666 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Scheme-KGs. In these two guides we also remind schools to comply with the relevant legislations, including the Education Ordinance, Education Regulations, Employment Ordinance, etc., and that they are bound by these legislations. As for the specific requirements under the Scheme, they are applicable to Scheme-KGs only. KGs not joining the Scheme are not bound by these requirements.

(5) Just like other schools, KGs, regardless of whether they have joined the Scheme, are required to comply with the Employment Ordinance, Education Ordinance and Education Regulations. For example, Section 76 of the Education Regulations provides that the appointment of any teacher who is to be employed in the school for a term for not less than six months shall be approved by the majority of the managers of the school, while the dismissal of any teacher who is employed for a term for not less than six months shall be approved by the majority of the managers of the school at a meeting of the management committee. Since Scheme-KGs are not aided schools and their operation and mode of funding are different from those of aided schools, conditions and procedures applicable to aided schools would not be directly applied to the Scheme-KGs.

(6) The requirements and guidelines stipulated in the School Administration Guide and KG Administration Guide are generally related to various Education Bureau policies. When formulating or revising major policies, the Education Bureau has all along consulted relevant stakeholders according to the nature and coverage of the respective policies. Consultation is usually conducted through meetings with stakeholders or their written submissions.

Measures to assist persons with disabilities in securing employment

16. MR SHIU KA-CHUN (in Chinese): President, the results of a number of studies conducted in recent years have shown that the underemployment situation of persons with disabilities ("PWDs") has not improved over the years, and that PWDs often can only secure low-skilled jobs even if they are university degree holders. Regarding the various measures implemented by the Government to assist PWDs in securing employment, will the Government inform this Council:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4667

(1) of the number of participants of the On the Job Training Programme for People with Disabilities in each of the past five years (with a breakdown by the age group to which the participants belonged, their type of disability, as well as the service operator providing training and counselling services), and among such participants, the respective numbers of those who participated in the Programme through referral and who successfully secured employment; the average number of months of post-placement service received by the participants who successfully secured employment;

(2) of the number of participants of the Sunnyway-On the Job Training Programme for Young People with Disabilities in each of the past five years (with a breakdown by the age group to which the participants belonged, type of mental illness they suffered, as well as the service operator providing employment training services), and among such participants, the respective numbers of those who participated in the Programme through referral and who successfully secured employment; the average number of months of post-placement service received by the participants who successfully secured employment;

(3) of the number of organizations participating in the Work Orientation and Placement Scheme and the number of PWDs who secured employment under the Scheme in the past five years (with a breakdown by type of disability of the employees), and their average employment period;

(4) of the number of applications received under the Support Programme for Employees with Disabilities, and a breakdown by uses of the amount of subsidy granted, as well as (i) the average subsidy amount of and (ii) the average processing time taken for each approved application, in the past five years;

(5) of the respective numbers of (i) existing and (ii) newly recruited government employees with disabilities, as well as their percentages in the total number of government employees, in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by recruiting government department, type of disability of the employees and whether their disabilities were caused by work injuries;

4668 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(6) whether it knows the number of PWDs employed in the past five years by organizations participating in the Talent-Wise Employment Charter ("Charter"), and a breakdown of such number by employment period, as well as breakdowns by name of organization, whether the organization was a public or private one and type of disability of such employees; and

(7) given that the Government has in the past resolved to enact the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608) on the basis that the Wage Protection Movement was ineffective, and that currently there are comments alleging that the Charter is ineffective, whether the Government will establish a mandatory quota system for employing PWDs in place of the non-binding Charter; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE (in Chinese): President, having consulted the relevant bureaux and departments, I provide a consolidated reply to the Member's question as follows:

(1) The number of participants of the On the Job Training Programme for People with Disabilities ("OJT") and the number of participants who successfully secured employment after training in each of the past five years are set out in Table 1. The Social Welfare Department ("SWD") does not have information from individual organizations on the age of participants, the type of disability involved, the operators providing the services, or the average number of months of post-placement service provided for OJT participants.

(2) The number of participants of the Sunnyway-On the Job Training Programme for Young People with Disabilities ("Sunnyway") and the number of participants who successfully secured employment in each of the past five years are set out in Table 2. SWD does not have information from individual organizations on the age of participants, the type of mental illness involved, the operators providing the services, or the average number of months of post-placement service provided for Sunnyway participants.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4669

(3) The Labour Department ("LD") implements the Work Orientation and Placement Scheme ("WOPS") to encourage employers to hire job seekers with disabilities and provide them with coaching and support through the provision of an allowance. There were 396, 364, 383, 376 and 391 organizations participating in WOPS and employing persons with disabilities in the past five years respectively. During the same period, LD recorded 661, 805, 811, 816 and 802 placements under WOPS respectively. Breakdowns of WOPS placements by type of disability suffered by job seekers and employment period are set out in Table 3 and Table 4.

(4) The Support Programme for Employees with Disabilities ("SPED") was launched in June 2013. The number of applications received and the total amount of funding granted in each of the past five years are set out in Table 5. In the past five years, 91.3% of the approved applications were for purchase of assistive devices, 7.0% for workplace modification while 1.7% involved both purchase of assistive devices and workplace modification. Normally, the applicant and referring organizations will be informed of the result of application in writing within three months after the application deadline.

(5) There is no requirement for applicants for government jobs and serving officers to declare their disabilities, if any. The situation of persons with disabilities employed in the civil service is known to the Civil Service Bureau on the basis of information available to bureaux/departments (e.g. through requests of applicants during the recruitment process for special arrangements for selection interview/test having regard to their disabilities, or applications from serving officers with disabilities for financial assistance to purchase technical aids to assist in their performance of duties). According to the relevant information, the number of civil servants who declared their disabilities to the Government and the number of new recruits who declared their disabilities to the Government during the recruitment process, as well as their percentages in the strength of the civil service in each of the past five years, broken down by type of disability(1) and bureau/department, are set out in Table 6 to Table 9. The Government does not collect statistics on civil servants who became disabled due to injury on duty.

(1) Excluding persons with colour blindness or defective colour perception. 4670 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(6) The Talent-Wise Employment Charter and Inclusive Organisations Recognition Scheme is a publicity and public education programme aiming to encourage through awards the business sector, public bodies, subvented organizations and non-governmental organizations ("NGOs") as well as government departments to adopt various measures to promote internship and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. These measures include not only directly employing persons with disabilities by employer organizations, but also using products or services provided by rehabilitation social enterprises, and setting aside shops or stalls for social enterprises or self-employed persons with disabilities to run business or sell their products. As at December 2018, 247 public and government-subvented organizations and 363 private organizations participated in the scheme. Given the nature of the scheme, the Labour Welfare Bureau does not require the participating organizations to provide information on the number of persons with disabilities employed by them.

(7) The Government's policy objectives are to provide skill training and support services for persons with disabilities to enable them to take up productive and gainful employment in the open market on the basis of their abilities rather than disabilities; provide assistance for employers; and strive to promote an inclusive society. Establishing a mandatory employment quota system for persons with disabilities to require enterprises to employ a certain number or percentage of persons with disabilities may create a negative labelling effect on these persons, which is not conducive to their integration into the community. At present, the Government has no plan to introduce such a system for persons with disabilities. The Government will continue to implement various measures to promote employment of persons with disabilities, including providing vocational rehabilitation and training services for them, providing job matching services in the open market for them, offering financial incentives to encourage employers to hire them, enhancing their abilities, strengthening the support for them, and promoting an inclusive culture. The Government also offers grants for NGOs to set up social enterprises with a view to creating more employment and on-the-job training opportunities for persons with disabilities.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4671

Table 1 Number of OJT participants and number of participants who successfully secured employment after training

Number of Number of participants who successfully Year participants secured employment for six months or more 2013-2014 419 167 2014-2015 431 165 2015-2016 439 157 2016-2017 423 156 2017-2018 408 144

Table 2 Number of Sunnyway participants and number of participants who successfully secured employment after training

Number of Number of participants who successfully Year participants secured employment for six months or more 2013-2014 300 107 2014-2015 302 138 2015-2016 312 119 2016-2017 329 129 2017-2018 325 154

Table 3 Breakdown of WOPS placements by type of disability suffered by job seekers

Number of placements Type of disability 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Previous mental illness 116 162 149 171 175 Intellectual disability 132 172 191 165 161 Hearing impairment 202 228 222 200 204 Chronic illness 79 102 96 98 84 Physical disability 72 75 75 90 91 Visual impairment 27 20 21 23 28 Autism spectrum disorder 27 40 47 55 48 Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder 2 4 5 5 6 Specific learning difficulties 4 2 5 9 5 Total 661 805 811 816 802

4672 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Table 4 Breakdown of WOPS placements by employment period(2)

As LD does not collect information on the employment situation of persons with disabilities placed under WOPS after 12 months of employment, figures on the average employment period are not available. The number of WOPS placements broken down by employment period is tabled below for reference:

Number of placements Employment period 2013 2014 2015 2016 (% of total) (% of total) (% of total) (% of total) Over 3 months 421 479 504 517 (64%) (60%) (62%) (63%) Over 6 months 330 365 375 360 (50%) (45%) (46%) (44%) Over 8 months -(3) 227 319 308 (28%) (39%) (38%) Over 10 months(4) - - 268 251 (33%) (31%) Over 12 months(4) - - 241 230 (30%) (28%)

Notes:

Employment contracts were terminated mostly owing to the resignation of employees with disabilities. Dismissal by employers only accounted for a minority of the termination cases. The main reasons for disabled employees to resign were their inability to adapt to the new job, their wish to change to a new working environment and their finding a better job. On the other hand, employers dismissed employees with disabilities mainly because of the latter's performance issues.

(2) The 12-month follow-up period for some WOPS placements in 2017 is just over. LD is collating information on the employment situation of the disabled employees concerned for compiling relevant statistics for that year. Hence, figures for 2017 are not yet available.

(3) WOPS was enhanced in June 2013 with the maximum period of allowance payable extended from six months to eight months. Regarding the persons with disabilities placed before the extension of allowance period in June 2013, LD does not have the figures on those who have been employed for over eight months.

(4) In 2015, LD extended the period of following up the employment situation of employees with disabilities placed under WOPS to 12 months.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4673

Table 5 Number of SPED applications and total amount of funding granted

Year 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 Number of applications 43 35 51 50 34 Total amount of 457,000 464,000 699,000 436,000 340,000 funding granted ($)

Table 6 Number of persons with disabilities in the civil service (by type of disability)

Year Type of disability 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 Visual impairment 439 412 389 374 355 Hearing impairment 335 352 378 375 391 Physical disability 1 696 1 626 1 530 1 418 1 301 Intellectual disability 17 15 15 15 15 Previous mental illness 366 352 356 347 341 Visceral disability 546 544 544 537 518 Others, e.g. autism, 16 18 18 21 21 speech impairment and specific learning difficulties Number of civil 3 415 3 319 3 230 3 087 2 942 servants with disabilities Strength of civil service 162 835 163 645 166 150 167 671 171 458 Percentage 2.1% 2.0% 1.9% 1.8% 1.7%

Table 7 Number of persons with disabilities in the civil service (by bureau/department)

Year Bureau/department 2013- 2014- 2015- 2016- 2017- 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation 238 219 195 170 160 Department Architectural Services Department 26 23 22 20 20 Audit Commission 2 1 1 1 1 Auxiliary Medical Service 1 1 1 1 1 Buildings Department 9 13 12 12 12 Census and Statistics Department 18 18 17 17 17 4674 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Year Bureau/department 2013- 2014- 2015- 2016- 2017- 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Civil Aid Service 4 3 2 2 2 Civil Aviation Department 7 7 5 5 4 Civil Engineering and Development 39 39 36 41 41 Department Companies Registry 19 19 21 21 20 Correctional Services Department 249 234 224 209 211 Customs and Excise Department 50 47 36 50 48 Department of Health 79 74 77 73 75 Department of Justice 13 13 11 11 13 Drainage Services Department 99 95 96 95 79 Electrical and Mechanical Services 71 67 65 62 60 Department Environmental Protection Department 5 5 6 6 7 Fire Services Department 34 30 40 34 33 Food and Environmental Hygiene 185 188 186 172 140 Department Government Laboratory 4 4 3 2 1 Government Logistics Department 20 20 23 23 23 Government Property Agency 2 2 2 2 3 Government Secretariat ("G.S."): Offices of 8 7 8 7 9 the Chief Secretary for Administration and the Financial Secretary G.S.: Civil Service Bureau 12 14 13 15 12 G.S.: Commerce and Economic 13 12 2 2 3 Development Bureau G.S.: Constitutional and Mainland Affairs 1 2 2 1 1 Bureau G.S.: Development Bureau 2 1 1 2 2 G.S.: Education Bureau 59 52 56 51 47 G.S.: Environment Bureau 1 1 1 1 1 G.S.: Financial Services and the Treasury 1 1 1 1 1 Bureau G.S.: Food and Health Bureau 0 0 0 0 1 G.S.: Home Affairs Bureau 2 2 3 2 2 G.S.: Innovation and Technology Bureau - - 12 15 16 G.S.: Labour and Welfare Bureau 2 3 3 4 4 G.S.: Security Bureau 2 2 1 2 2 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4675

Year Bureau/department 2013- 2014- 2015- 2016- 2017- 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 G.S.: Transport and Housing Bureau 1 1 1 1 1 Highways Department 74 70 71 63 61 Home Affairs Department 54 53 56 58 57 Hong Kong Observatory 1 1 1 2 3 Hong Kong Police Force 700 676 628 565 516 Hospital Authority 34 30 27 21 20 Housing Department 96 100 105 103 100 Immigration Department 214 221 212 200 200 Information Services Department 1 1 2 2 2 Inland Revenue Department 98 99 102 102 98 Intellectual Property Department 2 2 2 2 2 Invest Hong Kong 1 1 1 1 1 Judiciary 34 32 33 31 30 Labour Department 59 60 65 69 64 Land Registry 21 20 21 21 18 Lands Department 55 57 56 55 57 Legal Aid Department 7 7 8 7 7 Leisure and Cultural Services Department 268 267 255 247 246 Marine Department 31 27 24 23 19 Office of the Communications Authority 10 7 10 10 12 Official Receiver's Office 5 5 5 4 4 Planning Department 3 2 2 3 5 Post Office 100 100 100 95 87 Public Service Commission 1 1 0 0 1 Radio Television Hong Kong 3 3 2 1 1 Rating and Valuation Department 23 20 18 21 21 Registration and Electoral Office 2 2 4 4 3 Social Welfare Department 129 126 123 131 126 Trade and Industry Department 9 10 9 10 10 Transport Department 22 25 28 27 25 Treasury 10 8 9 9 8 University Grants Committee 0 0 1 1 0 Water Supplies Department 63 58 54 51 47 Working Family and Student Financial 7 8 11 15 18 Assistance Agency (formerly known as Student Financial Assistance Agency) Number of civil servants with disabilities 3 415 3 319 3 230 3 087 2 942

4676 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Table 8 Number of new recruits in the civil service who declared their disabilities during the recruitment process (by type of disability)

Year Type of disability 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 Visual impairment 7 11 10 6 8 Hearing impairment 28 20 37 14 24 Physical disability 14 7 11 8 9 Intellectual disability 1 1 0 1 1 Previous mental illness 7 2 11 4 9 Visceral disability 21 15 13 14 22 Others, e.g. autism, 2 2 1 2 1 speech impairment and specific learning difficulties Number of new recruits 80 58 83 49 74 with disabilities in the civil service Total number of new 8 460 7 717 9 854 8 947 12 041 recruits in the civil service Percentage 0.9% 0.8% 0.8% 0.5% 0.6%

Table 9 Number of new recruits in the civil service who declared their disabilities during the recruitment process (by bureau/department)

Year Bureau/department 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 Buildings Department 0 6 1 0 0 Census and Statistics 1 1 0 0 0 Department Civil Aviation 0 1 0 0 0 Department Civil Engineering and 2 1 1 2 0 Development Department Department of Health 8 3 9 2 11 Department of Justice 0 0 1 1 2 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4677

Year Bureau/department 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 Drainage Services 2 0 1 0 3 Department Electrical and 1 2 1 0 2 Mechanical Services Department Environmental 0 0 1 0 0 Protection Department Fire Services 4 0 0 1 0 Department Food and 5 11 4 5 4 Environmental Hygiene Department Government Logistics 0 1 1 1 5 Department Government Property 0 0 0 0 1 Agency G.S.: Offices of the 0 2 0 0 0 Chief Secretary for Administration and the Financial Secretary G.S.: Civil Service 2 0 0 1 0 Bureau G.S.: Education Bureau 3 1 11 1 2 G.S.: Environment 0 0 0 1 0 Bureau G.S.: Innovation and - - 0 1 0 Technology Bureau G.S.: Labour and 1 0 0 1 0 Welfare Bureau G.S.: Security Bureau 0 0 0 1 0 Home Affairs 4 1 1 2 0 Department Hong Kong 0 1 0 1 0 Observatory Hong Kong Police 3 0 0 0 5 Force 4678 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Year Bureau/department 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 Housing Department 8 3 4 2 3 Immigration 0 0 3 0 0 Department Inland Revenue 1 3 8 2 3 Department Judiciary 2 0 2 3 1 Labour Department 3 0 1 2 0 Land Registry 1 0 1 0 0 Lands Department 6 1 1 0 3 Legal Aid Department 0 1 1 0 1 Leisure and Cultural 10 12 19 4 19 Services Department Marine Department 0 0 1 0 0 Post Office 2 3 5 4 2 Rating and Valuation 2 0 0 0 2 Department Registration and 2 0 1 0 0 Electoral Office Social Welfare 4 3 3 10 4 Department Trade and Industry 0 1 0 0 0 Department Transport Department 0 0 0 1 0 Treasury 1 0 0 0 0 Working Family and 2 0 1 0 1 Student Financial Assistance Agency (formerly known as Student Financial Assistance Agency) Number of new recruits 80 58 83 49 74 with disabilities in the civil service

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4679

Government outsourced service contracts

17. MR LUK CHUNG-HUNG (in Chinese): President, the Government has recently accepted the improvement measures recommended by an inter-bureaux/departmental working group in respect of government outsourced service contracts that rely heavily on the employment of non-skilled employees ("service contracts"). Such measures seek to enhance the employment benefits of such employees, including entitlement to a contractual gratuity, statutory holiday pay upon employment for one month and remuneration at 1.5 times the wage for work performed when Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or above is in force, and encourage procuring departments to adopt a tenure of a minimum of three years for the service contracts where operational situations permit. Such measures apply to service contracts for which tenders are invited on or after 1 April this year. Regarding service contracts, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number and total value of the service contracts awarded by various government departments and the number of non-skilled employees involved, in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by the category of services (i.e. cleansing, security and others) procured under such contracts;

(2) of the following information from 1 May to 31 December 2017 and in 2018:

(A) the number of non-skilled employees employed by the outsourced service contractors ("contractors") of the four major procuring departments (i.e. (i) Leisure and Cultural Services Department, (ii) Housing Department, (iii) Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and (iv) Government Property Agency);

(B) a breakdown of the number in (A) by the range (i.e. hourly wage at (a) $34.5 [equal to the statutory minimum wage], (b) $34.6 to $36.5, (c) $36.6 to $38.5, (d) $38.6 to $40.5, (e) $40.6 to $43, (f) $43.1 to $46, (g) $46.1 to $49 and (h) $49.1 or more, and (i) a rate higher than the statutory 4680 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

minimum wage rate [which is equal to the total of (b) to (h)]) to which the hourly wages, payable to such employees as pledged by the contractors in the tenders, belonged and their respective percentages; and

(C) the numbers and percentages of the employees in each of the ranges of hourly wages mentioned in (B), broken down by the category of services (i.e. cleansing, security and others) they provided, and a further breakdown of the number of each group of employees by the aforesaid four major procurement departments (set out the information for each year in tables of the same format as the table below);

Year: ______Cleansing service Security service Other services

Range of

tal

hourly o % T

(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) btotal % (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) btotal % (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) btotal %

wages u u u S S S

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) Total

(3) of the details of the re-tendering exercises of service contracts which were or will be conducted by the aforesaid four major procuring departments last year and this year, including the names of the contractors before tenders were/are invited, the commencement dates of the new contracts and the service districts involved, as well as the names of the successful contractors;

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4681

(4) given that the remuneration packages for the employees under service contracts awarded through tenders invited on or after 1 April this year will be more favourable than those for the employees under service contracts awarded through tenders invited before that date, which will give rise to a situation of differential pay for workers with similar job content, whether the Government will consider earmarking funds for providing subsidies to those employees who cannot benefit from the improvement measures as those measures are not implemented with immediate effect (i.e. employees under service contracts awarded during the period from the date on which the Chief Executive announced the relevant measures in the 2018 Policy Address to 31 March this year); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(5) whether it has set a timetable for reviewing such measures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE (in Chinese): President, the inter-bureaux/departmental Working Group coordinated by the Labour and Welfare Bureau has completed a review of the employment terms and conditions as well as labour benefits of non-skilled employees engaged under government service contracts. The Working Group is proceeding with the preparatory work for implementation in full gear with a view to applying the improvement measures to the relevant government service contracts tendered from 1 April 2019 onwards. The measures include increasing the technical weighting in marking schemes and raising the weighting for wage level in technical assessment, enhancing the employment benefits of non-skilled employees including entitlement to a contractual gratuity, statutory holiday pay upon employment for not less than one month and additional remuneration for working when Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or above is in force, and encouraging procuring departments to adopt a tenure of not less than three years for the service contracts where operational situations permit.

After consulting the members of the Working Group including the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD"), Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD"), Housing Department ("HD") and Government Property Agency ("GPA"), my consolidated reply to the Member's question is as follows: 4682 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(1) The Government does not specifically keep information on the service contracts (excluding construction service contracts) relying heavily on the deployment of non-skilled employees awarded by each department. As regards the four departments of the Working Group, i.e. FEHD, LCSD, HD and GPA, information on the relevant service contracts (including the number of service contracts, the value thereof and the number of non-skilled employees involved) awarded in the past five years is at Annex 1.

(2) Information on the non-skilled employees (including the number of employees, type of work and wages) engaged by service contractors of the aforesaid four departments as at 31 December 2018 is at Annex 2. The departments do not keep other information sought on the employees or contracts.

(3) GPA has not conducted retendering exercises on relevant service contracts in 2018 and 2019 (as at 7 January). The relevant information from FEHD, LCSD and HD is at Annex 3.

(4) The Government must uphold the contract spirit and thus will not make it mandatory for contractors of the relevant contracts tendered before 1 April 2019 to comply with the improvement measures. There is no plan to provide any top-up subsidies. Following the expiry of relevant service contracts tendered before 1 April 2019 over time, all non-skilled employees of government service contracts will benefit from the improvement measures alike.

(5) In examining the improvement measures, the Working Group has met with trade unions, concern groups, Members of the Legislative Council, employers' organizations, etc. for discussions, and consulted government departments which procure services. The members of the Working Group will closely monitor the employment terms and conditions, labour benefits and employment situation of the non-skilled employees upon the implementation of the measures.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4683

Annex 1

Information on the service contracts (excluding construction service contracts) relying heavily on the deployment of non-skilled employees awarded by the four departments of the Working Group in the past five years

Procuring department: FEHD

Others (pest control, services on Cleansing Security public cemeteries and crematoria) Category Number Value of Number Value of Number Value of of Number of Number of Number of of service of service of service services non-skilled non-skilled non-skilled service contracts service contracts service contracts procured employees employees employees contracts awarded contracts awarded contracts awarded involved involved involved awarded ($ million) awarded ($ million) awarded ($ million) Year 44 1,170 3 967 4 34 128 2 4.7 9 2014 Year 27 1,303 4 427 15 115 425 15 352 1 015 2015 Year 51 1,680 3 793 5 36.9 129 5 131 378 2016 Year 32 1,770 4 750 14 129 398 16 388 1 091 2017 Year 51 1,936 4 310 6 54.5 122 6 154 410 2018

Procuring department: LCSD#

Others (horticultural maintenance Cleansing Security Category and venue management) of Number Value of Number of Number Value of Number of Number Value of Number of services of service non-skilled of service non-skilled of service non-skilled procured service contracts employees service contracts employees service contracts employees contracts ($ billion) involved contracts ($ billion) involved contracts ($ billion) involved Year 45 2.131 6 275 35 0.855 3 071 26 0.764 1 359 2014 Year 42 2.117 5 929 35 0.857 2 939 30 0.836 1 271 2015 Year 44 2.236 6 144 36 0.918 2 978 31 0.888 1 233 2016 Year 46 2.386 6 156 37 0.954 3 116 29 0.884 1 338 2017 Year 47 2.415 6 407 38 0.969 3 144 31 0.894 1 303 2018

Note:

# The information provided by LCSD is the number of service contracts valid as at 1 December in that year, the value thereof and the number of non-skilled employees involved. 4684 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Procuring department: HD

Cleansing Security Others (property management) Category Number Value of Number Value of Number Value of Number of Number of Number of of of service of service of service non-skilled non-skilled non-skilled services service contracts service contracts service contracts employees employees employees procured contracts awarded contracts awarded contracts awarded involved involved involved awarded ($ million) awarded ($ million) awarded ($ million) Year 16 151.21 522 34 527.77 2 849 44 1,633.43 2 104 2014 Year 2 34.16 86 8 138.72 2 756 21 1,667.40 1 924 2015 Year 2 12.29 42 9 120.11 2 818 20 1,516.81 1 632 2016 Year 10 139.42 438 13 230.16 2 826 34 2,651.69 2 809 2017 Year 21 222.48 693 11 201.15 2 912 24 902.44 978 2018

Procuring department: GPA

Others (property management) Category of Value of service services Number of service Number of non-skilled contracts awarded procured contracts awarded employees involved ($ billion) Year 2014 0 0 0 Year 2015 6 Around 1.2 1 739 Year 2016 0 0 0 Year 2017 0 0 0 Year 2018 0 0 0

Annex 2

Information on non-skilled employees engaged by service contractors of the four departments of the Working Group (as at 31 December 2018)

Cleansing Security Others#

Range of hourly % - total - total - total wages % % % Total HD HD GPA GPA LCSD LCSD LCSD FEHD FEHD FEHD Sub Sub Sub

(a) $34.5 183 3 419 98 453 4 153 19.1 26 1 947 24 553 2 550 18.9 0 69 69 2.5 6 772 17.8 (i.e. Statutory Minimum Wage) (b) $34.6 to 6 139 2 810 2 039 76 11 064 50.9 304 1 024 1 184 397 2 909 21.6 420 227 647 23.1 14 620 38.5 $36.5 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4685

Cleansing Security Others#

Range of hourly % - total - total - total wages % % % Total HD HD GPA GPA LCSD LCSD LCSD FEHD FEHD FEHD Sub Sub Sub

(c) $36.6 to 2 128 178 2 984 0 5 290 24.4 190 173 5 054 251 5 668 42.1 433 943 1 376 49.1 12 334 32.5 $38.5 (d) $38.6 to 295 0 302 0 597 2.7 0 0 2 095 0 2 095 15.6 450 30 480 17.1 3 172 8.3 $40.5 (e) $40.6 to $43 432 0 51 0 483 2.2 0 0 192 0 192 1.4 120 0 120 4.3 795 2.1 (f) $43.1 to $46 58 0 0 0 58 0.3 0 0 14 0 14 0.1 72 0 72 2.6 144 0.4 (g) $46.1 to $49 16 0 32 0 48 0.2 0 0 4 0 4 0.0 6 29 35 1.2 87 0.2 (h) $49.1 or 17 0 8 0 25 0.1 0 0 36 0 36 0.3 0 5 5 0.2 66 0.2 more (i) A rate higher 9 085 2 988 5 416 76 17 565 80.9 494 1 197 8 579 648 10 918 81.1 1 501 1 234 2 735 97.5 31 218 82.2 than the Statutory Minimum Wage rate [which is equal to the total of (b) to (h)] Total 9 268 6 407 5 514 529 21 718 100 520 3 144 8 603 1 201 13 468 100 1 501 1 303 2 804 100 37 990 100

Note:

# Others include pest control, services on public cemeteries and crematoria, horticultural maintenance, venue management, etc.

Annex 3

Information on re-tendering exercises on the relevant service contracts conducted/to be conducted by FEHD, LCSD and HD in 2018 and 2019

Procuring department: FEHD

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 1. 1.1.2018 Depots of Transport Section Law's Cleaning Integrity Service Services Limited Limited 2. 1.1.2018 Po On Road Municipal Johnson Cleaning Baguio Cleaning Services Building in Sham Services Services Shui Po District and Hung Company Company Hom Municipal Services Limited Limited Building in Kowloon City District 4686 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 3. 1.1.2018 Markets in Kwun Tong Johnson Cleaning World District Services Environmental Company Services Limited Limited 4. 1.1.2018 Markets in Tsuen Wan Johnson Cleaning Johnson District Services Cleaning Company Services Limited Company Limited 5. 1.1.2018 Markets in Tuen Mun District Lapco Service Baguio Pest Limited Management Limited 6. 1.1.2018 Public place in Wan Chai Lapco Service Johnson District (East) Limited Cleaning Services Company Limited 7. 1.1.2018 Public place in Wan Chai Lapco Service Lapco Service District (East) Limited Limited 8. 1.2.2018 Markets in Sha Tin District Johnson Cleaning Lapco Service Services Limited Company Limited 9. 1.2.2018 Markets in Islands District Johnson Cleaning Lapco Service Services Limited Company Limited 10. 1.3.2018 Public place in the Territory ISS ISS Environmental Environmental Services (HK) Services (HK) Limited Limited 11. 1.3.2018 Public place in Wan Chai Lapco Service Baguio Cleaning District (East) Limited Services Company Limited LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4687

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 12. 1.3.2018 Public place in Central (West) Lapco Service Baguio Cleaning and Portion of Mid-levels Limited Services Area in Central and Western Company District (East) Limited 13. 1.3.2018 Public place in Central (East), Lapco Service Baguio Cleaning Admiralty and Portion of Limited Services Mid-levels Area in Central Company and Western District Limited 14. 1.4.2018 Public place in Tuen Mun Baguio Pest Johnson District Management Cleaning Limited Services Company Limited 15. 1.4.2018 Public place in Sha Tin Johnson Group Integrity Service District Pest Specialist Limited Limited 16. 1.4.2018 Public place in Sai Kung Creative Pest Creative Pest District Control Services Control Services Limited Limited 17. 1.4.2018 Public place in Yuen Long Law's Cleaning Lapco Service District Services Limited Limited 18. 1.5.2018 Chai Wan Municipal Services Baguio Cleaning Bo Kit Cleaning Building in Eastern District Services Service Company Company Limited 19. 1.5.2018 Markets in Kwai Tsing Johnson Cleaning Dussmann District Services Service Hong Company Kong Limited Limited 20. 1.5.2018 Markets in Sai Kung District Johnson Cleaning Dussmann Services Service Hong Company Kong Limited Limited 21. 1.5.2018 Public place in the Territory Lapco Service ISS Limited Environmental Services (HK) Limited 4688 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 22. 1.5.2018 Public road/street in the ISS ISS Territory Environmental Environmental Services (HK) Services (HK) Limited Limited 23. 1.5.2018 Public place in Yau Tsim Law's Cleaning Law's Cleaning District (South) Services Limited Services Limited 24. 1.5.2018 Public place in Yau Tsim Law's Cleaning Johnson District (North) Services Limited Cleaning Services Company Limited 25. 1.5.2018 Public place in Tai Po District Hung Fat China Type Cleaning Limited Transportation Company Limited 26. 1.6.2018 Luen Wo Hui Municipal Goodyear Baguio Cleaning Services Building in North (Mak's) Services Services District Company Company Limited Limited 27. 1.6.2018 Kwun Chung Municipal Johnson Cleaning Baguio Cleaning Services Building in Yau Services Services Tsim District Company Company Limited Limited 28. 1.6.2018 Aberdeen Municipal Services Baguio Cleaning Baguio Cleaning Building, Stanley Services Services Environmental Hygiene Company Company Sub-office and Pest Control Limited Limited Office in Southern District 29. 1.6.2018 Special Sites/Areas, Goodyear Law's Cleaning Ungazetted Beaches and (Mak's) Services Services Limited Coastal Areas in the Territory Company Limited & Shiny Glory Services Limited LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4689

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 30. 1.6.2018 Markets in Wan Chai District Sky Wise Sky Wise and Islands District Services Services Management Management Limited Limited 31. 1.6.2018 Markets in Central and Sky Wise Alliance Western District and Eastern Services Security Limited District Management Limited 32. 1.7.2018 Refuse Collection Points in Lapco Service Energy Service the Territory Limited Limited 33. 1.7.2018 Markets in Sham Shui Po World Integrity Service District Environmental Limited Services Limited 34. 1.7.2018 Markets in Central and Yee Tai Cleaning Dussmann Western District Company Service Hong Limited Kong Limited 35. 1.7.2018 Markets in Kowloon City Yee Tai Cleaning Integrity Service District Company Limited Limited 36. 1.7.2018 Public place in Yuen Long Man Shing Law's Cleaning District (East) Cleaning Service Services Limited Company Limited 37. 1.7.2018 Public place in Yuen Long Man Shing Law's Cleaning District (West) Cleaning Service Services Limited Company Limited 38. 1.8.2018 Markets in North District Yee Tai Cleaning Integrity Service Company Limited Limited 39. 1.8.2018 Shek Wu Hui Municipal Mainland Alliance Services Building and Luen Services Security Limited Wo Hui Municipal Services Management Building in North District Limited 4690 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 40. 1.8.2018 Lockhart Road Municipal Sky Wise Wise Security Services Building in Wan Services Limited Chai District Management Limited 41. 1.8.2018 Yeung Uk Road Municipal Wise Security Alliance Services Building in Tsuen Limited Security Limited Wan District 42. 1.9.2018 Markets in Yau Tsim District Yee Tai Cleaning Johnson Group Company Pest Specialist Limited Limited 43. 1.9.2018 Markets in Wan Chai District Dussmann Lapco Service Service Hong Limited Kong Limited 44. 1.9.2018 Public place in Kowloon Baguio Waste Shiny Glory Management & Services Limited Recycling Limited 45. 1.9.2018 Public place in Hong Kong, Baguio Waste Baguio Waste Islands and New Territories Management & Management & Recycling Recycling Limited Limited 46. 1.9.2018 Public place in Sai Kung of Baguio Cleaning Law's Cleaning Sai Kung District Services Services Limited Company Limited 47. 1.9.2018 Public place in Mong Kok Man Shing Man Shing District (East) Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Company Company Limited Limited 48. 1.9.2018 Public place in Mong Kok Man Shing Johnson District (West) Cleaning Service Cleaning Company Services Limited Company Limited LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4691

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 49. 1.10.2018 Public Cemeteries in the Lau Wing Kee Ever Gain Territory Stone Factory Engineering Limited 50. 1.10.2018 Markets in Yuen Long World Integrity Service District Environmental Limited Services Limited 51. 1.11.2018 Markets in Wong Tai Sin Baguio Pest Li Hing District Management Environmental Limited Services Company Limited 52. 1.11.2018 Tai Po Complex in Tai Po Asia Pacific Alliance District Security Services Security Limited Limited 53. 1.11.2018 Public place in Tai Po District Law's Cleaning Law's Cleaning Services Limited Services Limited 54. 1.11.2018 Public place in Kwai Tsing Law's Cleaning Law's Cleaning District Services Limited Services Limited 55. 1.11.2018 Public place in Sha Tin Lik Shun Kan Kee District Services Limited Cleaning Services Company Limited 56. 1.12.2018 Tseung Kwan O Government Goodyear Lapco Service Complex in Sai Kung District (Mak's) Services Limited Company Limited 57. 1.12.2018 Tai Po Complex in Tai Po Flourishing Lapco Service District Trading Limited Company Limited 58. 1.12.2018 Lockhart Road Municipal Baguio Cleaning Shiny Glory Services Building in Wan Services Services Limited Chai District Company Limited 4692 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 59. 1.12.2018 Public Cemeteries in the Ever Gain Ever Gain Territory Engineering Engineering Limited Limited 60. 1.12.2018 Markets in Mong Kok District Integrity Service Li Hing Limited Environmental Services Company Limited 61. 1.2.2019 Pei Ho Street Municipal Johnson Cleaning Johnson Services Building in Sham Services Cleaning Shui Po District Company Services Limited Company Limited 62. 1.2.2019 Sheung Wan Municipal Baguio Cleaning Not yet available Services Building and Services Smithfield Municipal Company Services Building in Central Limited and Western District 63. 1.2.2019 Po On Road Municipal Wise Security Not yet available Services Building in Sham Limited Shui Po District and Man Kam To Food Control 64. 1.2.2019 Markets in Wong Tai Sin, Wise Security Not yet available Mong Kok and Kwun Tong Limited Districts 65. 1.4.2019 Public place in Islands Johnson Cleaning Not yet available District Services Company Limited 66. 1.4.2019 Depots of Transport Section Wise Security Not yet available Limited 67. 1.4.2019 Public place in Southern Lapco Service Not yet available District Limited 68. 1.4.2019 Public place in Central and Law's Cleaning Not yet available Western District Services Limited LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4693

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 69. 1.4.2019 Public place in Wan Chai Polyking Not yet available District and Islands District Services Limited 70. 1.4.2019 Public place in Eastern Johnson Cleaning Not yet available District Services Company Limited 71. 1.4.2019 Public place in Sham Shui Po Lapco Service Not yet available District Limited 72. 1.4.2019 Public place in Mong Kok Swan Hygiene Not yet available District Services Limited 73. 1.4.2019 Public place in Yau Tsim Integrity Service Not yet available District Limited 74. 1.4.2019 Public place in Kowloon City Polyking Not yet available District Services Limited 75. 1.4.2019 Public Cemeteries, Baguio Not yet available Crematoria and Columbaria Landscaping Services Limited 76. 1.4.2019 Public Cemeteries, Baguio Not yet available Crematoria, Columbaria and Landscaping Gardens of Remembrance Services Limited 77. 1.5.2019 Public place in Central and Waihong Not yet available Western District Environmental Services Limited 78. 1.5.2019 Selected Crematoria in the Hoi Luen Not yet available Territory Environmental Services Limited 79. 1.5.2019 Public place in Tsuen Wan Johnson Cleaning Not yet available District Services Company Limited 80. 1.6.2019 Chai Wan Municipal Services Asia Pacific Not yet available Building in Eastern District Security Services Limited 4694 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 81. 1.6.2019 Venues in East Kowloon Wise Security Not yet available Region and West Kowloon Limited Region 82. 1.6.2019 Public place in Eastern Baguio Cleaning Not yet available District (West) Services Company Limited 83. 1.6.2019 Public place in Eastern Baguio Cleaning Not yet available District (East) Services Company Limited 84. 1.6.2019 Public place in Sham Shui Po Law's Cleaning Not yet available District (East) Services Limited 85. 1.6.2019 Public place in Sham Shui Po Law's Cleaning Not yet available District (West) Services Limited 86. 1.6.2019 Special Sites/Areas, Law's Cleaning Not yet available Ungazetted Beaches and Services Limited Coastal Areas in the Territory 87. 1.7.2019 Markets in Southern District Sky Wise Re-tendering not Services yet conducted Management Limited 88. 1.7.2019 Markets in Tai Po District Baguio Pest Re-tendering not Management yet conducted Limited 89. 1.7.2019 Markets in Southern District Baguio Pest Re-tendering not Management yet conducted Limited 90. 1.7.2019 Public place in Sha Tin Johnson Cleaning Re-tendering not District (East) Services yet conducted Company Limited 91. 1.7.2019 Public place in Sha Tin Johnson Cleaning Re-tendering not District (West) Services yet conducted Company Limited LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4695

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 92. 1.7.2019 Public place in Islands Johnson Cleaning Re-tendering not District Services yet conducted Company Limited 93. 1.7.2019 Public place in Tseung Kwan Johnson Cleaning Re-tendering not O of Sai Kung District Services yet conducted Company Limited 94. 1.7.2019 Public place in Islands Baguio Cleaning Re-tendering not District Services yet conducted Company Limited 95. 1.8.2019 Markets and Hawker Bazaars Sky Wise Re-tendering not in New Territories Districts Services yet conducted Management Limited 96. 1.8.2019 Public place in Sai Ying Pun, Federal Guards Re-tendering not Shek Tong Tsui and Kennedy Limited yet conducted Town in Central and Western District 97. 1.9.2019 Hung Hom Municipal Guard Able Re-tendering not Services Building in Kowloon Limited yet conducted City District and Kwun Chung Municipal Services Building in Yau Tsim District 98. 1.9.2019 Hawker Bazaars in Kwun Lapco Service Re-tendering not Tong and Yau Tsim Districts Limited yet conducted 99. 1.10.2019 Sheung Wan Municipal Guard Able Re-tendering not Services Building and Limited yet conducted Smithfield Municipal Services Building in Central and Western District 100. 1.10.2019 Public place in Kowloon City Lapco Service Re-tendering not District (North) Limited yet conducted 101. 1.10.2019 Public place in Kowloon City Lapco Service Re-tendering not District (South) Limited yet conducted 4696 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 102. 1.10.2019 Public place in Kwun Tong Law's Cleaning Re-tendering not District Services Limited yet conducted 103. 1.10.2019 Public place in Wong Tai Sin Lapco Service Re-tendering not District Limited yet conducted 104. 1.10.2019 Public Cemeteries, Integrity Service Re-tendering not Crematoria and Columbaria Limited yet conducted (Hong Kong and Kowloon) 105. 1.10.2019 Public place in Sheung Shui Lapco Service Re-tendering not of North District Limited yet conducted 106. 1.10.2019 Public place in Fanling of Man Shing Re-tendering not North District Cleaning Service yet conducted Company Limited 107. 1.11.2019 Markets in Eastern District Johnson Cleaning Re-tendering not Services yet conducted Company Limited 108. 1.11.2019 Municipal Services Buildings Federal Guards Re-tendering not in Southern Districts Limited yet conducted 109. 1.11.2019 Municipal Services Buildings Alliance Security Re-tendering not in Eastern District Limited yet conducted 110. 1.11.2019 Public place in Southern Lapco Service Re-tendering not District Limited yet conducted 111. 1.11.2019 Public place in Kwun Tong Lapco Service Re-tendering not District (North) Limited yet conducted 112. 1.11.2019 Public place in Kwun Tong Lapco Service Re-tendering not District (South) Limited yet conducted 113. 1.11.2019 Public place in the Territory ISS Re-tendering not Environmental yet conducted Services (HK) Limited 114. 1.12.2019 Public place in Tuen Mun Man Shing Re-tendering not District Cleaning Service yet conducted Company Limited LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4697

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 115. 1.12.2019 Public place in Tsuen Wan Lapco Service Re-tendering not District Limited yet conducted 116. 1.12.2019 Public place in North District Baguio Pest Re-tendering not and Public Cemeteries, Management yet conducted Crematoria and Columbaria Limited (New Territories) 117. 1.12.2019 Public place in Kwai Tsing Integrity Service Re-tendering not District Limited yet conducted 118. 1.12.2019 Public place in Tai Po District Johnson Cleaning Re-tendering not Services yet conducted Company Limited

Procuring department: LCSD

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service regions involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 1. 1.3.2018 Undergrowth Cutting Lapco Service Lapco Service Services for Hong Kong Limited Limited Island Region 2. 1.3.2018 Undergrowth Cutting Hoi Kee Hoi Kee Services for Kowloon Engineering Engineering Region, Sha Tin and Sai Company Limited Company Kung Districts Limited 3. 1.3.2018 Undergrowth Cutting Lapco Service C.K. Garden Services for Islands Limited Company Districts, Kwai Tsing & Hoi Kee Limited Tsuen Wan Districts, Tuen Engineering Mun & Yuen Long Districts Company Limited 4. 1.3.2018 Undergrowth Cutting Lapco Service Chun Hing Services for North & Tai Po Limited Landscaping Co. Districts Ltd. 4698 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service regions involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 5. 1.4.2018 Cleansing and Supporting Goodyear (Mak's) Goodyear Services for Stanley Services (Mak's) Services Municipal Services Building Company Limited Company Limited 6. 1.4.2018 Swimming Pool Services for Spotlight Spotlight Lady MacLehose Holiday Enterprises Ltd. Enterprises Ltd. Village, Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre and Tso Kung Tam Outdoor Recreation Centre 7. 15.4.2018 Gardening Services for City Landscaping Melofield Planting Areas at Penny's Co. Ltd. Nursery and Bay Development Area and Landscape the Associated Area at Contractor Ltd. Sunny Bay on Lantau Island in Tsuen Wan District 8. 1.6.2018 Cleansing and Supporting Baguio Cleaning Baguio Cleaning Services for Hong Kong Services Co. Ltd. Services Co. Ltd. Film Archive 9. 1.6.2018 Cleansing and Supporting Baguio Cleaning Johnson Services for Hong Kong Services Co. Ltd. Cleaning Museum of Art Services Co. Ltd. 10. 1.6.2018 Cleansing and Supporting Nixon Cleaning Nixon Cleaning Services for Flagstaff House Co. Ltd. Co. Ltd. Museum of Tea Ware and The K.S. Lo Gallery 11. 1.6.2018 Cleansing and Supporting Nixon Cleaning Johnson Services for Shek Tong Tsui Co. Ltd. Cleaning Municipal Services Building Services Co. Ltd. 12. 1.6.2018 Cleansing and Supporting Johnson Cleaning Johnson Services for Hong Kong City Services Co. Ltd. Cleaning Hall and Hong Kong Services Co. Ltd. Cultural Centre LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4699

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service regions involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 13. 1.7.2018 Turf Maintenance and Hong Kong Asian Sportsturf Related Services for Turf Cricket Limited Ltd. Cricket Square of Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground 14. 1.7.2018 Cleansing and Supporting Baguio Cleaning Johnson Services for Leisure and Services Co. Ltd. Cleaning Cultural Services Services Co. Ltd. Headquarters 15. 1.7.2018 Security Guard Services for Mainland Mainland Lei Yue Mun Municipal Services Services Services Building and Shui Management Management Wo Street Municipal Limited Limited Services Building 16. 1.7.2018 Cleansing and Supporting Johnson Cleaning Johnson Services for Lei Yue Mun Services Co. Ltd. Cleaning Municipal Services Building Services Co. Ltd. and Shui Wo Street Municipal Services Building 17. 16.7.2018 Security Guard Services for Professional Security Cares Hong Kong Cultural Centre Security Services Consultancy Ltd. Limited 18. 16.7.2018 Security Guard Services for Guard Alliance Sky Wise Hong Kong City Hall Ltd. Services Management Limited 19. 1.9.2018 Horticultural Maintenance Hong Chui Yee Sun Garden and Related Services for Landscape Limited Kowloon City and Wong Tai Company Limited Sin Districts 20. 1.9.2018 Horticultural Maintenance Lee Ka Garden Melofield and Related Services for Company Limited Nursery and Kwun Tong District Landscape Contractor Ltd. 4700 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service regions involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 21. 1.9.2018 Cleansing and Supporting Baguio Cleaning Baguio Cleaning Services for Un Chau Street Services Co. Ltd. Services Co. Ltd. Municipal Services Building 22. 1.10.2018 Management & Supporting Spotlight Spotlight Services for the Dr Sun Enterprises Ltd. Enterprises Ltd. Yat-sen Museum and the Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery 23. 1.10.2018 Cleansing and Supporting Goodyear (Mak's) Good Services for Ko Shan Services Environmental Theatre and Ko Shan Company Limited Services Ltd. Theatre New Wing 24. 1.10.2018 Cleansing and Supporting Johnson Cleaning Johnson Services for Hong Kong Services Co. Ltd. Cleaning Stadium, Mong Kok Services Co. Ltd. Stadium and So Kon Po Recreation Ground 25. 16.10.2018 Piazza Management cum Not applicable Professional Security Guard Services for (this is a new Security Services Hong Kong Cultural Centre contract) Ltd. 26. 15.11.2018 Management and Chi Lin Nunnery Chi Lin Nunnery Maintenance Services for Hammer Hill Park 27. 1.12.2018 Horticultural Maintenance C.K. Garden City and Related Services for Company Limited Landscaping Co. Islands District and North Lee Ka Garden Ltd. District Company Limited 28. 1.12.2018 Horticultural Maintenance Artistic Artistic and Related Services for Landscape Landscape Kwai Tsing District, Tsuen Management Co. Management Co. Wan District, Tuen Mun Ltd. Ltd. District, Yuen Long District and Tai Po District LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4701

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service regions involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 29. 1.12.2018 Horticultural Maintenance C.K. Garden C.K. Garden and Related Services for Sha Company Limited Company Tin District Limited 30. 1.12.2018 Horticultural Maintenance Yee Sun Garden Yee Sun Garden and Related Services for Sai Limited Limited Kung District 31. 1.1.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Goodyear (Mak's) Sun Fook Kong Services for Chong Hing Services Housing Services Water Sports Centre Company Limited Limited 32. 1.1.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Goodyear (Mak's) Johnson Services to Tai Mei Tuk Services Cleaning Water Sports Centre, The Company Limited Services Co. Ltd. Jockey Club Wong Shek Johnson Cleaning Water Sports Centre, St. Services Co. Ltd. Stephen's Beach Water Sports Centre and Stanley Main Beach Water Sports Centre 33. 1.1.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Johnson Cleaning Johnson Services for Kowloon City Services Co. Ltd. Cleaning District, Wong Tai Sin Services Co. Ltd. District and Kwun Tong District 34. 14.1.2019 Management and Supporting Not applicable Spotlight Services for Hong Kong (this is a new Enterprises Ltd. Museum of Art contract) 35. 1.2.2019 Turf Maintenance and Dynamic Source Dynamic Source Related Services for Natural Limited Limited Turf Soccer cum Baseball Pitch at Sai Tso Wan Recreation Ground 36. 1.3.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Baguio Cleaning Not yet available Services for North District Services Co. Ltd. and Sha Tin District 4702 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service regions involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 37. 1.3.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Johnson Cleaning Not yet available Services for Sai Kung Services Co. Ltd. District 38. 1.4.2019 Security Guard Services for Mainland Not yet available Quarry Bay Municipal Services Services Building Management Limited 39. 1.4.2019 Management and Supporting Spotlight Not yet available Services for Hiu Kwong Enterprises Ltd. Street Sports Centre, Yeung Uk Road Sports Centre and Tin Shui Wai Sports Centre 40. 1.4.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Baguio Cleaning Not yet available Services for Eastern District, Services Co. Ltd. Wan Chai District, Central & Western and Southern District 41. 1.4.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Baguio Cleaning Not yet available Services for Parks and Services Co. Ltd. Playgrounds in Eastern District, Wan Chai District and Southern District 42. 1.4.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Lapco Service Not yet available Services for Parks and Limited Playgrounds in Central & Western District 43. 1.5.2019 Security Guard Services for Mainland Not yet available Siu Sai Wan Complex Services Management Limited 44. 1.5.2019 Security Guard Services for Mainland Not yet available Hong Kong Film Archive, Services Wang Cheong Building Management Store & Harbour Industrial Limited Centre Store LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4703

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service regions involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 45. 1.5.2019 Security Guard Services for Security Cares Not yet available Hong Kong Visual Arts Consultancy Ltd. Centre, Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware & The K.S. Lo Gallery 46. 1.5.2019 Security Guard Services for Mainland Not yet available Leisure Venues in Eastern Services District, Wan Chai District, Management Southern District and Yau Limited Tsim Mong District 47. 1.5.2019 Security Guard Services for Guard Able Ltd. Not yet available Leisure Venues in Central & Western District, Sham Shui Po District and Kwun Tong District 48. 1.5.2019 Security Guard Services for Wise Security Not yet available Leisure Venues in Kowloon Ltd. City District and Wong Tai Sin District 49. 1.5.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Baguio Cleaning Re-tendering not Services for Siu Sai Wan Services Co. Ltd. yet conducted Complex 50. 1.5.2019 Security Guard Services for Guard Alliance Re-tendering not Hong Kong Stadium Ltd. yet conducted 51. 1.5.2019 Management and Supporting Spotlight Re-tendering not Services for Ap Lei Chau Enterprises Ltd. yet conducted Sports Centre, Choi Hung Road Sports Centre, North Kwai Chung Tang Shiu Kin Sports Centre and Wo Hing Sports Centre 52. 1.5.2019 Security Guard Services for Guard Alliance Re-tendering not Leisure Venues in Islands Ltd. yet conducted District 4704 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service regions involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 53. 1.5.2019 Security Guard Services for Guard Able Ltd. Re-tendering not Leisure Venues in Kwai yet conducted Tsing District, Tsuen Wan District, Tuen Mun District, North District, Tai Po District, Sha Tin District and Sai Kung District 54. 1.5.2019 Security Guard Services for Wise Security Re-tendering not Leisure Venues in Yuen Ltd. yet conducted Long District 55. 1.6.2019 Security Guard Services for Professional Re-tendering not Lam Tin Complex Security Services yet conducted Limited 56. 1.6.2019 Horticultural Maintenance Baguio Re-tendering not and Related Services for Landscaping yet conducted Tuen Mun Recreation and Services Ltd. Sports Centre 57. 1.6.2019 Management and Supporting Spotlight Re-tendering not Services for Yau Ma Tei Enterprises Ltd. yet conducted Theatre 58. 1.7.2019 Admission & Crowd Control Security Cares Re-tendering not Services for Hong Kong Consultancy Ltd. yet conducted Coliseum and Queen Elizabeth Stadium 59. 1.7.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Good Re-tendering not Services for Hong Kong Environmental yet conducted Science Museum and Tuen Services Ltd. Mun Warehouse 60. 1.7.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Baguio Cleaning Re-tendering not Services for Hong Kong Services Co. Ltd. yet conducted Museum of Coastal Defence, Hong Kong Museum of History, Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum, Law Uk Folk Museum and Two Museum Stores at Kowloon Park and Hong Ning Road LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4705

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service regions involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 61. 1.7.2019 Management Support Spotlight Re-tendering not Services for Quarry Bay Enterprises Ltd. yet conducted Sports Centre, Chuk Yuen Sports Centre, Cheung Sha Wan Sports Centre and Chun Wah Road Sports Centre 62. 1.8.2019 Security Guard Services for Sky Wise Re-tendering not Kowloon Public Library, Services yet conducted Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Management Public Library, Ping Shan Limited Tin Shui Wai Leisure & Cultural Building Common Areas, Yuen Long Public Library, Tseung Kwan O Public Library, Tiu Keng Leng Public Library and Tung Chung Public Library 63. 1.8.2019 Security Guard Services for Sunguard Re-tendering not Ma On Shan Public Library Security Co. Ltd. yet conducted and Yuen Chau Kok Public Library, Tuen Mun Public Library 64. 1.8.2019 Management and Supporting Shui On Re-tendering not Services for Oil Street Art Properties yet conducted Space and Hong Kong Management Visual Arts Centre Limited 65. 1.8.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Johnson Cleaning Re-tendering not Services for Hong Kong Services Co. Ltd. yet conducted Heritage Museum, Sheung Yiu Folk Museum and Hong Kong Railway Museum 66. 1.9.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Johnson Cleaning Re-tendering not Services for Fa Yuen Street Services Co. Ltd. yet conducted Municipal Services Building 4706 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service regions involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 67. 1.9.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Johnson Cleaning Re-tendering not Services for Sai Wan Ho Services Co. Ltd. yet conducted Municipal Services Building 68. 1.9.2019 Cleansing and Supporting New Life Re-tendering not Services for Quarry Bay Psychiatric yet conducted Municipal Services Building Rehabilitation Association 69. 1.10.2019 Security Guard Services for Professional Re-tendering not Ko Shan Theatre and Ko Security Services yet conducted Shan Theatre New Wing Limited 70. 1.10.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Baguio Cleaning Re-tendering not Services for Sha Tin Town Services Co. Ltd. yet conducted Hall, Tai Po Civic Centre and North District Town Hall 71. 1.10.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Law's Cleaning Re-tendering not Services for Tuen Mun Services Ltd. yet conducted Town Hall and Yuen Long Theatre 72. 1.10.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Johnson Cleaning Re-tendering not Services for Kwai Tsing Services Co. Ltd. yet conducted Theatre and Tsuen Wan Town Hall 73. 1.10.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Baguio Cleaning Re-tendering not Services for the Hong Kong Services Co. Ltd. yet conducted Space Museum 74. 1.10.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Johnson Cleaning Re-tendering not Services for Tai Kok Tsui Services Co. Ltd. yet conducted Municipal Services Building 75. 1.10.2019 Security Guard Services for Mainland Re-tendering not Tai Kok Tsui Municipal Services yet conducted Services Building Management Limited LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4707

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service regions involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 76. 1.12.2019 Security Guard Services for Security Cares Re-tendering not Hong Kong Coliseum Consultancy Ltd. yet conducted 77. 1.12.2019 Security Guard Services for Mainland Re-tendering not Queen Elizabeth Stadium Services yet conducted Management Limited 78. 1.12.2019 Cleansing and Supporting Lapco Service Re-tendering not Services for Lam Tin Limited yet conducted Complex 79. 1.12.2019 Security Guard Services for Sky Wise Re-tendering not Un Chau Street Municipal Services yet conducted Services Building Management Limited 80. 1.12.2019 Security Guard Services for Sky Wise Re-tendering not Stanley Municipal Services Services yet conducted Building Management Limited

Procuring department: HD#

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 1. 1.1.2018 Lok Wah South Estate Ying Wah Lapco Service (Cleansing Service) Cleaning Service Limited Limited 2. 1.1.2018 Shun Tin Estate (Cleansing Ying Wah Man Shun Hong Service) Cleaning Service Kong & Kln. Limited Cleaning Company Limited 4708 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 3. 1.1.2018 Wah Fu (I) Estate (Cleansing Sunny Cleansing Man Shun Hong Service) Co Kong & Kln. Cleaning Company Limited 4. 1.1.2018 Yau Oi Estate (Cleansing Sun Lee Sunny Cleansing Service) Cleansing Co Company Limited 5. 1.1.2018 Wan Tsui Estate (Security Hong Nin Dragon Guard Service) Security Company Security Limited Limited 6. 1.1.2018 Hing Man Estate (Security Tonwell Security Dragon Guard Service) Limited Security Limited 7. 1.2.2018 Tin Heng Estate (Cleansing Sun Lee Man Shun Hong Service) Cleansing Kong & Kln. Company Limited Cleaning Company Limited 8. 1.3.2018 Model Housing Estate Ying Wah Ying Wah (Cleansing Service) Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Limited Limited 9. 1.4.2018 Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate Sunbase Kai Fu Property (Property Management) International Services Co. Ltd. Properties Management Ltd. 10. 1.4.2018 Ching Ho Estate, Cheung Creative Property Creative Property Lung Wai Estate (Property Services Services Management) Consultants Ltd. Consultants Ltd. 11. 1.4.2018 Kai Ching Estate, Tak Long Good Excel Good Excel Estate (Property Property Property Management) Consultants Ltd. Consultants Ltd. 12. 1.5.2018 Wan Tsui Estate (Cleansing Chun Wui Kee Sun Lee Service) Company Limited Cleansing Company Limited LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4709

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 13. 1.5.2018 Ko Yee Estate (Cleansing Man Shun Hong Hong Kong Service) Kong & Kln. Commercial Cleaning Cleaning Company Limited Services Limited 14. 1.5.2018 Lai On Estate (Cleansing Kai Fat Cleaning Kai Fat Cleaning Service) Co Co 15. 1.5.2018 Ping Shek Estate (Cleansing Yee Hop Cleaning Hong Yee Service) Co Cleaning Co 16. 1.5.2018 Sha Kok Estate (Cleansing Yee Hop Cleaning Yee Tai Cleaning Service) Co Co 17. 1.5.2018 Wo Lok Estate (Cleansing Kai Fat Cleaning Kai Fat Cleaning Service) Co Co 18. 1.5.2018 Kwai Chung Estate Yee Tai Cleaning Yee Hop (Cleansing Service) Co Cleaning Co 19. 1.5.2018 Tsz Ching Estate (Security Tonwell Security Dragon Guard Service) Limited Security Limited 20. 1.5.2018 Shek Pai Wan Estate Tonwell Security Hong Kong (Security Service) Limited Guards Limited 21. 1.6.2018 Choi Hung Estate (Security Hong Nin Hong Kong Service) Security Company Guards Limited Limited 22. 1.7.2018 Hing Tin Estate, Po Tat Creative Property Creative Property Estate, Tak Tin Estate, Yau Services Services Tong Estate (Property Consultants Ltd. Consultants Ltd. Management) 23. 1.10.2018 Lei Yue Mun Estate Hong Yee Sun Lee (Cleansing Service) Cleaning Co Cleansing Company Limited 24. 1.10.2018 On Ting Estate (Security Hong Kong Unimax Property Service) Guards Limited Consultancy Limited 25. 1.10.2018 Kwai Chung Estate (Security Nice Property Unimax Property Service) Management Consultancy Limited Limited 4710 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 26. 1.11.2018 Chak On Estate (Cleansing Tsang Lik Li Hing Service) Services Limited Environmental Services Co. Limited 27. 1.11.2018 Choi Hung Estate (Cleansing Li Hing Sun Lee Service) Environmental Cleansing Services Co. Company Limited Limited 28. 1.11.2018 Nam Shan Estate (Cleansing Sunbase Li Hing Service) Environmental Environmental Hygiene Limited Services Co. Limited 29. 1.11.2018 Yue Wan Estate (Cleansing Li Hing Li Hing Service) Environmental Environmental Services Co. Services Co. Limited Limited 30. 1.11.2018 Kwai Shing (West) Estate Guard City Unimax Property (Security Service) Limited Consultancy Limited 31. 1.11.2018 Chak On Estate (Security Nice Property Unimax Property Service) Management Consultancy Limited Limited 32. 1.11.2018 Mei Tung Estate (Security Unimax Property Unimax Property Service) Consultancy Consultancy Limited Limited 33. 1.12.2018 Hing Wah (II) Estate Sun Lee Sunny Cleansing (Cleansing Service) Cleansing Co Company Limited 34. 1.12.2018 Lok Fu Estate (Cleansing Ying Wah Ying Wah Service) Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Limited Limited 35. 1.12.2018 Wah Lai Estate (Cleansing Li Hing Ying Wah Service) Environmental Cleaning Service Services Co. Limited Limited LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4711

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 36. 1.1.2019 Choi Ha Estate, Choi Ying Good Excel Kai Fu Property Estate, Kwong Tin Estate, Property Services Co. Ltd. Upper Ngau Tau Kok Estate Consultants Ltd. (Property Management) 37. 1.1.2019 Kwai Hing Estate, Kwai Good Excel Good Excel Luen Estate, Kwai Tsui Property Property Estate, Kwai Shing (East) Consultants Ltd. Consultants Ltd. Estate, High Prosperity Terrace (Property Management) 38. 1.1.2019 Heng On Estate, Lee On Modern Living Modern Living Estate, Yiu On Estate, Kam Property Property Ying Court (Property Management Ltd. Management Ltd. Management) 39. 1.1.2019 Cheung Hong Estate Luen Fat Cleaning Ying Wah (Cleansing Service) Co Cleaning Service Limited 40. 1.1.2019 Choi Wan (I) Estate Sunny Cleansing Creative Property (Cleansing Service) Co Services Consultants Limited 41. 1.1.2019 Fuk Loi Estate (Cleansing Ying Wah Ying Wah Service) Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Limited Limited 42. 1.1.2019 Kwai Shing West Estate Ying Wah Ying Wah (Cleansing Service) Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Limited Limited 43. 1.1.2019 Lai King Estate (Cleansing Kai Fat Cleaning Ying Wah Service) Co Cleaning Service Limited 44. 1.1.2019 Lok Wah North Estate Hong Kong Sun Lee (Cleansing Service) Commercial Cleansing Cleaning Services Company Limited Limited 4712 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 45. 1.1.2019 Mei Tung Estate (Cleansing Hong Kong Ying Wah Service) Commercial Cleaning Service Cleaning Services Limited Limited 46. 1.1.2019 Sun Chui Estate (Cleansing Yee Hop Cleaning Creative Property Service) Co Services Consultants Limited 47. 1.1.2019 Tai Hing Estate (Cleansing Sun Lee Sunny Cleansing Service) Cleansing Co Company Limited 48. 1.1.2019 Tai Wo Hau Estate Sun Lee Sunny Cleansing (Cleansing Service) Cleansing Co Company Limited 49. 1.1.2019 Wo Che Estate (Cleansing Man Shun Hong Yee Hop Service) Kong & Kln. Cleaning Co Cleaning Company Limited 50. 1.1.2019 Yip On & Wang Cheong City Professional Hong Kong Factory Estates (Cleansing Management Commercial Service) Limited Cleaning Services Limited 51. 1.1.2019 Choi Wan (I) Estate (Security Nice Property Unimax Property Service) Management Consultancy Limited Limited 52. 1.1.2019 Lok Fu Estate (Security Hong Kong Nice Property Service) Guards Limited Management Limited 53. 1.1.2019 On Yam Estate (Security Onward Security Guard City Service) Company Limited Limited 54. 1.3.2019 Shek Kip Mei Estate Yee Hop Cleaning Not yet available (Cleansing Service) Co 55. 1.3.2019 Wo Che Estate (Security Guard City Not yet available Service) Limited LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4713

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 56. 1.4.2019 Tin Ching Estate, Tin Yat Easy Living Modern Living Estate (Property Consultant Ltd. Property Management) Management Ltd. 57. 1.4.2019 Sau Mau Ping South Estate, Easy Living Easy Living Yau Lai Estate (Property Consultant Ltd. Consultant Ltd. Management) 58. 1.4.2019 Kai Yip Estate (Cleansing Yee Hop Cleaning Not yet available Service) Co 59. 1.10.2019 Kai Tin Estate, On Tin Modern Living Re-tendering not Estate, Ping Tin Estate, Tsui Property yet conducted Ping (N) Estate, Tsui Ping Management Ltd. (S) Estate, Wan Hon Estate/Ko Cheung Court, Yau Mei Court (Partial Service) (Property Management) 60. 1.10.2019 Kwai Fong Estate, Lai Yiu Modern Living Re-tendering not Estate, Shek Lei (I) Estate, Property yet conducted Shek Yam Estate (Property Management Ltd. Management) 61. 1.10.2019 Hing Tung Estate, Tin Wan Kai Fu Property Re-tendering not Estate, Tung Lam Court Services Co. Ltd. yet conducted (Property Management) 62. 1.10.2019 Chuk Yuen (N) Estate, Fung China Overseas Re-tendering not Tak Estate, Lower Wong Tai Property Services yet conducted Sin (I) Estate, Tung Tau (II) Ltd. Estate, Upper Wong Tai Sin Estate (Property Management) 63. 1.10.2019 Cheung Sha Wan Estate, China Overseas Re-tendering not Homantin Estate, Hung Hom Property Services yet conducted Estate, Lei Cheng Uk Estate, Ltd. Nam Cheong Estate, Sheung Lok Estate, Wing Cheong Estate (Property Management) 4714 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 64. 1.10.2019 Kin Sang Estate, Leung King Nice Property Re-tendering not Estate, Long Ping Estate, Tin Management Ltd. yet conducted King Estate, Tin Tsz Estate, Tin Wah Estate (Property Management) 65. 1.10.2019 Kin Ming Estate, Choi Ming Modern Living Re-tendering not Court (Property Property yet conducted Management) Management Ltd. 66. 1.10.2019 On Tai Estate (Security Onward Security Re-tendering not Service) Company Limited yet conducted 67. 1.10.2019 Lok Wah (South) Estate Onward Security Re-tendering not (Security Service) Company Limited yet conducted 68. 1.10.2019 Yue Wan Estate (Security Good Excel Re-tendering not Service) Property yet conducted Consultants Limited 69. 1.10.2019 Tai Wo Hau Estate (Security Creative Property Re-tendering not Service) Services yet conducted Consultants Limited 70. 1.11.2019 Ap Lei Chau Estate Man Shun Hong Re-tendering not (Cleansing Service) Kong & Kln. yet conducted Cleaning Company Limited 71. 1.11.2019 Lai Kok Estate (Cleansing Law's Cleaning Re-tendering not Service) Services Limited yet conducted 72. 1.11.2019 On Yam Estate (Cleansing Yee Tai Cleaning Re-tendering not Service) Co yet conducted 73. 1.11.2019 Tin Shui (II) Estate Modern Living Re-tendering not (Cleansing Service) Property yet conducted Management Limited 74. 1.12.2019 Fu Cheong Estate (Cleansing Yee Hop Cleaning Re-tendering not Service) Co yet conducted LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4715

Start date Name of of new Name of new Service districts involved existing/previous service contractor contractor contract 75. 1.12.2019 Hing Man Estate (Cleansing Lapco Service Re-tendering not Service) Limited yet conducted 76. 1.12.2019 Tin Yuet Estate (Cleansing Law's Cleaning Re-tendering not Service) Services Limited yet conducted 77. 1.12.2019 Fu Cheong Estate (Security Hong Kong Wah Re-tendering not Service) Kiu (Overseas) yet conducted Services Limited

Note:

# The information provided by HD includes public rental housing estates only.

Government's efforts in combating human trafficking

18. MR DENNIS KWOK: President, after reviewing the periodic reports submitted under various international human rights treaties by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR") through the Central People's Government, a number of committees under the United Nations ("UN") have consistently noted and criticized the insufficient efforts of the HKSAR Government in combating human trafficking, and they have recommended the HKSAR Government to step up its efforts in this respect. Meanwhile, the Trafficking in Persons Report ("TIP Report") published by the Department of State of the United States has found that Hong Kong does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons, and has placed HKSAR on "Tier 2 Watch List" for three consecutive years since 2016. The 2018 TIP Report has noted that the HKSAR Government did not demonstrate increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period. HKSAR would have been downgraded to Tier 3 automatically had a waiver not been granted to HKSAR due to the HKSAR Government's promulgation of the Action Plan to Tackle Trafficking in Persons and to Enhance Protection of Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong ("Action Plan") which, according to the 2018 TIP Report, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

4716 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(1) of the steps it has taken or planned to take to implement each of the recommendations put forth by the following UN committees as set out in the table below:

(i) paragraphs 85 and 97 of the concluding observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, on the report of People's Republic of China (Including Hong Kong and Macao) submitted under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and adopted by the Committee in 2005;

(ii) paragraph 88 of the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, on the report of China (including Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions) submitted under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and adopted by the Committee in 2005;

(iii) paragraph 20 of the concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee, on the third periodic report of Hong Kong, China, submitted under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by People's Republic of China, and adopted by the Committee in 2013;

(iv) paragraphs 45 and 46 of the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, on the combined third and fourth periodic reports of China submitted under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and adopted by the Committee in 2013;

(v) paragraphs 56 and 57 of the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, on the combined seventh and eighth periodic reports of China submitted under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and adopted by the Committee in 2014;

(vi) paragraphs 20 and 21 of the concluding observations of the Committee Against Torture, on the fifth periodic report of China with respect to Hong Kong, China submitted under the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4717

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and adopted by the Committee in 2016; and

(vii) paragraphs 48 and 49 of the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, on the combined fourteenth to seventeenth periodic reports of China (including Hong Kong, China and Macao, China) submitted under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and adopted by the Committee in 2018;

UN committees' Steps taken/planned to be taken recommendations (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii)

(2) of the specific measures in the Action Plan through which the Government implements the recommendations for HKSAR set out in the TIP Reports, and whether the Government has carried out those measures; if not, whether and when it will do so;

(3) whether any measures in the Action Plan can be implemented only if additional financial and human resources are provided to the government departments concerned; if so, of the details of the resources needed, and whether the resources have been sought and obtained; if not, when and from whom they will be sought;

(4) of the results expected to be achieved by each of the measures in the Action Plan;

4718 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(5) whether it has set criteria to assess or evaluate the effectiveness of the measures in the Action Plan; if so, of the details, and whether it has made such assessments or evaluations; if so, of the outcome; if not, whether and when it will do so; and

(6) whether there are other measures through which it implements the recommendations for HKSAR set out in the TIP Reports; if so, whether it has carried out those measures; if not, whether and when it will do so?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY: President, trafficking in persons ("TIP") is a heinous crime which is not tolerated in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government ("HKSARG") has always spared no effort in combating the crime. In order to provide high-level policy steer on the overall strategy and measures to tackle TIP and enhance protection of foreign domestic helpers ("FDHs"), HKSARG established in March 2018 a high-level inter-bureau/departmental Steering Committee, which is chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, with the Secretary for Security and the Secretary for Labour and Welfare as vice chairmen. Membership of the Steering Committee includes heads of the Hong Kong Police Force ("Police"), Immigration Department ("ImmD"), Customs and Excise Department ("C&ED"), Labour Department ("LD") and Social Welfare Department ("SWD"), as well as Director of Public Prosecutions of the Department of Justice ("DoJ"). At the same time, the Government promulgated the Action Plan to Tackle Trafficking in Persons and to Enhance Protection of Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong ("Action Plan"), which outlines a package of multi-faceted measures that are comprehensive, strategic and targeted, covering multiple areas including victim identification, investigation, enforcement, prosecution, victim protection and support, prevention, and partnership with different stakeholders, etc.

Our reply (prepared in consultation with the Labour and Welfare Bureau and other relevant Policy Bureaux and departments) to Mr KWOK's question is as follows:

(1) There are a total of 15 United Nations human rights conventions applicable to Hong Kong, among which seven conventions require submission of periodic reports. HKSARG prepares reports regularly as required to explain the latest developments in relevant LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4719 areas in Hong Kong and respond to recommendations made by the relevant United Nations committees, so that the committees can grasp Hong Kong's actual situation, as well as progress made and challenges faced by Hong Kong in various aspects.

In the concluding observations quoted in part (1)(i) to (vii) in the question, the relevant committees' recommendations on combating TIP mainly cover the following areas.

- Enhance victim identification: HKSARG kept strengthening and improving the relevant mechanism in the past few years. ImmD first launched a TIP victim screening mechanism in 2015. The mechanism was then gradually extended to some police districts and some formations of C&ED in 2016 and 2017. As set out in the Action Plan, the Police would further extend the victim screening mechanism to cover all 24 police districts and relevant units. This has already been implemented in July 2018. At the same time, C&ED has also implemented the screening mechanism department-wide. Under the mechanism, the Police, ImmD and C&ED officers will conduct screenings on vulnerable persons (for example, illegal immigrants, sex workers, illegal workers, FDHs, imported workers, etc., as well as suspected victims in other cases) who are arrested or who report themselves as victims to the authorities. LD also plans to implement an initial victim screening mechanism in the second half of 2019 in the branch offices of its Labour Relations Division for early identification of FDHs potentially being exploited or abused when they make employment claims at LD. For those FDHs who may face greater dangers (e.g. being physically abused), LD will refer their cases to relevant law enforcement agencies ("LEAs") for investigation as soon as possible.

As the victim identification mechanism has been gradually extended to various LEAs, the number of persons screened under the mechanism has increased by 87%, from 2 515 in 2016 to 4 710 in 2017. During the first 11 months of 2018, 6 778 persons were screened under the mechanism, representing another 57% increase compared with the corresponding period in 2017. 4720 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

- Strengthen investigation and prosecution: HKSARG has continued to strengthen efforts in this area. As set out in the Action Plan, the Police have already appointed designated teams to handle cases relating to TIP and exploitation of FDHs. Other relevant departments have also planned to set up designated teams in 2019. The "Inter-departmental Joint Investigation Team" ("JIT"), comprising the Police, ImmD, C&ED and LD, continues to meet regularly to discuss latest TIP trends and enforcement measures against TIP crimes, exchange intelligence, and conduct joint investigations. To further enhance the effectiveness of joint investigations, JIT developed an inter-departmental joint investigation mechanism to deal with relevant cases.

As regards prosecution, a new section on "Human Exploitation Cases" has been incorporated into the Prosecution Code issued by DoJ in 2013 to highlight the identification of such cases and broad principles on their handling, having regard to applicable international standards and practices. A new chapter on "Human Exploitation" is further added to the Prosecution Manual 2017 for the purpose of providing guidance to prosecutors on TIP issues.

- Enhance protection and support to victims: HKSARG has been providing comprehensive and humanitarian protection, support and assistance to victims of trafficking. Depending on the circumstances of individual cases, such protection and support provided by HKSARG may include:

(a) witness protection programme;

(b) shelter, medical services, psychological support, counselling and financial assistance, etc.;

(c) publicly-funded interpretation during enquiry, investigation and court proceedings (including in the Labour Tribunal);

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4721

(d) financial assistance to enable victims residing overseas to return to Hong Kong to testify as witnesses (covering expenses including accommodation, passage, daily subsistence and visa processing fees, etc.);

(e) request for overseas LEAs to provide assistance to victims and families in their home country;

(f) visa extension and waiver of visa fees for victims who need to stay in Hong Kong to act as prosecution witnesses in legal proceedings instituted by the Police, ImmD or LD;

(g) exceptional approval for FDHs to change employer while in Hong Kong when there is evidence suggesting that they are being exploited or abused by their employers; and

(h) depending on the facts and circumstances of individual cases and subject to preconditions being satisfied, when the situation so warrants, DoJ will grant victims immunity from prosecution for crimes committed as a result of being trafficked or exploited.

- Strengthen training: HKSARG has all along been providing relevant training to officers of LEAs, LD, SWD and prosecutors of DoJ. The number of officials receiving such training has been increasing over the years. During the first 11 months of 2018, over 2 000 officials from the Security Bureau and LEAs, DoJ, LD and SWD, the Hospital Authority and the CEASE Crisis Centre(1) received local or overseas TIP-related training. Among them, the Hospital Authority and the CEASE Crisis Centre participated in such anti-TIP

(1) The CEASE Crisis Centre, operated by non-governmental organization, provides crisis intervention and support services which aims to serve victims of sexual violence and individuals/families encountering domestic violence or other family crises. The support services include 24-hour hotline service, outreaching service and short-term accommodation service. The CEASE Crisis Centre is one of the designated crisis intervention and support services centre for handling TIP victim cases and such services are fully funded by SWD. 4722 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

training for the first time. Meanwhile, LEAs continued to actively participate in international or regional conferences and workshops to identify the best practice against TIP. Besides, HKSARG continues to foster closer partnership with other stakeholders. Last year, HKSARG actively participated in TIP-related campaigns organized by civil society and other sectors of the community, including the "Launch of the Handbook on Initial Victim Identification and Assistance for Trafficked Persons" and the "International Conference on Combatting Human Trafficking 2018", etc.

- Recommendations regarding enactment of comprehensive legislation prohibiting TIP: We kept explaining to relevant United Nations committees that the laws in Hong Kong are sufficient. There are over 50 legal provisions against various TIP conducts, including physical abuse, false imprisonment, criminal intimidation, unlawful custody of personal valuables, child abduction, child pornography and exploitation of children, illegal employment, etc. Some of these offences attract penalty of up to life imprisonment, forming a comprehensive package of legal provisions against these crimes (a list of these offences is at Annex). Under our existing legislative framework, LEAs may resort to powers and rely on offences provided in different statutes in the course of their investigation, enforcement and prosecution, so that they can cover all nature of crimes involved, subject to individual case details and evidence. This flexibility equips LEAs with more tools and tactics to tackle TIP depending on the details of individual cases, rather than relying on a single piece of TIP legislation. We will continue to brief the society and counterparts on our situation.

- Recommendations relating to the Palermo Protocol:(2) We kept explaining to relevant United Nations committees that although the Palermo Protocol does not apply to Hong Kong, our existing legislative framework above covers a wide range

(2) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crimes. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4723

of conducts of TIP as defined in the Palermo Protocol. The unique situation of Hong Kong―a large population in a small area, a very high population density, a liberal visa regime, a vibrant economy, a transportation network well connected with the rest of the world―makes us vulnerable to the ill impacts on our effective immigration control if the Palermo Protocol (especially provisions permitting TIP victims to remain) is fully applied to Hong Kong, leading to various social and security issues, including similar situations as non-refoulement claimants and other illegal immigrants and overstayers being stranded for a long period of time here. The current situation also reflects that our policies and measures in place are effective and appropriate. As such, we must strike a balance.

- Strengthen protection of FDHs and regulation of employment agencies ("EAs"): HKSARG has all along been firmly committed to protecting FDHs' employment rights and benefits and strengthening the support provided to them, and does not tolerate any abuse of FDHs. LD has been enhancing, through a series of publicity and education work, FDHs' awareness of their rights and benefits and channels for seeking assistance, such as through distributing information packs via non-governmental organizations to FDHs arriving at the Hong Kong airport, staging information kiosks at popular gathering places of FDHs on their rest days, publishing promotional materials, and producing promotional videos, etc. LD also maintains close collaboration with the governments of FDH-sending countries and their consulates-general in Hong Kong, and regularly participates in the welcoming programmes organized by the consulates of major FDH-sending countries in order to enhance the awareness of newly-arrived FDHs about their statutory rights and benefits as well as the channels for seeking assistance. In terms of regulation of EAs, the Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 came into effect in February 2018. It seeks to provide better protection to job seekers (including FDHs) by substantially increasing the penalties on EAs overcharging job seekers or operating without a licence; and widening the scope 4724 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

of the overcharging offence to include (in addition to the licensee) the management as well as persons employed by EAs. LD will continue to enhance the promotion of employment rights and benefits to FDHs and step up enforcement and prosecution against unscrupulous EAs.

(2) and (6)

HKSARG noted the TIP Reports issued by the US Department of State. In the past few years, the TIP report criticized Hong Kong incorrectly and treated Hong Kong unfairly. HKSARG disagrees with the Report's comments and gradings on Hong Kong. We have already expressed our objection to the United States side. The US Department of State has all along ignored HKSARG's resolve and efforts in combating TIP. It failed in offering any objective or fair comments on the works done by Hong Kong in combating TIP and protecting FDHs against exploitation. Recent TIP Reports even contained unsubstantiated allegations and biased criticisms.

As mentioned above, the victim identification mechanism has been gradually extended to various LEAs, and the number of persons screened under the mechanism has increased significantly. During the first 11 months of 2018, only around 0.2% of those screened (15 persons) were identified as victims. This reinforces the fact that TIP is not prevalent in Hong Kong. However, the US Department of State has been interpreting the low victim figure as ineffectiveness of HKSARG in victim identification. This analysis was simply illogical.

HKSARG has all along been doing what we consider necessary and effective in combating TIP, but not in response to the grading given by any other country. Although our continuous efforts in this regard have not received fair comments, HKSARG will continue, as in the past, to take forward the Action Plan and strive to combat TIP crimes.

(3) In order to take forward various measures set out in the Action Plan, necessary resources have already been set aside for relevant departments to strengthen the overall strategy and specific measures LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4725

in combating TIP, including victim identification, investigation, enforcement, prosecution, victim protection and support, public education and partnership with different stakeholders, etc.

(4) and (5)

Since promulgation of the Action Plan, relevant bureaux/departments ("B/Ds") have been taking forward the implementation of measures set out in the Action Plan.

Apart from measures in strengthening the protection of FDHs as mentioned in part (1) above, LD has also set up a dedicated 24-hour hotline to provide support to FDHs. The hotline began operation on 19 December 2018, providing interpretation service in seven languages (namely Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, Nepali, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu). In addition, LD also provides a dedicated email account ([email protected]) and an online form on its dedicated FDH Portal to facilitate FDHs to make enquiries about their employment matters in Hong Kong and file complaints.

HKSARG will also continue to foster closer partnership with other stakeholders, to actively participate in TIP-related campaigns organized by civil society and other sectors of the community and meet with various non-governmental organizations to exchange views on anti-TIP works. Moreover, we will continue to provide relevant training to officers of LEAs, LD, SWD and prosecutors of DoJ to maintain their awareness and alertness on TIP.

The Steering Committee will regularly review the implementation of the Action Plan and its effectiveness by analysing the relevant statistical data, the operational experience of various B/Ds, as well as feedback from the civil society, etc. to ensure that the strategic measures in place are effective in dealing with the situation in Hong Kong.

4726 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Annex

Offences Relating to Trafficking in Persons, Forced Labour and Slavery

Legislation Section Offence Maximum Penalty Employment Ordinance 60(6) Unlicensed operation of A fine of $350,000 and Cap. 57 employment agency imprisonment for 3 years 60(7) Overcharging by A fine of $350,000 and employment agency imprisonment for 3 years 63 Failure to grant any rest A fine at level 5 day 63C Offences relating to time A fine of $350,000 and and payment of wages imprisonment for 3 years Employment of Children 4 General prohibition of A fine at level 5 Regulations employment of children Cap. 57B Stowaways Ordinance 3(a) Being on board any ship in A fine of HK$1,000 and Cap. 83 the waters of Hong Kong imprisonment for 9 months with intent to obtain in passage therein without the consent of the owner 3(b) Arriving in the waters of Hong Kong on board any ship, having obtained a passage therein to Hong Kong without the consent of the owner Immigration Ordinance 17I Employing person not A fine of HK$350,000 and Cap. 115 lawfully employable imprisonment for 3 years 17J Offence of employers A fine of HK$150,000 and failing to inspect imprisonment for 1 year documents of new employee 17K, Offence of employers A fine at level 5 17LA failing to keep or produce for inspection a record or list of employees 37C Offence by crew etc., of A fine of HK$5,000,000 ship carrying unauthorized and imprisonment for entrants 14 years LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4727

Legislation Section Offence Maximum Penalty 37D Arranging/assisting A fine of HK$5,000,000 passage to or within Hong and imprisonment for Kong of unauthorized 14 years entrants 37DA Assisting unauthorized A fine of HK$500,000 and entrant to remain imprisonment for 10 years 38(l)(b)(1) Remaining in Hong Kong A fine at level 4 and without the authority of the imprisonment for 3 years Director of Immigration after having landed unlawfully 39 Liability of captain of ship A fine of HK$600,000 and carrying persons seeking to imprisonment for 7 years land unlawfully 41(1) Breach of conditions of A fine at level 5 and stay imprisonment for 2 years 42(1) Making false statements, A fine of HK$150,000 and forgery of documents and imprisonment for 14 years using and in possession of forged, false or unlawfully obtained or altered travel document Crimes Ordinance 24 Criminal intimidation Imprisonment for 5 years Cap. 200 25 Assaults with intent to Imprisonment for 5 years cause certain acts to be done or omitted 71-74 Making or copying or Imprisonment for 14 years using a false instrument or copy of a false instrument 129 Trafficking in persons to or Imprisonment for 10 years from Hong Kong for the purpose of prostitution 130 Control over persons for Imprisonment for 14 years purpose of unlawful sexual intercourse or prostitution 131 Causing prostitution Imprisonment for 10 years 137 Living on earnings of Imprisonment for 10 years prostitution or others 4728 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Legislation Section Offence Maximum Penalty Offences Against the 17 Shooting or attempting to Imprisonment for life Person Ordinance shoot, or wounding or Cap. 212 striking with intent to do grievous bodily harm 19 Wounding or inflicting Imprisonment for 3 years grievous bodily harm 39 Assault occasioning actual Imprisonment for 3 years bodily harm 40 Common assault Imprisonment for 1 years 42 Taking away or detaining Imprisonment for life by force or fraud any person against his will with intent to sell him 44 Unlawful transfers of Imprisonment for 2 years possession, custody or control of other persons for valuable consideration. Protection of Children and 26 Abduction of child or Imprisonment for 2 years Juveniles Ordinance juvenile Cap. 213 Common Law - False imprisonment A fine and imprisonment punishable under s. 101I of for 7 years the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Cap. 221)

Note:

(1) The arranger may be charged (subject to evidence) with section 89 of Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Cap. 221) "aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring" to the substantive offence.

Offences Relating to Sexual Exploitation/Child Sex Tourism

Legislation Section Offence Maximum Crimes Ordinance 126 Abduction of unmarried Imprisonment for 10 years Cap. 200 girl under 16 127 Abduction of unmarried Imprisonment for 7 years girl under 18 for sexual intercourse 129 Trafficking in persons to or Imprisonment for 10 years from Hong Kong 130 Control over persons for Imprisonment for 14 years purpose of unlawful sexual intercourse or prostitution LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4729

Legislation Section Offence Maximum 131 Causing prostitution Imprisonment for 10 years 132 Procurement of girl under Imprisonment for 5 years 21 133 Procurement of mentally Imprisonment for 10 years incapacitated person 134 Detention for intercourse Imprisonment for 14 years or in vice establishment 135 Causing or encouraging Imprisonment for 10 years prostitution of, intercourse with, or indecent assault on, girl or boy under 16 136 Causing or encouraging Imprisonment for 10 years prostitution of mentally incapacitated person 137 Living on earnings of Imprisonment for 10 years prostitution or others 139 Keeping, managing or Imprisonment for 10 years assisting in the management of a vice establishment Prevention of Child 3(1) Any person who prints, A fine of HK$2,000,000 Pornography Ordinance makes, produces, and imprisonment for Cap. 579 reproduces, copies, imports 8 years or exports any child pornography 3(2) Any person who publishes A fine of HK$2,000,000 any child pornography and imprisonment for 8 years 3(3) Any person who has in his A fine of HK$1,000,000 possession any child and imprisonment for pornography 5 years 3(4) Any person who publishes A fine of HK$2,000,000 or causes to be published and imprisonment for any advertisement that 8 years conveys or is likely to be understood as conveying the message that any person has published, publishes or intends to publish any child pornography 4730 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Offences Relating to Trafficking in Human Organs

Legislation Section Offence Maximum Penalty Human Organ Transplant 4 Prohibition of commercial A fine at level 5 and Ordinance dealings in human organs imprisonment for 3 months Cap. 465 5 Restriction on transplants On a first conviction, to a between living persons fine at level 5 and to imprisonment for 3 months; and

On a subsequent conviction, to a fine at level 6 and to imprisonment for 1 year.

Other Offences

- s. 153P of the Crimes Ordinance, Cap. 200: the extra-territorial effect of sexual offence provisions listed in Schedule 2

- s. 153Q of the Crimes Ordinance, Cap. 200: the arrangement or advertisement relating to commission against a child of act outside Hong Kong that offends Schedule 2 provision

Crimes Ordinance

Schedule: 2 Heading: SEXUAL OFFENCE PROVISIONS THAT HAVE EXTRA-TERRITORIAL EFFECT

Section Description of offence 118 Rape 118A Non-consensual buggery 118B Assault with intent to commit buggery 118C Homosexual buggery with or by man under 21 118D Buggery with girl under 21 118F (Repealed 18 of 2014 s. 8) 118G Procuring others to commit homosexual buggery LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4731

Section Description of offence 118H Gross indecency with or by man under 16 118J Gross indecency by man with man otherwise than in private 118K Procuring gross indecency by man with man 119 Procurement by threats 120 Procurement by false pretences 121 Administering drugs to obtain or facilitate unlawful sexual act 122 Indecent assault 123 Intercourse with girl under 13 124 Intercourse with girl under 16 126 Abduction of unmarried girl under 16 130 Control over persons for purpose of unlawful sexual intercourse or prostitution 132 Procurement of girl under 21 134 Detention for intercourse or in vice establishment 135 Causing or encouraging prostitution of, intercourse with, or indecent assault on, girl or boy under 16 140 Permitting girl or boy under 13 to resort to or be on premises or vessel for intercourse 141 Permitting young person to resort to or be on premises or vessel for intercourse, prostitution, buggery or homosexual act 146 Indecent conduct towards child under 16

Offences Indirectly Relating to Trafficking in Persons, Forced Labour and Slavery

Legislation Section Offence Maximum Penalty Immigration Ordinance 38AA Prohibition of taking A fine at level 5 and Cap. 115 employment and imprisonment for 3 years. establishing business Crimes Ordinance 75 Possessing a false Imprisonment for 3 years Cap. 200 instrument or Imprisonment for 14 years (with the intention to use it to induce somebody to accept it as genuine) 118 Rape Imprisonment for life 119 Procurement by threats Imprisonment for 14 years 4732 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Legislation Section Offence Maximum Penalty 120 Procurement by false Imprisonment for 5 years pretences 121 Administering drugs to Imprisonment for 14 years obtain or facilitate unlawful sexual act 122 Indecent assault Imprisonment for 10 years 123 Intercourse with girl Imprisonment for life under 13 124 Intercourse with girl Imprisonment for 5 years under 16 125 Intercourse with mentally Imprisonment for 10 years incapacitated person 128 Abduction of mentally Imprisonment for 10 years incapacitated person from parent or guardian for sexual act 138A Use, procurement or offer If the offence is committed of persons under 18 for in relation to a person making pornography or for under the age of 16, to a live pornographic fine of $3,000,000 and to performances imprisonment for 10 years;

If the offence is committed in relation to a person of the age of 16 or above but under 18, to a fine of $1,000,000 and to imprisonment for 5 years. 140 Permitting girl or boy Imprisonment for life under 13 to resort to or be on premises or vessel for intercourse 141 Permitting young person to Imprisonment for 14 years resort to or be on premises or vessel for intercourse, prostitution, buggery or homosexual act LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4733

Legislation Section Offence Maximum Penalty 142 Permitting mentally Imprisonment for 10 years incapacitated person to resort to or be on premises or vessel for intercourse, prostitution or homosexual act 143 Letting premises for use as Imprisonment for 7 years a vice establishment 144 Tenant etc. permitting Imprisonment for 7 years premises or vessel to be kept as a vice establishment 145 Tenant etc. permitting Imprisonment for 7 years premises or vessel to be used for prostitution 159A & 159C The offence of conspiracy Imprisonment for a term not exceeding the maximum term provided for the relevant offence Theft Ordinance 9 Theft Imprisonment for 10 years. Cap. 210 16A Fraud Imprisonment for 14 years. Offences Against the 43 Stealing child under Imprisonment for 7 years Person Ordinance 14 years Cap. 212 Criminal Procedure 89 Aiders, abettors and Imprisonment for a term Ordinance accessories not exceeding the Cap. 221 maximum term provided for the relevant offence

Repair and maintenance of the lifts in buildings of public housing estates originally planned to be buildings of Home Ownership Scheme

19. MR LEUNG YIU-CHUNG (in Chinese): President, some residents of public rental housing ("PRH") have relayed to me that the flats in the buildings in which they live were originally planned for sale under the Home Ownership 4734 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Scheme but are eventually used for rental purpose, and that the lifts in such buildings frequently break down which has seriously affected their daily lives. Regarding the repair and maintenance of the lifts in such type of buildings, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the (i) name, (ii) age, (iii) number of residents by design, (iv) number of residents to date, (v) number of lifts therein, (vi) name of the lift maintenance contractor and (vii) name of the property management company, of each building, to be set out in a table by name of the public housing estate;

(2) of the number of lift failures in each building in each of the past five years; among such cases, (i) the number of those in which services were suspended for more than three days, together with a breakdown by reason of the failure (if a lack of spare parts was one of the reasons, of the original warranty period of the lift concerned and how the contractor concerned solved the problem), and (ii) the respective numbers of cases in which the lifts broke down again (a) within less than 24 hours and (b) between the 24th to 48th hour after completion of repair works;

(3) whether it has taken measures to reduce lift failures in such buildings in order to avoid affecting residents' daily lives; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) whether the relevant lift installation contracts required the contractor to keep sufficient spare parts for replacement in future; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will consider adding such a requirement in the relevant contracts in future?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, my consolidated reply to the question raised by Mr LEUNG Yiu-chung is set out below.

The Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") attaches great importance to lift safety. All lifts in HA's public rental housing ("PRH") estates are maintained and repaired by Registered Lift Contractors in accordance with the Lifts and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4735

Escalators Ordinance, "Code of Practice for Lift Works and Escalator Works" issued by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, and the requirements of the maintenance contracts.

HA has been adopting proprietary maintenance to ensure that lift maintenance contractors can obtain sufficient support from the lift manufacturers, including the supply of adequate and suitable spare parts. In addition, there are stringent requirements in HA's maintenance contracts. For example, lift maintenance contractors are required to submit quarterly reports and record the conditions of major safety devices in the lifts; as well as conduct routine maintenance on a weekly basis to ensure that the lifts can maintain a safe and stable working condition, so as to provide reliable service for residents. Furthermore, HA would regularly inspect and monitor the performance of lift maintenance contractors, and conduct surprise check against the condition of lifts, to ensure that all lifts operate in good order.

Nineteen PRH estates (105 blocks) under HA are transferred from the Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS"). Same as other PRH and subsidized sale flats constructed by HA, the lifts of such blocks were designed with the appropriate numbers, sizes and speeds according to the prevailing design standard at the time and the block types, with a view to providing adequate lift services to cater for residents' need. HA has allowed flexibility in the calculation to cater for the change in the number of residents. Information about these blocks and their lifts are at Annex 1.

HA has maintained consolidated records regarding lift breakdowns since 2015. Between January 2015 and November 2018, 3 173 breakdowns were recorded for the 428 lifts of the above mentioned 105 blocks (details are at Annex 2). Ten cases required service suspension for more than three days for repair, mainly because of defective control circuits and lift door damages by vandalism. None of these cases involved the recurrence of breakdown within 48 hours after repair.

HA will continue to take proactive measures, to ensure the provision of quality maintenance services for its lifts and their good working order.

4736 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Annex 1

Information on PRH blocks transferred from HOS and lifts therein

Number Building Lift Property Authorized of Lifts Estate Block Age Maintenance Management Population(1) per (Year) Contractor Company Block Fu Tai Chung Tai House 18 1 305 4 Chevalier (HK) Easy Living Estate Kin Tai House 18 1 354 Limited Consultant Ltd. Ning Tai House 18 1 338 Yan Tai House 18 1 276 Yat Tai House 18 1 215 Yin Tai House 18 1 218 Ying Tai House 18 1 408 Hoi Lai Hoi Ching House 14 1 467 4(2) KONE Elevator Housing Estate Hoi Chi House 14 1 414 (HK) Limited Department Hoi Hei House 14 1 447 Hoi Fai House 14 1 500 SIGMA Hoi Kin House 14 1 416 Elevator (HK) Hoi Ming House 14 1 469 Limited Hoi Nga House 14 1 459 Hoi Shun House 14 1 309 thyssenkrupp Hoi Wai House 14 1 436 Elevator (HK) Hoi Wo House 14 1 445 Limited Hoi Yin House 14 1 429 Hoi Shui House 13 995 Kin Ming Chau House 15 2 504 6(3) Hitachi Elevator Modern Living Ming Ming Sing House 15 2 540 Engineering Property Estate Ming Wik House 15 2 473 Company (Hong Management Ming Yat House 15 2 371 Kong) Limited Ltd. Ming Yu House 15 2 478 Ming Yuet House 15 722 Ko Ko Hang House 16 1 323 4 Otis Elevator Top One Ltd. Cheung Ko Ki House 16 1 336 Company (H.K.) Court Ko Lun House 16 1 342 Limited Ko On House 16 1 274 Ko Sui House 16 1 355 Kwai Kwai Foon 16 1 596 4 thyssenkrupp Modern Living Fong House Elevator (HK) Property Estate Kwai Hei House 16 1 661 Limited Management Ltd. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4737

Number Building Lift Property Authorized of Lifts Estate Block Age Maintenance Management Population(1) per (Year) Contractor Company Block Lam Tin Lam Fai House 9 1 990 5 thyssenkrupp Housing Estate Lam Tai House 9 1 994 Elevator (HK) Department Lam Bik House 9 1 975 Limited Lam Wai House 9 1 994 Nga Chun Chak 16 451 2 Chevalier (HK) Good Yield Ning House Limited Property Court Ho Chak House 16 548 Management Ltd. Oi Tung Oi Yat House 10 1 527 5 KONE Elevator Sunbase Estate (HK) Limited International Properties Management Ltd. On Tin On Kin House 14 1 437 4 Otis Elevator Modern Living Estate On Lai House 14 1 430 Company (H.K.) Property Limited Management Ltd. Po Tat Tat Hei House 16 1 316 4 SIGMA Creative Estate Tat Hin House 16 1 277 Elevator (HK) Property Tat Kai House 16 1 252 Limited Services Tat Kwai House 16 1 251 Consultants Ltd. Tat On House 16 1 301 Tat Shun House 16 1 320 Shek Pai Pik Luk House 11 1 647 4 Fujitec (HK) Housing Wan Pik Wai House 11 1 643 Company Department Estate Limited Tin Heng Heng Chi House 17 1 357 4 Fujitec (HK) Housing Estate Heng Chui House 17 1 468 Company Department Heng Fai House 17 1 469 Limited Heng Tung House 17 1 397 Heng Wan House 17 1 352 Hitachi Elevator Heng Cheuk House 17 1 311 Engineering Heng Chun House 17 1 289 Company (Hong Heng Lai House 17 1 221 Kong) Limited Heng Lok House 17 1 279 Heng Moon House 17 1 260 Heng Yan House 17 1 311 4738 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Number Building Lift Property Authorized of Lifts Estate Block Age Maintenance Management Population(1) per (Year) Contractor Company Block Tin Yat Yat Chi House 17 1 367 4 Hitachi Elevator Easy Living Estate Yat Hoi House 17 1 348 Engineering Consultant Ltd. Yat Kong House 17 1 337 Company (Hong Yat Long House 17 1 304 Kong) Limited Yat To House 17 1 336 Yat Tam House 17 1 375 Yat Wan House 17 1 345 Yat Wu House 17 1 322 Yat Yeung House 17 1 323 Tsz Hong Kin House 17 1 469 4 Mitsubishi Pioneer Hong Hong Sau House 17 1 452 Elevator Hong Management Estate Hong Tak House 17 1 419 Kong Company Ltd. Hong Tim House 17 1 424 Limited Hong Yun House 17 1 454 Wo Che King Wo House 16 886 3 Hitachi Elevator Housing Estate Engineering Department Company (Hong Kong) Limited Yat Tung Chau Yat House 18 1 209 4 KONE Elevator Good Excel (1) Estate Chi Yat House 18 1 225 (HK) Limited Property Heung Yat House 18 1 190 Consultants Ltd. Ping Yat House 18 1 226 Sin Yat House 18 1 217 Tai Yat House 18 1 195 Fuk Yat House 17 1 350 Luk Yat House 17 1 344 Ying Yat House 17 1 386 Yu Yat House 17 1 394 Yat Tung Chui Yat House 14 1 500 4 Chevalier (HK) Good Excel (2) Estate Him Yat House 15 1 513 Limited Property Kan Yat House 14 1 474 Consultants Ltd. Kit Yat House 14 1 524 SIGMA Po Yat House 14 1 502 Elevator (HK) Shun Yat House 15 1 496 Limited Sui Yat House 14 1 506 Tak Yat House 15 1 497 Yuet Yat House 14 1 505 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4739

Number Building Lift Property Authorized of Lifts Estate Block Age Maintenance Management Population(1) per (Year) Contractor Company Block Yau Lai Bik Lai House 14 1 474 4(4) Chevalier (HK) Easy Living Estate Chi Lai House 13 1 656 Limited Consultant Ltd. Nga Lai House 13 1 689 Sau Lai House 14 1 467 KONE Elevator Yi Lai House 14 1 438 (HK) Limited Yat Lai House 13 1 661 Ying Lai House 10 1 948 SIGMA Fung Lai House 10 1 975 Elevator (HK) Tsui Lai House 9 1 592 Limited Hong Lai House 9 1 606 Yau Mei Tong House 16 1 526 4 Otis Elevator Creative Tong Company (H.K.) Property Estate Limited Services Consultants Ltd. Total Number of Lifts: 428

Notes:

(1) HA does not maintain consolidated statistics on the projected number of residents of individual public housing estates at the design stage. As the above mentioned housing estates were designed many years ago, it takes time to retrieve the projected number of residents at the time of design. We are unable to provide such data for the time being. Furthermore, the actual population will change over time as a result of changes in residents' family status. The information of authorized population is as at 30 September 2018.

(2) There are three lifts in Hoi Shui House.

(3) Ming Yuet House is an annex block which has only one lift.

(4) There are five lifts each in Fung Lai House and Ying Lai House.

Annex 2

Information on lift breakdowns in PRH blocks transferred from HOS

Number of Lift Breakdowns Estate Block 2015 2016 2017 2018Note Fu Tai Estate Chung Tai House 8 5 5 2 Kin Tai House 7 7 2 5 Ning Tai House 5 1 3 2 4740 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Number of Lift Breakdowns Estate Block 2015 2016 2017 2018Note Yan Tai House 6 3 4 0 Yat Tai House 7 8 3 5 Yin Tai House 1 6 2 8 Ying Tai House 4 2 1 3 Hoi Lai Estate Hoi Ching House 2 7 8 5 Hoi Chi House 18 6 9 5 Hoi Hei House 6 14 6 12 Hoi Fai House 15 8 7 19 Hoi Kin House 17 6 7 14 Hoi Ming House 4 3 7 6 Hoi Nga House 5 11 8 19 Hoi Shun House 6 4 6 12 Hoi Wai House 2 9 14 8 Hoi Wo House 9 10 6 7 Hoi Yin House 9 16 14 10 Hoi Shui House 14 19 16 22 Kin Ming Estate Ming Chau House 6 9 5 2 Ming Sing House 7 8 2 8 Ming Wik House 6 9 13 9 Ming Yat House 8 12 8 4 Ming Yu House 12 19 6 4 Ming Yuet House 7 5 2 2 Ko Cheung Court Ko Hang House 4 5 4 5 Ko Ki House 5 4 3 3 Ko Lun House 5 5 2 5 Ko On House 7 6 3 1 Ko Sui House 2 6 2 1 Kwai Fong Estate Kwai Foon House 28 15 13 20 Kwai Hei House 21 16 10 24 Lam Tin Estate Lam Fai House 6 4 11 11 Lam Tai House 17 8 13 5 Lam Bik House 9 6 4 4 Lam Wai House 8 8 12 9 Nga Ning Court Chun Chak House 0 1 0 0 Ho Chak House 0 0 0 0 Oi Tung Estate Oi Yat House 3 12 7 8 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4741

Number of Lift Breakdowns Estate Block 2015 2016 2017 2018Note On Tin Estate On Kin House 17 23 6 6 On Lai House 15 16 17 5 Po Tat Estate Tat Hei House 12 11 15 29 Tat Hin House 18 23 7 20 Tat Kai House 10 10 12 30 Tat Kwai House 13 17 18 27 Tat On House 9 4 5 11 Tat Shun House 21 13 7 20 Shek Pai Wan Estate Pik Luk House 5 14 16 6 Pik Wai House 9 7 7 9 Tin Heng Estate Heng Chi House 6 4 12 1 Heng Chui House 8 21 17 7 Heng Fai House 13 14 17 24 Heng Tung House 4 6 9 6 Heng Wan House 9 8 5 3 Heng Cheuk House 6 13 5 2 Heng Chun House 2 7 6 9 Heng Lai House 3 5 9 8 Heng Lok House 2 6 2 5 Heng Moon House 7 15 17 3 Heng Yan House 3 16 10 8 Tin Yat Estate Yat Chi House 9 6 9 6 Yat Hoi House 1 4 4 4 Yat Kong House 1 7 3 6 Yat Long House 3 2 1 4 Yat To House 2 6 3 0 Yat Tam House 3 8 4 2 Yat Wan House 1 7 4 2 Yat Wu House 7 1 6 0 Yat Yeung House 4 1 1 5 Tsz Hong Estate Hong Kin House 2 6 3 9 Hong Sau House 10 11 5 5 Hong Tak House 7 13 9 5 Hong Tim House 10 16 9 4 Hong Yun House 2 5 6 8 4742 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Number of Lift Breakdowns Estate Block 2015 2016 2017 2018Note Wo Che Estate King Wo House 7 7 5 6 Yat Tung (1) Estate Chau Yat House 7 8 5 1 Chi Yat House 7 5 7 1 Heung Yat House 6 6 2 7 Ping Yat House 3 6 0 2 Sin Yat House 1 1 2 0 Tai Yat House 1 10 7 5 Fuk Yat House 2 1 2 1 Luk Yat House 2 3 2 2 Ying Yat House 3 3 5 1 Yu Yat House 2 9 3 3 Yat Tung (2) Estate Chui Yat House 12 7 9 5 Him Yat House 16 20 10 12 Kan Yat House 6 20 5 6 Kit Yat House 7 16 17 8 Po Yat House 9 6 15 8 Shun Yat House 7 14 12 7 Sui Yat House 7 9 11 2 Tak Yat House 13 20 10 9 Yuet Yat House 2 7 3 3 Yau Lai Estate Bik Lai House 9 5 3 3 Chi Lai House 6 3 1 6 Nga Lai House 4 6 6 1 Sau Lai House 5 0 1 5 Yi Lai House 2 0 4 1 Yat Lai House 3 5 2 3 Ying Lai House 6 9 6 7 Fung Lai House 8 8 9 2 Tsui Lai House 13 8 7 4 Hong Lai House 10 14 9 13 Yau Tong Estate Mei Tong House 21 29 33 23

Note:

Figures as at November 2018.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4743

Tuen Mun South Extension and Northern Link (and Kwu Tung Station)

20. MR ANDREW WAN (in Chinese): President, the Railway Development Strategy 2014 released in September 2014 recommended that the Government should implement the projects of the Tuen Mun South Extension of the West Rail ("South Extension") and the Northern Link and Kwu Tung Station ("Northern Link") in 2019 to 2022 and in 2018 to 2023 respectively. In her Policy Address delivered in 2017, the Chief Executive undertook that the Government would aim to consult the public on these two railway schemes in 2018. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) why the Government did not consult the public on the schemes of the South Extension and the Northern Link in 2018 pursuant to the undertaking made in the 2017 Policy Address;

(2) of, in the light of the current progress, the respective anticipated commencement dates of the construction works and the commissioning dates of the South Extension and the Northern Link; if the anticipated commissioning dates will be behind the originally scheduled commissioning dates, of the measures put in place by the Government prior to the completion of those railway projects to improve the traffic arrangements for residents of the New Territories commuting to and from the urban areas; and

(3) given that problems of non-compliant works were uncovered earlier on in the Shatin to Central Link project, which is implemented under the concession approach, whether the Government will continue to adopt the concession approach for implementing the South Extension and the Northern Link; if so, of the reasons for that; if not, the approach(es) it will adopt for implementing those new railway projects?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, my consolidated reply to Mr Andrew WAN's question is as follows:

Having regard to the indicative implementation window recommended in the Railway Development Strategy 2014 ("RDS-2014"), the Transport and Housing Bureau had invited the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") to submit proposals for the implementation of the Tuen Mun South Extension and the Northern Link (and Kwu Tung Station). MTRCL submitted proposals for these 4744 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 two railway projects to the Government in end December 2016 and end March 2017 respectively. The Transport and Housing Bureau, the Highways Department and relevant bureaux/departments have been evaluating the proposals and have requested MTRCL to provide additional information and supplement details. In carrying out the evaluation, our main focus is to ensure that the proposals are practically feasible and can bring maximum benefits to the community.

As clearly stated in RDS-2014, the taking forward of individual proposed railway projects set out in the Strategy will be subject to the outcome of detailed engineering, environmental and financial studies relating to each project, as well as updated demand assessment and availability of resources. Moreover, for railway projects which are mainly intended to complement new development areas and new housing developments, the implementation timetable for the development areas and new housing developments in question will be an important planning parameter for the railway projects. Therefore, the indicative implementation windows recommended in RDS-2014 may be adjusted having regard to any change in circumstances. In fact, in MTRCL's project proposals submitted to the Government, their proposed implementation windows are different from those in RDS-2014.

Railway projects involve huge capital investment, and the Government has to plan in a prudent manner. The new railway projects proposed in RDS-2014 have different degrees of complexities. In planning the Tuen Mun South Extension, we need to consider the various impact on nearby residents arising from the proposed alignment and the mitigation schemes. In planning the Northern Link (and Kwu Tung Station), we need to assess in details and mitigate the impact on ecologically-sensitive areas (such as the Mai Po Nature Reserve, fishponds, wetlands, egretries and farmlands) along the railway alignment. Meanwhile, in light of the tight housing supply, the Government is reviewing the potential housing supply that may be brought about by the proposals for the Tuen Mun South Extension and the Northern Link (and Kwu Tung Station), and will strive to undertake public consultation on these proposals as soon as possible.

In line with established procedures, prior to the finalization of any new railway scheme, we will consult the public, including the Legislative Council and the relevant District Councils, on the details of the scheme including detailed alignment, locations of stations, mode of implementation and cost estimate. We understand that the Tuen Mun District Council and the residents expect an early implementation of the Tuen Mun South Extension. We will strive to undertake public consultation on the proposal as soon as possible. In planning the Northern Link (and Kwu Tung Station), we will also continue to monitor the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4745 development of the new development areas (such as the Kwu Tung North New Development Area), to ensure that the implementation of the Northern Link (and Kwu Tung Station) will match the timetable for the development of the new development areas.

The form of funding support for railway projects should be project-specific. We will consider in details and review whether a new railway project shall be implemented under the ownership approach or the concession approach on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the experience of implementing the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and Shatin-to-Central Link projects.

Promoting local cultural heritage

21. MR KENNETH LAU (in Chinese): President, some members of the public have relayed to me that a number of villages in the New Territories with long histories not only have many buildings with conservation value but also have been preserving many traditional customs (e.g. sek pun (basin feast), lantern lighting ceremony, jiao festival and unicorn dance). However, since the closure in June 2016 of the New Territories Heritage Hall, a permanent gallery of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the Government has not implemented any project in public museums for promoting the cultural heritage of the New Territories. Besides, there have not been significant increases in the number of tourists visiting the Ping Shan Heritage Trail and Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail over the years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective operating expenditures and attendances of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong Museum of History, Sam Tung Uk Museum, Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery and Sheung Yiu Folk Museum in each of the past five years;

(2) of the respective numbers of guided tours conducted at the Ping Shan Heritage Trail and Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail and the respective numbers of participants in such tours, in each of the past five years;

(3) of the expenditure incurred in each of the past three years by the Antiquities and Monuments Office on restoring and repairing the built heritage in the New Territories, and the details of the works projects concerned;

4746 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(4) whether it has formulated short and medium term plans for setting up permanent galleries in public museums or discussed with the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and Mainland/overseas museums the collaboration in the planning of exhibitions, with a view to promoting the traditional cultural customs of the New Territories; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(5) of the measures to increase the attractiveness of those museums and heritage trails at remote locations, so as to let more members of the public know about the traditional cultural customs of the New Territories; and

(6) as the Chief Executive has announced in this year's Policy Address that the Government will allocate $300 million to strengthen the preservation, promotion and transmission of intangible cultural heritage ("ICH"), of the details of the relevant work; the specific plans to promote the relevant work among ICH bearers, the New Territories Heung Yee Kuk, various rural committees and District Councils, and assist inexperienced ICH bearers in preserving and promoting ICH?

SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Chinese): President, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region attaches great importance to the preservation of traditional customs of the New Territories, and has been promoting relating cultural heritage to the general public through various means. Our reply to various parts of Mr Kenneth LAU's question is as follows:

(1) The operating expenditure (excluding staff salaries) and attendance of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong Museum of History, Sam Tung Uk Museum, Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery cum Heritage Trail Visitors Centre and Sheung Yiu Folk Museum in the past five years are at Annexes 1 and 2.

(2) The Antiquities and Monuments Office ("AMO") offers free docent services of heritage trails for local registered charitable organizations, non-profit-making institutions and schools. In the past five years (i.e. 2014-2018), 1 060 guided tours were conducted at Ping Shan Heritage Trail and 191 guided tours at Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail with the total numbers of participants at 29 722 and 5 178 respectively.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4747

(3) Expenditure incurred in each of the past three financial years (i.e. 2015-2016 to 2017-2018) by AMO on restoring and repairing the privately-owned Declared Monuments in the New Territories, and the details of the works projects concerned are set out at Annex 3.

(4) The museums under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") endeavor to promote the traditional cultural heritage of Hong Kong. The permanent exhibition of the Hong Kong Museum of History showcases, among other things, the cultural heritage of the New Territories including the traditional lifestyles, customs, beliefs and festive activities of the major ethnic groups. In addition, three other LCSD museums namely the Sam Tung Uk Museum, Law Uk Folk Museum and the Sheung Yiu Folk Museum were originally Hakka village houses converted into public museums after restoration. Their exhibitions illustrate the lifestyle of Hakka people in the old days. Furthermore, the "Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage ('ICH') Centre" was established in the Sam Tung Uk Museum in 2016 as a display and resource centre dedicated to showcasing ICH items, many of which highlight the cultural heritage of the New Territories. Notable examples include Hakka unicorn dance, Cheung Chau Jiao Festival, Tai O dragon boat water parade, spring and autumn ancestral worship of clans, Tin Hau Festival, etc. With the opening of venues in the West Kowloon Cultural District ("WKCD") in coming years, LCSD also welcomes collaboration opportunities in the promotion of traditional cultural heritage.

The museums and the ICH Office under the purview of LCSD will continue to promote the traditional cultural heritage of Hong Kong and collaborate with Mainland/overseas museums for organizing outbound exhibitions. Recent examples include an exhibition at the Prince Kung's Mansion in Beijing in December 2018 and January 2019 showcasing the 20 items on the Representative List of the ICH of Hong Kong, including the items related to traditional culture of the New Territories.

(5) LCSD regularly organizes education and extension activities related to traditional culture of Hong Kong at small museums at remote locations with a view to enhancing the attractiveness and public awareness. These activities include demonstrations and workshops, 4748 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

school visits through the School Culture Day Scheme. To further promote these small museums and built heritage, LCSD organized special activities such as "Hi! Houses" which was an art project organized at Law Uk Folk Museum, Sam Tung Uk Museum, old house at Wong Uk Village, etc. in 2017, as well as "Muse Fest HK 2017" which included a wide range of programmes such as "Hi! Mini-Concert at Wong Uk" and "Museum Hopping Tour" to different museums in the territories.

AMO has been collaborating closely with village representatives of Ping Shan in Yuen Long and Lung Yeuk Tau in Fanling. Discussions with the villager representatives on the repair and opening of historic buildings along the trails as well as the ancillary facilities of the Ping Shan Heritage Trail and Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail are held frequently. In order to enhance the attractiveness of Ping Shan Heritage Trail, AMO has, in recent years, garnered the support of Ping Shan villagers to include Yan Tun Kong Study Hall and Tat Tak Communal Hall, after their renovation, into the trail to open to the public. AMO will continue to cooperate with local villagers in organizing field trips and guided tours of heritage trails to promote historic buildings as well as the traditional festivals and celebrations held there, such as ancestral worship, lantern lighting ceremony and Jiao Festival, to increase the attractiveness of the heritage trails.

(6) With the funding approval of the Finance Committee of Legislative Council, LCSD will launch a new ICH funding scheme with a commitment of $300 million to engage the community to participate in the safeguarding, research, education, promotion and transmission of ICH, and to enhance public awareness and understanding of the ICH of Hong Kong. The funding scheme will provide support to the identified projects and activities organized by or in partnership with community organizations and ICH bearers. Major target recipients include bearers or bearer organizations of local ICH items; individuals or organizations related to local ICH items, holding techniques and knowledge, or transmitting ceremonies and traditions of local ICH items; cultural organizations or academic institutions conducting researches on local ICH; and individuals or organizations promoting local ICH items in the community. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4749

Projects/activities to be funded must be non-profit by nature. The funding scheme will accept applications from Hong Kong residents; approved charitable institutions, recognized non-profit making organizations, local societies and groups; and local tertiary education institutions. ICHO will set up relevant web pages and hold briefings to introduce the details of the funding scheme. For individual ICH bearers and community organizations that might not have the requisite knowledge or experience to apply for the funding, ICHO would provide the necessary advice and assistance wherever appropriate.

Annex 1

Operating expenditure (excluding staff salaries) of Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong Museum of History, Sam Tung Uk Museum, Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery cum Heritage Trail Visitors Centre and Sheung Yiu Folk Museum

Ping Shan Tang Clan Hong Kong Hong Kong Gallery cum Sheung Yiu Sam Tung Heritage Museum of Heritage Folk Year Uk Museum MuseumNote HistoryNote Trail Museum Visitors Centre Operating Expenditure ($ million) 2013-2014 66.05 52.66 1.46 3.44 0.82 2014-2015 90.91 53.90 1.87 3.56 0.79 2015-2016 68.43 53.05 2.19 3.86 0.91 2016-2017 81.71 61.22 1.95 3.47 0.90 2017-2018 90.36 75.85 2.21 3.42 0.86

Note:

Including funding from other bureaux/departments.

4750 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Annex 2

Attendance of Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong Museum of History, Sam Tung Uk Museum, Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery cum Heritage Trail Visitors Centre and Sheung Yiu Folk Museum

Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery Hong Kong Hong Kong Sam Tung Sheung Yiu cum Heritage Museum of Uk Folk Heritage Museum History Museum Museum Trail Visitors Centre 2013-2014 636 276 830 159 89 470 72 698 41 537 2014-2015 930 387 759 909 92 394 70 813 41 192 2015-2016 430 155 764 049 91 348 71 364 40 040 2016-2017Note 787 039 1 037 610 107 493 71 119 40 722 2017-2018 1 142 235 1 491 899 101 227 70 183 39 043

Note:

The permanent exhibitions of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the Hong Kong Museum of History were opened to the public free of charge starting from 1 August 2016.

Annex 3

Restoration and maintenance projects for privately-owned declared monuments in the New Territories completed in the past three years (i.e. 2015-2016 to 2017-2018) by AMO

Works Works Contract Name of Building Scope of Works Commencement Completion Sum Date Date ($) Man Mo Temple, Tai Po Roof and electrical April 2015 June 2015 984,750 repairs and drainage investigation Kun Lung Wai, Lung Repair of enclosing walls September 2014 July 2015 774,240 Yeuk Tau, Fanling LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4751

Works Works Contract Name of Building Scope of Works Commencement Completion Sum Date Date ($) Morrison Building, Hoh Urgent repair January 2015 July 2015 466,000 Fuk Tong, Tuen Mun Tang Ancestral Hall, Ha Consultancy and project July 2009 December 480,000 Tsuen, Yuen Long management service for 2015 full restoration of Tang Ancestral Hall Tang Ancestral Hall (Yau Restoration and April 2014 December 363,600 Kung School), Ha Tsuen, improvement works 2015 Yuen Long Tang Ancestral Hall, Ha Restoration and April 2014 December 766,400 Tsuen, Yuen Long improvement works 2015 1) I Shing Temple, Yuen Minor repair works October 2015 December 175,000 Long 2015 2) Hau Ku Shek Ancestral Hall, Sheung Shui Tang Kwong U Ancestral Cleaning of brick walls January 2016 January 8,300 Hall, Kam Tin, Yuen and granite surfaces 2016 Long Fat Tat Tong, Sha Tau Consultancy service to September 2014 February 300,000 Kok provide conservation 2016 management plan Fat Tat Tong, Sha Tau Consultancy service to November 2014 February 260,000 Kok provide cartographic and 2016 photographic survey Residence of Ip Ting-sz, Re-roofing, redecoration October 2015 February 910,000 Lin Ma Hang, Sha Tau and repair works 2016 Kok 1) Cheung Shan Minor repair works November 2015 February 160,000 Monastery, Ping Che, 2016 Fanling 2) Leung Ancestral Hall, Pat Heung, Yuen Long 4752 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Works Works Contract Name of Building Scope of Works Commencement Completion Sum Date Date ($) 3) Chik Kwai Study Hall, Pat Heung, Yuen Long 4) Yan Tun Kong Study Hall, Ping Shan, Yuen Long King Law Ka Shuk, Tai Repair of roofs at side March 2016 June 2016 248,080 Po chambers Chik Kwai Study Hall, Provision of metal June 2016 June 2016 68,600 Pat Heung, Yuen Long working platform and access for inspection Tang Ancestral Hall, Repairs and maintenance December 2015 August 613,000 Ping Shan, Yuen Long works 2016 Fat Tat Tong, Sha Tau Structural and drainage January 2016 August 585,900 Kok investigations and minor 2016 repair works Kan Yung Study Hall, Minor repair works January 2016 September 245,000 Sha Tau Kok 2016 Man Lun Fung Ancestral Drainage cleaning and August 2016 October 38,000 Hall, San Tin, Yuen underground drainage 2016 Long maintenance works Yeung Hau Temple, Ha Drainage investigation July 2016 November 613,500 Tsuen, Yuen Long and maintenance works 2016 Kun Lung Wai, Lung Provision of water November 2015 December 46,800 Yeuk Tau, Fanling barriers to cordon off the 2016 bulged enclosing walls 1) The Rock Inscription, Minor repair works March 2016 December 245,000 Joss House Bay, Sai 2016 Kung 2) Kang Yung Study Hall, Sha Tau Kok Tai Fu Tai, San Tin, Reconstruction of pond July 2016 December 230,700 Yuen Long fences 2016 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4753

Works Works Contract Name of Building Scope of Works Commencement Completion Sum Date Date ($) 1) I Shing Temple, Yuen Consultancy service to January 2011 January 425,000 Long provide cartographic 2017 2) Cheung Shan survey Monastery, Ping Che, Fanling 3) Kang Yung Study Hall, Sha Tau Kok Lo Wai, Lung Yeuk Tau, Major repair to entrance April 2016 January 3,089,600 Fanling tower and enclosing 2017 walls (Phase II) 1) Cheung Shan Minor repair works September 2016 January 455,000 Monastery, Ping Che, 2017 Fanling 2) Man Mo Temple, Tai Po 3) Tin Hau Temple, Lung Yeuk Tau, Fanling 4) Yu Kiu Ancestral Hall, Ping Shan, Yuen Long 5) Kun Lung Gate Tower, Lung Yeuk Tau, Fanling 6) Cheung Chun Yuen, Kam Tin, Yuen Long 7) Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda, Ping Shan, Yuen Long 8) Leung Ancestral Hall, Pat Heung, Yuen Long 9) Tang Ancestral Hall, Ping Shan, Yuen Long Tang Kwong U Ancestral Minor repair works December 2016 March 2017 158,500 Hall, Kam Tin, Yuen Long 4754 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Works Works Contract Name of Building Scope of Works Commencement Completion Sum Date Date ($) Liu Man Shek Tong Major structural repair February 2016 March 2017 1,878,000 Ancestral Hall, Sheung (Phase I) Shui Chik Kwai Study Hall, Structural timber repair January 2017 July 2017 821,000 Pat Heung, Yuen Long Yu Kiu Ancestral Hall, Urgent repair June 2017 July 2017 20,100 Ping Shan, Yuen Long Tang Chung Ling Roof structural repair June 2016 December 3,691,100 Ancestral Hall, Fanling 2017 1) Yeung Hau Temple, Minor repair works October 2017 December 412,000 Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long 2017 2) Tang Ancestral Hall, Ping Shan, Yuen Long 3) Tang Ancestral Hall, Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long 4) Cheung Shan Monastery, Ping Che, Fanling 5) Cheung Ancestral Hall, Shan Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long 1) Leung Ancestral Hall, Minor repair works November 2017 December 381,000 Pat Heung, Yuen 2017 Long 2) King Law Ka Shuk, Tai Po 3) Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda, Ping Shan, Yuen Long 4) Enclosing Walls of Lo Wai, Lung Yeuk Tau, Fanling 5) Hung Shing Temple, Kau Sai Chau, Sai Kung 6) Tang Kwong U Ancestral Hall, Kam Tin, Yuen Long LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4755

Works Works Contract Name of Building Scope of Works Commencement Completion Sum Date Date ($) 7) Kun Lung Gate Tower, Kun Lung Wai, Lung Yeuk Tau, Fanling 8) Chik Kwai Study Hall, Pat Heung, Yuen Long Yu Kiu Ancestral Hall Consultancy service to December 2010 December 290,000 and Tsui Sing Lau provide cartographic 2017 Pagoda, Ping Shan, Yuen survey Long Tat Tak Communal Hall, Restoration work of the January 2017 February 2,596,000 Ping Shan, Yuen Long rear hall and related 2018 works Yi Tai Study Hall, Kam Repair works November 2017 January 330,400 Tin, Yuen Long 2018 Residence of Ip Ting-sz, Kitchen roof and wall July 2017 February 906,500 Lin Ma Hang, Sha Tau repair works 2018 Kok Tang Chung Ling Urgent structural support January 2018 February 710,000 Ancestral Hall, Fanling works at the middle hall 2018 1) Tin Hau Temple, Repair works November 2017 March 2018 467,750 Lung Yeuk Tau, Fanling 2) Yu Kiu Ancestral Hall, Ping Shan, Yuen Long

Handling of unauthorized signboards

22. MR VINCENT CHENG (in Chinese): President, since 2 September 2013, the Buildings Department ("BD") has implemented a voluntary Validation Scheme for Unauthorized Signboards ("Validation Scheme") to provide an additional option for signboard owners apart from removing their unauthorized signboards and re-erecting legal ones under the Minor Works Control System 4756 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

("MWCS"). In addition, BD has launched large scale operations ("LSOs") each year since 2014 on one or more street sections against dangerous signboards and unauthorized signboards not joining the Validation Scheme. The relevant work includes investigation, issuing Dangerous Structure Removal Notices ("DSRNs"), instituting prosecutions or engaging contractors to carry out removal or rectification works on behalf of the owners ("default works"). On the other hand, it was pointed out in Report No. 71 of the Director of Audit ("the Audit Report") published in November last year that there had been a number of inadequacies in BD's management of signboards. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of signboards validated under the Validation Scheme in each of the past five years (set out in a table); whether it has reviewed if the relevant figures are on the low side;

(2) as the Audit Report revealed that BD conducted LSOs from 2015 to 2017 on a total of 20 street sections but none of them had been completed as at April last year, of the detailed addresses of those street sections and the latest implementation status of LSOs, including the number of removal orders issued, the respective numbers of removal orders which have been and have not been complied with, the number of cases of default works carried out, and the number of prosecutions instituted by BD (set out in a table); the follow-up work carried out by BD in respect of those street sections and whether new LSOs will be conducted;

(3) given that BD issued 507 removal orders in the LSOs in 2017 but only 89 (i.e. 17%) of them had been complied with as at April last year, whether BD knows the reasons for the non-compliance of the removal orders;

(4) given that BD issued 133 DSRNs in the LSOs in 2017 and the target date by which BD should carry out default works for the non-compliant cases among the DSRNs was January 2018, but as at April last year, BD had not yet carried out default works for 98 (i.e. 74%) non-compliant DSRNs among those issued, of the reasons for the slippage, as well as the plans in place to expedite the works;

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4757

(5) given that BD took law enforcement actions against 106 large unauthorized signboards in 2017, and revised the target number of such signboards against which law enforcement actions were to be taken in 2018 to 170 and set time targets (i.e. requiring that removal orders issued be cleared and discharged within two and three years respectively from the conduct of LSOs), of BD's measures to ensure that the time targets can be met;

(6) of the number of write-off cases in each of the past four years due to BD's failure to recover the costs of default works from signboard owners, and the total amount involved;

(7) as the Audit Report recommended that BD should compile and analyze management information with a view to monitoring the operation and effectiveness of MWCS in relation to signboards, when BD will implement recommendation; and

(8) whether BD will recruit additional manpower to implement the recommendations of the Audit Report; if so, of the timetable of the recruitment exercise, as well as the number and duties of the additional staff?

SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, the Government has all along attached great importance to signboard safety. At present, any signboards erected without obtaining the approval and consent of the Buildings Department ("BD") or following the requirements under the Minor Works Control System ("MWCS") are unauthorized building works (except for designated exempted works ("DEW")(1)). BD may issue removal orders to signboard owners or persons concerned in accordance with section 24 of the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) ("BO"). Regarding abandoned and dangerous signboards, BD may issue Dangerous Structure Removal Notices ("DSRN") to the owners in accordance with section 105(1) of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), requiring removal of the signboards concerned.

(1) Examples of such type of DEW include erection of a wall signboard fixed to the external wall of a building with display area of not more than 1 sq m, not comprising any display system consisting of light emitting diodes, projecting not more than 150 mm from the wall, and with a distance of not more than 3 m from the ground. 4758 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Considering that most existing signboards are in active use by business operators and that their existence carries considerable value for sustaining local commercial activities and contributing to Hong Kong's prosperity, BD has implemented the Signboard Validation Scheme ("SVS") since 2 September 2013, allowing the continued use of signboards that are relatively small in scale, pose less potential risk and are already erected before the date SVS came into effect that meet the prescribed technical specifications for minor works, on the condition that they have undergone safety inspection, strengthening (if necessary), and certification by prescribed building professionals and/or prescribed registered contractors. Such signboards are required to undergo safety inspection and certification every five years thereafter.

Based on a "risk-based" principle, BD is adopting a multi-pronged approach to deal with unauthorized, dangerous and abandoned signboards. The department carries out surveys proactively, implements SVS on an ongoing basis, and carries out two large scale operations ("LSO") as follows:

(a) select target street sections to remove unauthorized, dangerous and abandoned signboards in a comprehensive manner (LSO on Target Streets). When carrying out such LSO, removal orders are issued against unauthorized signboards which have not been validated under SVS to urge their owners to join SVS as soon as possible. Removal orders or DSRNs are also issued against unauthorized signboards that are large in scale and are ineligible for validation to minimize the potential safety risk to the public; and

(b) conduct LSO against large unauthorized signboards(2) that pose a relatively higher risk to the public (LSO on Large Unauthorized Signboards).

(2) "Large unauthorized signboards" covered signboards falling within the following criteria:

(i) Wall signboards with a display area exceeding 20 sq m;

(ii) Projecting signboards with a display area exceeding 10 sq m, projecting more than 4.2 m from the external wall or more than one traffic lane or the location of which may cause obstruction to vehicular traffic; and

(iii) Shopfront signboards of a volume exceeding 8 cu m or the projection exceeding 1 m. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4759

Other than LSOs, BD will take immediate enforcement action against signboards constituting obvious hazard to life or property and give priority to enforce against unauthorized signboards under construction or are newly erected.

Chapter 4 of the Report No. 71 of the Director of Audit ("the Audit Report") issued on 28 November 2018 concerns management of signboards by BD. The Government accepts the recommendations made by the report on the overall management of signboards. BD will take measures to promptly implement the recommendations as far as practicable.

In consultation with BD, the Development Bureau provides a consolidated reply as follows:

(1) The number of validated signboards under SVS in the past five years are tabulated below:

Year Number of validated signboards 2014 32 2015 86 2016 96 2017 45 2018 30

BD noted that since the implementation of MWCS (i.e. after 31 December 2010) until the implementation of SVS (i.e. on or before 1 September 2013), there were 94 cases of minor works associated with signboards on average per month. From 2 September 2013 to late 2018, the number of such cases had substantially increased to 455 cases on average per month, representing an increase of 384%. This shows that quite a number of signboard owners would choose to remove the old signboards and re-erect a new compliant signboard in accordance with MWCS due to various reasons (e.g. their unauthorized signboards were erected after 2 September 2013 and hence are ineligible to join SVS).

While quite a number of signboard owners choose to remove and re-erect signboards under MWCS, BD considers that SVS is providing an alternative for owners of small signboards. In fact, the statistics shows that some owners of small signboards have applied through SVS for continual use of their existing signboards due to cost and business considerations.

4760 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

(2) Since 2014, BD has been carrying out LSO on Target Streets in target street sections in various districts in Hong Kong to issue removal orders against unauthorized signboards which had not been validated under SVS or were ineligible for validation, as well as DSRNs against abandoned or dangerous signboards.

The locations of the 20 target street sections covered by LSO on Target Streets from 2015 to 2017 and the progress of enforcement actions (as at 3 January 2019) are listed in Annex.

BD will continue to select target street sections within the territory for LSO on Target Streets every year to remove unauthorized, abandoned or dangerous signboards.

(3) Since unauthorized signboards are in active use by business operators, upon receipt of the removal orders issued by BD, the business operators generally need time to prepare and arrange for the removal and re-erection of signboards or to join SVS in compliance with the requirements under BO. BD will consider and handle the cases on its individual circumstances. BD will continue to monitor the status of compliance of the removal orders issued under the 2017 LSO on Target Streets, request the concerned signboard owners to take timely follow-up actions, and will prosecute uncooperative owners to enhance the deterrent effect.

(4) As BD has responded to the Audit Report, BD has accorded priority in carrying out default works to deal with non-compliant DSRNs. By end 2018, all signboards involved in the 133 DSRNs issued under the 2017 LSO on Target Streets have been removed.

(5) BD has issued a total of 173 removal orders according to the pre-set target in its 2018 LSO on Large Unauthorized Signboards. BD's Progress Monitoring Committee will closely and systematically monitor the enforcement progress of these removal orders to ensure the enforcement actions will be completed within the time targets.

(6) The number of written-off cases in which BD was unable to recover the costs of default works from signboard owners in the last four financial years with the respective sum of money involved are tabulated as follows:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4761

Number of written-off The sum of written off due cases due to unsuccessful to unsuccessful recovery of Financial recovery of costs of default costs of default works from year works from signboard signboard owners owners (HK$) 2014-2015 0 0 2015-2016 1 37,912.30 2016-2017 0 0 2017-2018 1 29,860.60

(7) The revamped Minor Works Management System ("MWMS") is anticipated to launch in 2020 to compile more management information for monitoring the operation and effectiveness of MWCS (including the submissions for erection/alteration of signboards under MWCS). The following interim measures are being pursued pending the launch of the revamped MWMS:

(i) written instructions on handling cases of withdrawn submissions were issued;

(ii) the existing MWMS to record audit cases with serious irregularities will be enhanced by early 2019;

(iii) the standard record sheet of audit check result to improve the clarity of the audit records by differentiating cases requiring follow-up actions from rectified cases will be revised; and

(iv) the database on Prescribed Building Professionals and Prescribed Registered Contractors served with warning letters under MWCS will be enhanced to identify repeated offenders.

(8) At present, BD's Signboard Control Unit ("SCU") under the Minor Works and Signboard Control Section is responsible for identifying and taking enforcement actions against dangerous or unauthorized signboards, administering SVS, and checking minor works submissions relating to signboards. In late 2018, SCU has 42 professional and technical staff.

4762 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

We will continue to closely monitor the safety hazards arising from signboards and keep in view the manpower available to handle the management of signboards. We will bid for additional manpower or resources in accordance with the existing mechanism to strengthen the management of signboards when necessary.

Annex

Progress of Enforcement Actions under LSO on Target Streets from 2015 to 2017 (As at 3 January 2019)

Number of removal Number order of DSRN Number complied complied Number of Number with/dis- with/dis- Number of removal Target of charged Number charged of outstand order Year District Street removal (Number of DSRN (Number outstand- -ing with Section(1) order of issued of DSRN ing removal prosecut- issued removal complied DSRN order ion order with by arranged complied default with by works) default works) Central Wing and Lok Western Street Wan Jardine's Chai Crescent Yau Portland 279 33 2015 287 8 8 33 0 Tsim Street (2) (21) Mong Sham Tai Nan Shui Po Street Kowloon Nam Kok City Road LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4763

Number of removal Number order of DSRN Number complied complied Number of Number with/dis- with/dis- Number of removal Target of charged Number charged of outstand order Year District Street removal (Number of DSRN (Number outstand- -ing with Section(1) order of issued of DSRN ing removal prosecut- issued removal complied DSRN order ion order with by arranged complied default with by works) default works) Wan Thomson Chai Road Eastern Tsat Tsz Mui Road Yau Temple Tsim Street Mong 308 67 2016 366 58 57(2) 67 0 Yau Portland (1) (26) Tsim Street Mong Tsuen Chuen Wan Lung Street North San Fat Street Central D'Aguilar and Street Western 176 133 2017 Wan Percival 507 331 3 133 0 (0) (50) Chai Street Eastern Electric Road 4764 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Number of removal Number order of DSRN Number complied complied Number of Number with/dis- with/dis- Number of removal Target of charged Number charged of outstand order Year District Street removal (Number of DSRN (Number outstand- -ing with Section(1) order of issued of DSRN ing removal prosecut- issued removal complied DSRN order ion order with by arranged complied default with by works) default works) Yau Granville Tsim Road Mong Yau Haiphong Tsim Road Mong Yau Parkes Tsim Street Mong Kwun Ngau Tau Tong Kok Road Tsuen Chuen Wan Lung Street Tai Po Tai Ming Lane Square

Notes:

(1) Only specific sections of the target streets were involved.

(2) The signboard owner of the remaining outstanding removal order is applying for the continual use of the signboard through SVS.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4765

GOVERNMENT MOTION

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Government motion. Proposed resolution under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance.

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

I call upon the Secretary for Security to speak and move the motion.

PROPOSED RESOLUTION UNDER THE MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS ORDINANCE

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, I move that the motion, as printed on the Agenda, on the resolution to approve the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Mongolia) Order, be passed.

Hong Kong is committed to playing an active role in international cooperation in law enforcement. As many crimes are now committed across borders, it is necessary for different jurisdictions to strengthen law enforcement and judicial cooperation.

Hong Kong has been cooperating with other jurisdictions on criminal matters, and seeking to conclude bilateral agreements on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters ("MLA") with other jurisdictions in accordance with Article 96 of the Basic Law to establish strong and comprehensive cooperation relationships. These bilateral agreements provide for reciprocal assistance between Hong Kong and the contracting parties, and demonstrate Hong Kong's commitment to the international effort in fighting crimes.

The Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance ("the Ordinance") provides a statutory framework for implementing MLA agreements signed between Hong Kong and other jurisdictions, enabling assistance to be provided to or obtained from foreign jurisdictions in the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences. Such assistance includes the taking of evidence, search and seizure, production of material, transfer of persons to give evidence and confiscation of crime proceeds.

4766 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Hong Kong has so far signed MLA agreements with 32 foreign jurisdictions, including the MLA agreement signed with Mongolia in March 2018. Pursuant to the Ordinance, the Chief Executive in Council has made the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Mongolia) Order to implement this bilateral agreement and enable the Ordinance to be applied between Hong Kong and Mongolia.

The Order will come into operation on the 30th day after the contracting parties have notified each other that their respective local requirements have been complied with. I will appoint by notice in the Gazette the commencement date of the Order in accordance with the requirements of the Order.

I now invite Members to approve the making of the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Mongolia) Order.

Thank you, President.

The Secretary for Security moved the following motion:

"RESOLVED that the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Mongolia) Order, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 20 November 2018, be approved."

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now propose the question to you and that is: That the motion moved by the Secretary for Security be passed.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Holden CHOW, please speak.

MR HOLDEN CHOW (in Cantonese): President, I am in support of the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance, but I wish to take this opportunity to point out that while Hong Kong has signed mutual legal assistance in criminal matters ("MLA") agreements with 32 jurisdictions, there is no MLA agreement between Hong Kong and certain places, such as the neighbouring Taiwan. It is noted that in a number of crimes in the past, especially the case in which a Hong Kong citizen was murdered in Taiwan last year, this legal loophole and the lack of transfer arrangement has disallowed the victims to seek justice.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4767

President, I certainly do not intend to go into or discuss the details of this case. All I want to say is that the lack of MIA arrangement between Hong Kong and Taiwan is a loophole which may be exploited by offenders in future crimes to go scot-free. The authorities should, in my view, follow up and take heed of this issue. Thank you, President.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, do you wish to reply?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr CHOW for his opinions. At present, Hong Kong does not have a mutual legal assistance in criminal matters ("MLA") arrangement with Taiwan. Prior to the implementation of a new MLA arrangement between Hong Kong and any jurisdiction, both parties have to go through the processes of negotiation and signing of the relevant agreement or arrangement as well as completing the respective procedures required for entry into force of the relevant agreement or arrangement before the new arrangement can take legal effect.

The SAR Government is very concerned about and attaches great importance to the case mentioned by Mr CHOW just now. As the legal proceedings of crimes committed in Hong Kong by the suspect in this case are underway, we will not comment on the case. The SAR Government fully understands the community's concern about the case and the relevant authorities have spared no effort to handle the case in the most appropriate manner according to the law. Regarding the requests for judicial assistance from abroad, the SAR Government will handle them in accordance with the law. Therefore, I understand the point raised by Mr CHOW on this case just now.

We wish to establish strong and comprehensive judicial cooperation relationships with other places and demonstrate our commitment to the joint effort in fighting crimes. The Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Mongolia) Order substantially conforms to the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance, showing that we are determined to join hands with different countries and places to combat crimes.

President, I invite Members to approve the making of the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Mongolia) Order. Thank you, President.

4768 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now put the question to you and that is: That the motion moved by the Secretary for Security be passed. Will those in favour please raise their hands?

(Members raised their hands)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Those against please raise their hands.

(No hands raised)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I think the question is agreed by a majority of the Members present. I declare the motion passed.

MEMBERS' MOTIONS

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Members' motions. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the two items of subsidiary legislation made under the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance, which were laid on the Table of this Council on 12 December 2018.

I call upon Dr Pierre CHAN to speak and move the motion.

PROPOSED RESOLUTION UNDER SECTION 34(4) OF THE INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE

DR PIERRE CHAN (in Cantonese): President, I move that the motion, as printed on the Agenda, be passed.

In my capacity as Chairman of the Subcommittee, I move that the motion under my name, as printed on the Agenda, be passed.

At the House Committee meeting on 14 December 2018, Members set up a subcommittee to study the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (Specification of Date for Section 135(1)(a)) Notice, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 261 of 2018; and Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (Specification of LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4769

Date for Section 136(1)(a)) Notice, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 262 of 2018, laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 12 December 2018. In order to provide the Subcommittee with sufficient time to study the subsidiary legislation, Members agreed that I should move a motion to extend the period for scrutinizing the subsidiary legislation to the meeting of 30 January 2019.

President, I urge Members to support this motion.

Dr Pierre CHAN moved the following motion:

"RESOLVED that in relation to the―

(a) Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (Specification of Date for Section 135(1)(a)) Notice, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 261 of 2018; and

(b) Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (Specification of Date for Section 136(1)(a)) Notice, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 262 of 2018,

and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 12 December 2018, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 30 January 2019."

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now propose the question to you and that is: That the motion moved by Dr Pierre CHAN be passed.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Does any Member wish to speak?

DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): President, in the course of deliberation of the Subcommittee, we found that the Administration was not sufficiently prepared. President, although the Legislative Council has passed the legislation on monitoring private health care facilities, in terms of implementation such as in private hospitals …

4770 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr KWOK Ka-ki, I remind you that the subject of this debate is whether the period for amending the subsidiary legislation should be extended but not the details of the subsidiary legislation. Please return to the subject of this debate.

DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): President, I understand, and I am speaking on the motion to extend the period for amending the subsidiary legislation. The motion to extend the period for amending the subsidiary legislation is moved because of the Government's insufficient preparation and its intention to monitor in phases. One of the purposes of extending the period for amendment is to allow stakeholders to attend public hearings to be held in the future. President, this is important because if the period for amendment cannot be extended, public hearings cannot be held and the Government will not be able to listen to more opinions on the implementation details and areas that warrant attention. In addition to extending the period for amendment, I also hope that the Government will provide explicit arrangements and directions on gradual implementation within the period for amending the subsidiary legislation under the legislation. This point is important because preparations should be made for the implementation of the legislation within the specified period. In the course of discussion of the Subcommittee, the Government failed to give Members sufficient confidence, the implementation of the legislation and the period for amending the subsidiary legislation …

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr KWOK Ka-ki, I remind you again that you have digressed from the subject.

DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): President, I am speaking on the subject, have you heard me?

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): The subject of this debate is whether the period for amending the subsidiary legislation should be extended. As regards the details of the subsidiary legislation, please discuss in the Subcommittee.

DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): Yes, I will. Therefore, I support this motion in order to provide sufficient time and room to reflect the views of different stakeholders when amending the subsidiary legislation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4771

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Does any other Member wish to speak?

(No Member indicated a wish to speak)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): If not, I now call upon Dr Pierre CHAN to reply. Then, the debate will come to a close.

DR PIERRE CHAN (in Cantonese): President, I would like to thank Dr KWOK Ka-ki for his remarks and support. I urge Members to support the motion, thank you, President.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now put the question to you and that is: That the motion moved by Dr Pierre CHAN be passed. Will those in favour please raise their hands?

(Members raised their hands)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Those against please raise their hands.

(No hands raised)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I think the question is agreed by a majority respectively of each of the two groups of Members, that is, those returned by functional constituencies and those returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections, who are present. I declare the motion passed.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Ms Starry LEE will move a motion under Rule 49E(2) of the Rules of Procedure to take note of the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Regulation 2018, which is included in Report No. 8/18-19 of the House Committee laid on the Table of this Council.

4772 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Members who wish to speak please press the "Request to speak" button.

I will first call upon Ms Starry LEE to speak and move the motion, and then call upon the chairman of the subcommittee formed to scrutinize the relevant item of subsidiary legislation, Mr Abraham SHEK, to speak, to be followed by other Members.

Each Member (including the mover of the motion) may only speak once and for up to 15 minutes.

Finally, I will call upon the public officer to speak. Then, the debate will come to a close, and the motion will not be put to vote.

I now call upon Ms Starry LEE to speak and move the motion.

MOTION UNDER RULE 49E(2) OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE

MS STARRY LEE (in Cantonese): President, in my capacity as Chairman of the House Committee, I move the motion, as printed on the Agenda in accordance with Rule 49E(2) of the Rules of Procedure, be passed, so that Members can debate the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Regulation 2018 as set out in Report No. 8/18-19 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments.

President, I so submit.

Ms Starry LEE moved the following motion:

"That this Council takes note of Report No. 8/18-19 of the House Committee laid on the Table of the Council on 9 January 2019 in relation to the subsidiary legislation and instrument(s) as listed below:

Item Number Title of Subsidiary Legislation or Instrument

(1) Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Regulation 2018 (L.N. 205/2018)."

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4773

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now propose the question to you and that is: That the motion moved by Ms Starry LEE be passed.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Does any other Member wish to speak?

(No Member indicated a wish to speak)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): If not, I now call upon the public officer to speak. Then, the debate will come to a close. Under Secretary for Development.

UNDER SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, the Government regulates excavation works in unleased Government land (including streets maintained by the Highways Department ("HyD") and those other than streets maintained by HyD) by means of an excavation permit system under the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 28).

Under the excavation permit system, different fees are payable for the issue of various types of excavation permits. Also, the excavation permit system provides for the economic costs to be charged for extensions of the validity period of such excavation permits.

The Government will review various fees from time to time to achieve full-cost recovery in accordance with the "user pays" principle. The purpose of enacting the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Regulation 2018 is to adjust the current administrative fees upward by about 10% to 15% for eight items related to the excavation permit system. Furthermore, three fee items for extensions of the validity period of excavation permits for excavation works in streets maintained by HyD will be increased by about 8% to maintain sufficient incentive to the excavation permittees to complete their works as soon as possible.

I hereby thank the Subcommittee for its support of the proposed adjustment of fees and economic costs under the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Regulation 2018.

President, I so submit.

4774 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): In accordance with Rule 49E(9) of the Rules of Procedure, I will not put any question on the motion.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Debate on motion with no legislative effect. Motion on "Reviewing the holiday policy".

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

I call upon Mr POON Siu-ping to speak and move the motion.

MOTION ON "REVIEWING THE HOLIDAY POLICY"

MR POON SIU-PING (in Cantonese): President, I move that the following motion, as printed on the Agenda, be passed: That this Council urges the Government to review the holiday policy and designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression as a statutory holiday.

President, the war of resistance which lasted for eight years was heroic and laudable, demonstrating not only the resilience of the Chinese nation but also the significant contribution of Chinese people in fighting dauntlessly to end the World War II. In terms of the influence on the Chinese nation and historical development, it is justifiable for us to commemorate China's victory against Japanese aggression. By commemorating the war victory, I do not mean to rake over old scores and new in history and incite more hatred and animosity; instead, I wish that all parties involved in the war would face up to the evils of war, reflect deeply and realize the value of peace and life, as well as commemorate the countless compatriots who lost their lives in war. In particular, today in Hong Kong, the idea of "Hong Kong independence" is emerging like dark fire, the commemoration of the war victory allows our younger generations to have a fresh understanding of the country and nation, and make them feel proud of our forefathers who stayed tough in the hard times of war.

(THE PRESIDENT'S DEPUTY, MS STARRY LEE, took the Chair)

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4775

Deputy President, in fact, it is not my idea to propose designating 3 September―the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression―as a holiday. Back in the old days, when the war of resistance came to an end, the then Chinese Government immediately designated the following day, i.e. 3 September, as the Victory Day to commemorate our defeat of Japan. In 2015, which marked the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, the Central Government designated 3 September 2015 as a national holiday for people to participate in local commemorative activities. The Hong Kong Government followed the practice of the Central Government and designated that day on a one-off basis as an additional general holiday and statutory holiday.

It is not a new practice to designate the war memorial day as a regular holiday. Before the return of Hong Kong, the British-Hong Kong Government designated 30 August as the Liberation Day. We had a general holiday in August to mark the end of Japanese rule in Hong Kong lasting three years and eight months. After the unification, the Liberation Day was cancelled as it denoted the resumption of the British colonial rule. We no longer have a war memorial day since then. However, history should not be forgotten. The victory of China against Japanese aggression has greater historical significance than the liberation of Hong Kong. I therefore call for designating the Victory Day as a regular holiday.

Deputy President, the Special Holiday (3 September 2015) Bill ("the Bill") was scrutinized by the Legislative Council in 2015 and supported by Members of this Council, including me. When I expressed my support for the Bill, I also pointed out that a more appropriate approach was to designate the Victory Day as a regular holiday. At that time, members belonging to the Democratic Party also clearly indicated their support for designating the Victory Day as a regular holiday to commemorate the history of the war of resistance. The then Secretary for Labour and Welfare, who is now the Chief Secretary for Administration, gave an ambiguous response. On the one hand, he did not explicitly reject the proposal to designate the Victory Day as a regular holiday, and on the other hand, he said that an additional day of general holiday or statutory holiday would have long-term implications and hence it must be considered carefully and comprehensively, and a consensus must be fostered. Regrettably, after the passage of the Bill, the Government had not sought consensus on designating the Victory Day as a regular holiday. I am thus forced to move this motion in the Council today, hoping that the passage of my motion can indicate to the Government the Council's consensus on the proposed designation of the Victory Day as a regular statutory holiday. 4776 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Deputy President, after I raised my intent to move this motion, I was asked by the media and other Honourable colleagues why I only proposed to designate the Victory Day as a regular statutory holiday and did not propose to align the number of statutory holidays with that of general holidays. My stance on the alignment issue is known to all. Now, we have two types of holidays, namely statutory holidays and general holidays. I do not think it is fair for statutory holidays to be five days less than general holidays. Regardless of the reasons for this discrepancy, this policy is obviously not in tune with the present social conditions and the problem must be rectified. Yet, I also understand that at this stage, it is almost impossible for the Council to pass a motion urging the Government to align statutory holidays with general holidays. Therefore, I have to settle for the second best, i.e. to seek the support from Members of different political parties and affiliations to designate the Victory Day as a statutory holiday.

Deputy President, whenever we talk about increasing the number of holidays, wage cost is always the top concern of the business sector. However, in my view, apart from considering operating cost, employers should also think about the positive impacts of extra holidays on the economy. With extra holidays each year, employees will have more time for shopping and dining out. Their spending will bring profits to relevant industries and an overall economic growth to society. Moreover, employees can take a good rest on holidays, which is conducive to their health and work performance. Having said that, I hope Honourable colleagues will not quantify the pros and cons with money in considering whether the Victory Day should be designated as a regular holiday because the significance of this proposal is to signify the suffering, humiliation, glory and revitalization of the nation. None of them can be measured by money.

Lastly, I hope all Honourable colleagues in this Council will agree with and support my motion. Deputy President, I so submit.

Mr POON Siu-ping moved the following motion: (Translation)

"That this Council urges the Government to review the holiday policy and designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression as a statutory holiday."

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4777

DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now propose the question to you and that is: That the motion moved by Mr POON Siu-ping be passed.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Three Members will move amendments to this motion. This Council will conduct a joint debate on the motion and the amendments.

I will call upon Members who will move the amendments to speak in the following order: Mr HO Kai-ming, Mr Andrew WAN and Dr Fernando CHEUNG, but they may not move their amendments at this stage.

MR HO KAI-MING (in Cantonese): Deputy President, many wage earners may not be able to tell the difference between general holidays and labour holidays of Hong Kong. For white-collar employees who have foreign domestic helpers at home, they should have a better and clearer understanding of the difference between the two types of holidays. There is a difference of several days between general holidays and labour holidays. Such difference is obvious when white-collar employees can stay home on general holidays, but their foreign domestic helpers have to keep on working. This is actually a very special phenomenon.

When will we see the difference between general holidays and labour holidays? I live in an old district where some hardware stores will open for business on general holidays. In fact, as most people do not have to work on general holidays, the streets are not packed with people. Yet, some shops which engage in blue-collar businesses, such as hardware stores and automobile repair shops, still open for business. The streets will hence look a bit different from how they look on statutory holidays or Sundays.

The difference in the number of holidays is an indication of unfair treatment. As stated by Mr POON Siu-ping just now, some blue-collar workers and employees of elementary posts are only entitled to 12 statutory holidays while white-collar employees, civil servants and bank staff are entitled to 17 general holidays. This situation is originated from the Holidays Ordinance enacted in 1875. The relevant provisions therein were adopted from the Bank Holidays Act 1871, which designated a number of holidays as bank holidays. 4778 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

That is why general holidays are also known as "bank holidays". As times went by, the Hong Kong Government introduced new general holidays based on various principles which included the need to celebrate or commemorate special days or events or to organize festive activities. The number of bank holidays has kept changing and increasing. On 18 November 1997, the Government capped the total number of general holidays at 17 days a year, and this number remains unchanged as of today.

How much would an additional holiday cost employers? How come some people from the business sector have even called for reducing the number of holidays to 12 days across the board? According to the data in 1998, the overall cost on employers for each additional holiday would merely be an increase of 0.2% of the total expenditure, or about $600 million. The most recent figure comes from a research report of the Legislative Council published in 2011. This report indicates that if the number of statutory holidays is increased from 12 days to 17 days to bring it on a par with that of general holidays, or if the number of holidays is further increased to 18 days as now proposed by Mr POON Siu-ping, the overall amount of social cost will be $370 million. Is this cost high when compared with the costs incurred by other social policies?

Let us take a look at the recent initiative to rationalize the traffic distribution among the three road harbour crossings ("RHCs"). According to Secretary Frank CHAN, if this initiative is implemented, the cost saved by our society is about $800 million. If the amount of money saved is used to exchange for holidays, we can actually have two more labour holidays. Is Hong Kong actually in lack of $800 million? I do not think so. Under the rationalization initiative, the tolls for two RHCs will be increased while the toll for another RHC reduced. If the money saved is used to exchange for two additional holidays, I think the whole society will be elated. On those two holidays, the traffic will certainly be smooth and the Government needs not think about how the tolls for the three RHCs should be adjusted. That is not an issue we are particularly concerned about.

In today's Hong Kong, some 1.4 million people are entitled to general holidays while about 30% (30.9%) of wage earners are only entitled to statutory holidays. If these 30.9% of employees are allowed to enjoy general holidays, they can have five more holidays in a year. To what extent will the overall social cost of Hong Kong be affected? The cost stated in the research report of the Legislative Council is in fact the highest possible cost. If these 30.9% of LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4779 wage earners are really given a few more holidays in future, their increased spending on domestic consumption, dining and shopping will boost the profits of relevant industries and offset part of the social cost.

The figure that I just cited was compiled eight years ago. Over the past eight years, the Government has neither given its views on this holiday issue nor put in efforts to make improvement or push for changes. I hope this motion will make the Government … Mr POON Siu-ping moves a motion to designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression as a statutory holiday. I propose an amendment, seeking to align statutory holidays with general holidays so that the holiday policy can keep up with the times and end the unfair treatment. With the comprehensive social development of Hong Kong, the number of blue-collar workers is dwindling. Those who are now being exploited are the frontline workers in service industries. While back office workers can enjoy general holidays, frontline workers only have 12 statutory holidays. This problem can actually be solved properly. Employers may adjust work schedules to align general holidays with labour holidays, so that frontline workers can have more rest time.

Deputy President, as we all know, the working hours of Hong Kong people are extremely long, in particular, the governing team lead by the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive works 10 hours a day, which I believe is the most typical example. Compared with our neighbouring areas, Hong Kong people work very long hours and their work is particularly tiring. If we wish to have a better work-life balance, taking leave should be a good idea. In fact, this view, shared by the Chief Executive, is the basis for extending maternity leave and paternity leave. However, most wage earners are not entitled to maternity leave and paternity leave, in particular for people like me who are in their mid-thirties or forties, they can hardly enjoy such holidays as childbearing is not easy for people aged over 40. Therefore, aligning general holidays with labour holidays is a way to benefit wage earners as a whole.

Moreover, the alignment of general holidays with labour holidays can unleash the purchasing power of local employees. As I said just now, the proposed alignment can allow wage earners to spend in Hong Kong. For example, during Easter holidays, only white-collar workers can take leave while blue-collar workers have no time for consumption. That is not a situation that we wish to see.

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Family-friendly policy, which we often talk about, is meant to enable wage earners to spend more time with their family. We urge the Government to improve the situation in question. The Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre in Hong Kong published a report entitled "Work-life Balance: Getting started with flexible work arrangements" in 2017. According to the foreign studies cited in this report, a poor work-life balance will seriously impact the personal health of an employee and may easily affect his family relationships and work performance, lower his productivity and morale. Problems such as lateness, absence and resignation may also arise. These problems can, however, be effectively alleviated by having a few more holidays.

Although the Secretary may not have put this issue on his agenda, we hope that he will give a serious thought to the relevant proposals after listening to Members and revise the holiday policy within the term of the current Government. We are not asking for a one-step accomplishment. The Government may align general holidays with labour holidays step by step to bring them to 17 days in the end, so that wage earners can have more time for rest and family. Working parents can then spend more time with their children. We urge the Government to implement this proposal.

I hope the Secretary will later tell us in his reply … the Secretary may say that Hong Kong already has more holidays than other Asian cities like Taiwan, which only provides seven days of paid annual leave. Nevertheless, does it mean that Hong Kong people do not deserve to have more holidays? The Secretary should explain his views further and I hope that he will take on board Members' views on increasing labour holidays.

Deputy President, I so submit.

MR ANDREW WAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, we should support any motions that can improve people's living, enhance the life quality of wage earners, make our society fairer, enable people to live in a more humanized way and improve the overall quality of life. Therefore, I support Mr POON Siu-ping's original motion but I have proposed an amendment. Mr POON Siu-ping is kind-hearted and his requirement is specific. We also agree that the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression should be designated as a statutory holiday; yet as mentioned by Mr HO Kai-ming just now and I believe that representatives of the labour sector LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4781 or most directly elected members would also understand, the demand for aligning statutory holidays with general holidays was made more than 10 years ago. I have also strived for the alignment with many trade union comrades.

I will not elaborate on the history of the distant past, as I believe the Secretary is very clear about the difference. I just want to say that, under the General Holidays Ordinance, there are 17 general holidays each year, which shall be kept as holidays by all banks, educational establishments, government departments, etc. However, under the Employment Ordinance, an employee shall have 12 statutory holidays each year. For the general public, the difference is five precious rest days and this is a perceived and real differential treatment. We always talk about the implementation of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong, and when the State President recently appealed to the people of Taiwan, he still had high opinions on "one country, two systems". I find it odd that "one country, two systems" also applies in respect of holidays. Why should some people have more holidays? Is it because their jobs are nobler and hence they are entitled to more holidays? I only know that labour should be respected and every worker should have the same rights and needs. I believe the Secretary will also agree to this saying. Hence, there is no reason why certain people should have more holidays. I believe everyone understands the argument about fairness and there is no need to argue.

According to the General Household Survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department in the second quarter of 2011, of the 2.75 million employees in Hong Kong, about 31% of them, i.e. 850 000 employees, were entitled to statutory holidays. These employees, mostly blue-collar workers, were unfairly treated. As pointed out by some Honourable colleagues, on general holidays including Good Friday, the day following Good Friday, Easter Day, Buddha's Birthday and Christmas Day, while some employees can spend their holidays happily, take rest and enjoy family lives, blue-collar workers or workers who cannot take leave have to work. I think this practice is far from satisfactory. Hong Kong is world famous for very long working hours; even though we have made every effort to strive for standard working hours, the Government has not implemented standard working hours after it had conducted a review.

As the Government has failed to properly address the problem of working hours, can it at least align the two types of holidays? There are 17 general holidays and if the original motion of Mr POON Siu-ping is passed, the number 4782 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 of general holidays will increase to 18 days. The former Secretary Matthew CHEUNG said we performed better than many places in this connection. It is true that Hong Kong performs better in some aspects but we should compare with places that are better than Hong Kong. The economic level of many places is similar to that of Hong Kong. For example, in Southeast Asian countries―I will not talk about faraway places such as the United States, Canada and France as these countries certainly have more holidays―even countries like South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand are better than Hong Kong in terms of holidays. Since we have general holidays in Hong Kong, why not align the two types of holidays to reward all wage earners for their contributions to our economy? Such a practice may be fairer.

Of course, the business sector will raise objections. Let us look at the relevant figures. In fact, the relevant opinions are not one-sided and the argument of the business sector may not be reasonable. There are many representatives of the business sector in this Council and they often say that increasing the number of holidays will affect productivity and economic development, etc. However, some academics advocated that having more holidays would generate better economic results. For example, in an article published in TIME Magazine, the relationship between the number of holidays and productivity was explored, using Greece and Germany as examples. In Greece, employees work on average 2 017 hours a year and they have 14 days of holidays a year; in Germany, employees have 40 days of holidays a year and their average working hours was 1 408 a year. It is also mentioned in the article that if GDP is divided by the number of employees, Germany ranks the eighth among 25 countries in Europe while Greece ranks the 24th. In other words, shorter working hours and more holidays do not mean that the economy will be affected. Instead, there is a possibility that the economy may be improved. The reasons are very simple. According to a survey in the United Kingdom, 80% of human resources experts agree that increasing the number of holidays will enhance work efficiency and at the same time strengthen institutional governance and employees' sense of belonging. This will also indirectly increase the business turnover of the companies concerned.

I believe the Secretary is very well aware of these figures. Considering the situation in Hong Kong, local academics studied the impact of holidays on consumption in 2008, focusing on spending power. The study pointed out that if there was an additional holiday per quarter, the estimated per capita spending would increase by $213, resulting in an increase of GDP by 0.34%. Just now, some Honourable colleagues mentioned that the Legislative Council had debated LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4783 similar issues in 2008. The then Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew CHEUNG pointed out that if the labour holidays were increased by one day to five days, the total wage cost of the private sector would increase by $220 million to $1.28 billion. He claimed that the increase in costs would exert immense pressure on small and medium enterprises, leading to their closure. I do not know why the Secretary's estimate was different from that of many foreign countries. From his reply, my guess is that he purely calculated the superficial figures of cost increase and had not taken into account the economic benefits brought by the holidays. Obviously, there is a blind spot in thinking.

Apart from focusing on the data or judging whether an increase in the number of holidays will bring benefits to the economy and wage earners, the community is concerned about whether the public can lead a more humanized way of living. As I said just now, Hong Kong has the longest working hours and miserable cases have happened from time to time, i.e. some wage earners died of fatigue. Fatigue causes a variety of complications such as heart disease and blood vessel rupture, etc. In this developed and advanced place, how come we have workers died of fatigue? In fact, an ideal arrangement is eight hours of work, eight hours of rest and eight hours of learning or entertainment per day. Unfortunately, I believe Hong Kong is far from reaching this ideal scenario.

In fact, increasing the number of holidays will not only bring happiness to families as people can spend more time with family members but will also have social benefits. Apart from helping organizations to enhance cohesion and productivity as I said just now, Hong Kong is now vigorously promoting the development of creative industries. If one keeps using his brain, his mind can no longer function at a certain point and he needs to rest. I believe the Honourable colleagues present have this experience as we all work very long hours every day. In fact, overtaxing our brains for more than 10 hours is strenuous and this is not conducive to creative industries. Worse still, long working hours will affect health and ultimately increase social costs. Therefore, I hope Honourable colleagues will support the amendment and I also hope that Hong Kong will become a more equitable society in terms of economic data and productivity, people's living will become more satisfactory and humanized and the health risks of the public will be alleviated, thereby reducing social costs. The Government should increase the number of statutory holidays for workers and align statutory holidays with general holidays. Under the current proposal, the number of general holidays will be increased from 17 days a year to 18 days a year. Thank you, Deputy President.

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DR FERNANDO CHEUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, first I have to thank Mr POON Siu-ping for moving this motion to urge the Government to review the present holiday policy. When talking about the holiday policy, I believe he mainly refers to the paid holidays. The system of paid holidays in Hong Kong is rather odd as there are two types of holidays, labour holidays, commonly known as statutory holidays, and general holidays. All employees are entitled to labour holidays but not every employee can enjoy general holidays.

According to a survey conducted by the Labour and Welfare Bureau in 2011, among the 2.8 million employees in Hong Kong over the territory, 61.6% were entitled to bank holidays, (i.e. general public holidays), while 38.4% were entitled to labour holidays. In other words, about 40% of wage earners were entitled to 12 statutory holidays only, while 60% were entitled to 17 statutory holidays. That is the wealth discrepancy among the people of Hong Kong in terms of paid holidays. This strange phenomenon is unique to Hong Kong.

In other parts of the world, wage earners working in the same organizations should have the same number of holidays but Hong Kong's system is unique as employees are classified into blue-collar workers and white-collar workers. What is the implication? Is that because frontline workers or close to 40% of wage earners are taking up work of less value and hence they have to work several days more? As reflected from their remunerations, they have lower wages, longer working hours and fewer holidays. Employees who undertake outsourced work of the Government are all entitled to labour holidays, some of them cannot even enjoy labour holidays as they have to work anytime during the seven labour holidays. They are lowly paid and have no bargaining power. This is Hong Kong's spirit and the special feature of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong claims to be Asia's world city, a civilized and advanced place but our labour market is nakedly cruel. Why discriminate against these workers? Is it because we no longer have the concept of labour today and regard all employees as wage earners? Why should we divide them into different classes? At present, many organizations have different holiday policies for their staff. For example, in bus companies including First Bus and Citybus, people of the management class are entitled to 17 days of holidays, but frontline bus captains, bus regulators, field workers and garage workers are only entitled to 12 days. In Coca-Cola Company of the Swire Group, employees of the managerial level or above are entitled to 17 days of holidays while elementary workers only have 12 days. In other consortiums such as major contractors for LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4785 cleaning, the ISS Group and Guardforce Group, the management are entitled to 17 days of holidays while frontline cleaning workers, security escort guards and security guards only have 12 days. How pathetic.

My amendment is very simple. I do not oppose Mr POON Siu-ping's proposal to designate the Victory Day as a statutory holiday but my request is even more humble, which is to align the numbers of the two types of holidays. Why should holidays be divided into 17 days and 12 days? This makes no sense. When most wage earners are entitled to 17 days of holidays, why should the lowest paid workers who do the most toiling work have fewer holidays? Their working hours are longer than that of other workers and they have fewer holidays?

The Secretary was once a member of the social welfare sector, working as a social worker and also providing training to social workers. The practice has reflected social injustice. This kind of unfair treatment is meaningless and will deprive the underprivileged of the basic protection.

I do not need to expound on why employees need holidays. Many colleagues have mentioned the various studies conducted in different parts of the world and the findings have clearly indicated that holidays are essential. Of course, we cannot agree with the remark made by Denis NG, Chairman of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, that it would be best to reduce white-collar holidays. His words reflected the mentality of employers who hope that workers have no holidays and work like slaves every day so as to maximize their profits. That is the spirit of capitalism. Today, we do not merely talk about the market. There are also many values that we should cherish. We should not treat society as a market.

This is the blind spot of the Government. It only sees the market and its sole concern is to safeguard the market, safeguard employers and their interests. How much is the cost involved? According to the Government's estimation, for an extra holiday taken by employees, the extra staff cost would be $370 million a year based on the 2011 wage level, and the cost for five more holidays was $1.85 billion. Compared with the overall cost of wages at over $500 billion, the increase was only 0.3%, which is totally negligible. Is it that these companies cannot afford five more days of holidays for their frontline staff? Will the companies close down and cease operation as a result? Or if the grass roots can have their basic rights … This is not only a matter of taking leave, but a matter 4786 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 relating to fundamental justice. Why should grass-roots workers be discriminated against? Why should these workers be entitled to fewer holidays? Will the Government explain to us clearly the value and philosophy behind the holiday policy? No other places in the world have such a system.

Let us look at the number of paid holidays in different places of the world. As published by CNN, in respect of the number of paid holidays, Hong Kong ranks the fourth from the bottom. The number of paid holidays in our neighbour Japan is 36 days. In Hong Kong, we have 26 days but that includes 14 days of annual leave in addition to 12 labour holidays. The number of paid holidays in Japan is 36 days, Taiwan 28 days, Korea 34 days and the United Kingdom 5.6 weeks, about 39 days. Deputy President, with only 26 days of holidays, we lag far behind these countries.

Speaking of working hours, the situation in Hong Kong is even more outrageous. An international study finds that Hong Kong is one of the top ten cities with the longest working hours, 50.11 hours a week on average. Compared with Mexico City which ranks the second and Mumbai, the third (we all know the great differences in terms of economic development between Hong Kong and these two cities) Hong Kong people work at least six more hours a week than the people in those two cities. The actual number of working hours is even higher. For the security industry, people work 12 hours a day, i.e. 72 hours a week on average; staff of residential care homes for the elderly work 66 hours a week on average. We did not make up these figures as they are all government statistics. Workers in the transportation industry also have to work 60 hours a week. It is just inhumane. The Government has fine-tuned a little … It has taken such a long time to legislate for standard working hours, stalling all the time and nothing has been achieved so far.

I ask the Government to have some mercy and align the two types of paid holidays. How difficult will it be? Will the Government get frightened just because of the objection of some employers? Whenever we raise labour issues, the Government just hides behind the Labour Advisory Board and asks employers to discuss with their employees, saying that it will implement the policy if a consensus can be reached. If a consensus can never be reached, does it mean that no measures will be implemented? Hong Kong will thus continue to have a bad name of discriminating against grass-roots workers in respect of paid holidays.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4787

SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I thank Mr POON Siu-ping for moving today's motion debate and three Members, Mr HO Kai-ming, Mr Andrew WAN and Dr Fernando CHEUNG, for proposing amendments to the motion.

The Government has, as always, reviewed labour laws from time to time to gradually improve the rights, interests and benefits of employees in the light of social changes and economic development, taking into account employees' interest and also employers' affordability. On this premise, the Government will continue to improve employees' benefits. The incumbent Government has expressly stated at the outset that it has the determination to tackle a number of very important and highly challenging labour issues, including the abolition of the arrangement for offsetting severance payment and long service payment with employers' mandatory contributions under the Mandatory Provident Fund scheme, and the significant increase in female employees' maternity benefits. To ensure the smooth implementation of these two important proposals, the Government has promised to share employers' financial burden. In addition, to enhance employees' occupational safety, we will conduct a comprehensive review on the penalty for violation of the relevant legislation. In the meantime, we will endeavour to implement the less controversial proposals on employee benefits, such as the passage of legislative amendments concerning the reinstatement order and increase in paternity leave by the Legislative Council last year; the increase in medical expenses paid by the employer of an employee who sustains an injury as a result of an accident arising out of and in the course of employment. We also carry out some important but ongoing work, including review of the statutory minimum wage which is now underway. While implementing these important measures to improve employees' benefits, the Government must also carefully strike a balance between the interests of employers and employees, and also make an objective assessment in respect of the feasibility of such measures, the cumulative financial burden borne by employers as well as their social and economic impact.

Mr POON Siu-ping's original motion to provide an additional statutory holiday has attracted more aggressive amendments from other Members. Their proposals will lead to a significant increase in the number of statutory holidays, which is not a simple and direct issue. However, Deputy President, I would also like to point out that some of the amendments have repeated the proposals contained in the motion on "Conducting a comprehensive review of labour legislation to improve labour rights and interests" moved by Mr HO Kai-ming on 4788 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

22 March 2018. Members have also extracted some parts of Mr LUK Chung-hung and Mr Andrew WAN's amendment at that time and incorporated them into their amendments today and a debate is then held afresh again. I have to reiterate that statutory holidays and general holidays are two totally different holiday systems in terms of their nature, legal bases and economic impacts. Under the Employment Ordinance, all eligible employees are entitled to 12 statutory holidays a year. All employees protected by the Ordinance are entitled to those holidays irrespective of their length of service and working hours. As regards general holidays, they are the days on which, under the General Holidays Ordinance, shall be kept as holidays by banks, educational establishments, public offices and government departments. The General Holidays Ordinance does not require employers to let their employees take leave on general holidays. Whether an employee takes leave on general public holidays should be decided by agreement between individual employers and employees, and general holidays are not employees' statutory rights and interests under the law. As all employees to whom the Employment Ordinance is applicable are entitled to statutory leave, all employers must comply, irrespective of trades and industries, scales of enterprises and individual circumstances, hence any proposal to increase statutory holidays must be carefully handled. When considering whether the number of statutory holidays should be increased, the Government must carefully assess the impact and strike the balance between the interests of both employers and employees, so that the proposal will be widely accepted by society and a consensus fostered.

Mr POON's original motion is only related to the increase of one additional statutory holiday, that is, the designation of the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression as a statutory holiday. However, I wish to point out that in 2015, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the Central People's Government organized a range of large-scale commemorative activities throughout the country and designated 3 September 2015 as a national holiday. The Hong Kong SAR Government also held a host of commemorative activities. To facilitate community participation in these activities in remembrance of history, the Government designated 3 September 2015 on a one-off basis as both a general holiday under the General Holidays Ordinance and a statutory holiday under the Employment Ordinance by way of the Special Holiday (3 September 2015) Bill. After that special arrangement in 2015, the Government did not designate that day as a permanent statutory holiday then and neither has the Government the intention to do so now.

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Mr HO Kai-ming, Mr Andrew WAN and Dr Fernando CHEUNG have proposed amendments to align the number of statutory holidays with that of general holidays. Their amendments are very aggressive, which as I have said, have not undergone the appropriate and necessary assessment and consultation that I have mentioned before.

On account of the above reasons, the Government does not consider it necessary to change the arrangement for statutory holidays at the moment; neither does it seem that society is ready for it. That said, I will listen to Members' views carefully and answer in detail accordingly.

Deputy President, I so submit.

DR CHENG CHUNG-TAI (in Cantonese): I believe members of the public will, after listening to the earlier speech of the Secretary, understand why the Government was widely criticized for being heartless on the past couple of days. The Government is heartless in the sense that it ignores the current proposal from a pro-establishment Member for reviewing the holiday policy and giving people an additional statutory holiday on the Victory Day of the War of Resistance ("the Victory Day"). Although I do not intend to argue with pro-establishment Members over the proper name of the proposed holiday, I actually think that this holiday should be known as the Liberation Day of Hong Kong. This is the only name that I have heard of since childhood, but let us put aside this matter for the time being.

The motion seeks to add one more statutory holiday. However, according to the Secretary, it is a complicated issue which needs to be considered carefully owing to its complexity. Yet, after the Secretary has uttered some words, the eligible age for elderly Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") is adjusted from 60 to 65, i.e. an increase of five years in the age threshold. All we are asking is only one more statutory holiday, how long will it take for the Government to study or consider this issue? On the other hand, the Government has secretly adjusted the eligible age for elderly CSSA upwards by five years to align the age requirements. The Government is simply heartless.

Deputy President, to what extent will an extra statutory holiday reduce the profits of businessmen and consortiums? How difficult is it for the Government to increase one statutory holiday? The grass roots are suppressed by the 4790 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 following words: "I am also over 60 but I am still working over 10 hours a day. Why can't others do the same?" Those words were uttered by Carrie LAM but not everyone is Carrie LAM.

Deputy President, the earlier speech given by the Secretary has fully reflected the mentality of the Government. He does not understand why Mr POON has to move this motion. The first part of the motion is telling us that our holiday system is backward, not in terms of the number of holidays but the system itself. Are there any other places in the world where holidays are divided into statutory holidays and bank holidays? As pointed out by Dr Fernando CHEUNG, it is mind-boggling for giving blue-collar and white-collar workers different holiday entitlements.

I bet that most of the people in Hong Kong today will consider themselves a member of the middle class. Well, I do not belong to the middle class, and there may be many others who do not think they belong to the middle class. If this is the case, why can't our holiday policy keep abreast of our social development and changes? Just now, the Secretary said that the Government would review its policy regularly in view of social changes and economic development. Then, why can't the authorities take a look at how cumbersome the existing holiday policy is and how it fails to keep up with the development of Hong Kong? Why should blue-collar and white-collar employees be entitled to different number of holidays? Buddy, we are now talking about 2018. We have even established the Innovation and Technology Bureau. Therefore, I hope the Secretary will understand that this motion does not mean to increase the number of statutory holidays by one day but to bring out the necessity of reviewing and improving the system.

In the original motion of Mr POON, there is another point that we should look into, i.e. to designate the Victory Day as a statutory holiday. Many people may not remember that the Victory Day was designated as a statutory holiday in two previous years. In 1997 and 1998, the Victory Day was a holiday in Hong Kong. Before 1997, we used to have a Liberation Day holiday in August. This holiday might either fall on the last Monday or last Saturday in August. Having this holiday was indeed very good for wage earners because there were no general holidays in summer when students were enjoying their vacation. However, we might have forgotten that before 1997, the Liberation Day was a holiday. In the next two years following the return of Hong Kong, this holiday was renamed as the Victory Day, but it was later cancelled.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4791

The Secretary said that although the Victory Day was designated as a statutory holiday on a one-off basis in 2015, he did not intend to make it a regular holiday. That decision may involve a number of political considerations. Why do I say so? Just now, many Members said that the purpose of having a holiday was to improve our life. Given that Hong Kong is relatively rich, how come our employees have to work such long hours and have few paid holidays, ranking the fourth from the bottom in the world? A lot of considerations may be involved.

A holiday does not only have its practical use but also have a certain degree of symbolic meaning. Deputy President, why should we have a holiday for the Victory Day? Why should people take a break on that day? Some people may say the arrangement is made because the Victory Day is sacred, worthy of our respect and attention. In view of this, a statutory holiday is not simply for people to relax and have a break; people take leave on the day which has its own meaning and value.

Today, if I am asked whether the Victory Day should be designated as a holiday, I would have some hesitation. It is perfectly fine to designate the Liberation Day of Hong Kong as a holiday. However, I find it a bit weird to designate the Victory Day as a holiday because strictly speaking, the Victory Day is only related to the Allied powers and does not have much relevance to Hong Kong.

Yet, given that a holiday has its practical use of giving people one more rest day as well as serving a symbolic meaning, I am not going to argue over this point. However, I do not think it is enough to increase general holidays from 17 days to 18 days. I suggest increasing general holidays to at least 20 days. I think there are two festive days which should not attract much argument. The day following the Mother's Day should be designated as a holiday. Have you even come to your mind that the Mother's Day and the Father's Day are more sacred. Just now, Mr POON Siu-ping said that the Victory Day should be designated as a holiday because it is a day in commemoration of the suffering of the Chinese nation. However, I believe "filial piety is one of the virtues to be held above all else". Also, there is an adage which says, "A man has to cultivate his moral character before he can put his family affairs in order, then he can run the country well and ultimately achieve universal peace". Therefore, we should start with loving our parents.

4792 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Deputy President, when neither the Mother's Day nor the Father's Day is designated as a holiday, why should the Victory Day be a holiday? In our debate over statutory holidays, I think we should rebuild the core values of Hong Kong people by emphasizing the value of family as the first step. Some people may say "there can be no home without the country". But to me, family is the very foundation of the entire society. How can there be a country without families? I so submit.

DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, upon hearing Dr CHENG Chung-tai's proposal of designating the respective days following the Father's Day and the Mother's Day as holidays, I suddenly come up with the idea that children should also be given a holiday on the Children's Day. The Children's Day is not a statutory holiday. Should schools allow their students to take a day off on that day? Whenever we discuss the holiday issue, great disputes will always arise. That is always the case. However, in my view, certain days that carry special meanings should be designated as holidays. Therefore, I speak in support of Mr POON Siu-ping's motion on "Reviewing the holiday policy", which seeks to designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression as a statutory holiday.

The three years and eight months of foreign oppression over Chinese people was a history full of pain and suffering. I recall that earlier on, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong ("DAB") and Dr Elizabeth QUAT expressed the wish of naming a museum in Hong Kong as the Museum of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression because many Hong Kong women were sent to Nantou in Guangdong Province to be comfort women, causing them lots of unnecessary suffering. Having a holiday on the Victory Day can hence allow young people nowadays to learn about the history of the war against Japanese aggression and what happened at that time.

As stated by the Secretary just now, the Victory Day was designated as a statutory holiday on a one-off basis in 2015, but we no longer have this holiday after that. Why did we have this statutory holiday in 2015? That was because 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of China's victory in the war against Japanese aggression and more activities should be organized to let more people know about the history, so that our young generation would remember the suffering of Chinese people. Therefore, I think Mr POON Siu-ping's proposal today for designating the Victory Day as a holiday is worth supporting because schools can then organize extracurricular activities for students to learn more about history. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4793

Just now, Mr Andrew WAN and Mr HO Kai-ming talked about aligning statutory holidays with general holidays. After careful consideration, I believe this proposal is worth exploring. In fact, DAB made the same proposal years ago. When we work in the district, we often see that the parents of a family cannot take leave at the same time. That is because one of them takes statutory holidays while the other takes bank holidays. What is the cause of this situation? Bank holidays were the product in the 19th century and originated from the Bank Holidays Act 1871 of the United Kingdom. Why did the United Kingdom provide bank holidays? Back in the days, it was tough to work in a bank and the authorities thus decided to provide bank staff with some days off for them to escape from numbers and refresh themselves by enjoying holidays in a relaxed way.

It was right to do so. Employees in fact deserve a break. To be honest, the work of factory workers at that time should be more tiring. Why didn't the government provide labourers with holidays? While white-collar bank employees could have holidays, why couldn't workers have the same entitlement? Why didn't people who undertook more tiring work have holidays? That was because most workers were paid daily and they did not have income when they took leave. Therefore, workers were not willing to take leave and the government did not designate any statutory holidays, it only asked factories to provide their workers with holidays when necessary.

Yet, how many people work in factories today? Hong Kong used to have more than 2 million factory workers, but how many factory workers do we have now? It is easy to do the calculation. Given that industrial output accounts for less than 1% of our Gross Domestic Product, it is not hard to know the number of people engaging in industrial production. Since Members have proposed a motion to align the holidays, we might as well take this opportunity to consider the proposal. The times have changed and some reporters have told us that they only learn, upon graduation, that they take labour holidays, meaning that very often they have to go to work when others are taking general holidays. Therefore, I think we should study this proposal, although its implementation is not a must.

The Government once pointed out that, according to its Economist, the cost for an additional statutory holiday would amount to $0.37 billion based on the 2011 wage level. The cost for five additional holidays would hence be 4794 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

$1.8 billion. However, if these additional holidays are statutory holidays, all workers are entitled to the holiday and the whole family can go out for shopping and dining. This will boost consumption, and the catering sector will also appreciate the change. Employers may not suffer great loss and they will also welcome the proposal. Now that the Government has taken a step forward to provide for some necessary holidays, such as increasing paternity leave from three days to five days and extending maternity leave, why doesn't it take one more step? I am not pressing the Government to implement this proposal but it should at least agree to give due consideration. I hope the Secretary will give some thoughts to the proposal and provide Hong Kong people with more holidays to spend with their family. Thank you.

MR TOMMY CHEUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, after hearing the speeches delivered by Members, I will not use the same script used at the meeting in March or April to respond to the amendments of the Policy Bureau, lest the Secretary will make this accusation when he stands up to speak later. Some Members say that the Secretary is callous. I think some Members casually use the word "callous" to criticize others or describe how bad people are, and they speak as if they are fighting for a holiday only for the grass roots. Are people earning an annual income of $10 million or $20 million not entitled to holidays? Members are also fighting for a holiday for those people as well. A Member, whose name I will not mention, even teaches us, people in the business sector, how to do business. He said that giving an employee an additional holiday would increase his productivity. Thus, this measure would not adversely affect the economy but would bring benefits instead. Dr CHIANG Lai-wan said earlier that people like me who engage in the catering business will surely welcome an additional holiday. I would not mind if an employee takes leave every day, but will he get any wages? Do my employees have to take leave? I think it will be best if my employees do not take leave while other people can take leave.

Anyway, discussions among Members drag on and on. During my service in this Council for more than 10 years, I have heard too much of such discussions. Many Members are generous at other people's expenses and then criticize others as callous. If the Member likes to take leave on the following day after Mother's Day or Father's Day, I suggest he starts introducing such holidays at his own Member's office. As I said last time, what was the point of LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4795 so much talking? Members can take whatever holiday they like and they can even close their Member's offices and district offices. They do not have to work and can feel free to enjoy themselves. Is there a need for them to make such remarks here? If they are not callous, they should act as I have suggested. Since they are generous enough to make others pay for the holiday that they have demanded, they should set an example to me by introducing the holiday at their own offices; I will welcome such an initiative with open arms.

Deputy President, as time passes by, the society has different views on which day shall be designated as a statutory holiday. As some Members said earlier, in fact, at the beginning of 1997, the Provisional Legislative Council passed a bill to abolish the holiday commemorating the liberation of Hong Kong from the Japanese occupation (30 August) and replace it with a holiday commemorating the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression ("the Victory Day") on the third Monday in August. In 1998, the Government moved an amendment again to replace the Victory Day and the holiday on the day after National Day with a holiday on Labour Day and a holiday on the Buddha's Birthday starting from 1999.

Five years ago, on 27 February 2014, the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress ("NPCSC") voted to pass a resolution at its Seventh Session held in Beijing confirming that 3 September each year would be the Victory Day. Subsequently, the Hong Kong Government presented the Special Holiday (3 September 2015) Bill ("the Bill") to designate 3 September 2015 on a one-off basis as an additional holiday and the Bill was eventually passed.

The Liberal Party understands the profound historical meaning of the Victory Day which is undeniable, but we opposed the Bill back then because in our view, the Government had not consulted the business sector in advance and neglected the need for the business sector to make manpower and financial arrangements in response to the proposal. Similarly, the Liberal Party does not have strong views about today's original motion which seeks to designate the Victory Day as a statutory holiday, but our principle is that the total number of statutory holidays each year shall remain to be 12 days. If people can forgo one existing statutory holiday and replace it with the Victory Day, the Liberal Party will not oppose the proposal. As such, this proposal will not create additional costs and burden to the business sector and can enhance young people's 4796 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 understanding of the meaning of commemorating the War of Resistance, strengthen our national pride and promote acceptance of our identity as Chinese nationals, resulting in a win-win situation.

Certainly, if you ask Tommy CHEUNG which statutory holiday should be cancelled, my answer is very simple and I believe the President's Deputy can make the right guess. I think it will be best to cancel the holiday on Labour Day because Labour Day is a holiday for workers. In fact, most owners of micro, small and medium enterprises have to work on that day, it will thus be best to cancel that holiday. However, we respect the views of various sectors in society and welcome discussions.

The position of the Liberal Party has been very clear all along. We oppose arbitrary addition of statutory holiday as this will create additional burden on the business sector and weaken the competitiveness of enterprises. Furthermore, as labour shortage is still the biggest problem encountered by us, designating an additional holiday will surely create more operational difficulties for enterprises, with more serious impact on micro, small and medium enterprises and labour-intensive industries, such as catering, logistics and environmental health, etc. The authorities have to solve this problem first.

In fact, considering the number of statutory holidays alone, Hong Kong is not worse off than our neighbouring economies. Earlier, some Members criticized the poor performance of Hong Kong, saying that we ranked fourth from the bottom. However, Singapore, Australia, the Philippines and Malaysia also have 12 statutory holidays. Hong Kong slightly lags behind Thailand which has 13 statutory holidays a year, one day more than that of Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, employees under consecutive contracts not only enjoy 12 statutory holidays a year, but also rest days and paid annual leave, etc. Besides, the number of annual leave will progressively increase from 7 days to 14 days with years of service. Anyway, the holiday entitlement for employees in Hong Kong is neither the best nor the worst. Thus, considering that current unfavourable business environment and serious labour shortage, the Liberal Party fail to see why there is still a need to designate one or more statutory holidays, or align the number of statutory holidays with that of general holidays.

Deputy President, I so submit.

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MR YIU SI-WING (in Cantonese): Deputy President, as the saying goes, "past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide to the future". In the course of history, China suffered greatly because of the Japanese invasions. The whole nation had engaged in resistance for many years and thanks to the courageous resistance of the people, it finally gained victory over Japan's militarism. In Hong Kong, the Japanese army invaded the territory in 1941, and following the defeat of the defence army, Hong Kong people suffered great hardship for three years and eight months. People of the older generation would not forget such shame. In 2015, the State Council designated 3 September as a holiday. In the same year, the Legislative Council also passed a bill to designate an additional holiday on a one-off basis to mark the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, so as to commemorate the War of Resistance and reiterate China's stance of opposing any war of aggression. While this day has a commemorative meaning, the proposed to designate this day as a statutory holiday certainly requires careful consideration.

Deputy President, from the perspective or position of the people, having an additional holiday is certainly good as they can have one more rest day and can spend more time with their families. From the perspective of the travel industry, wage earners will naturally make use of the additional holiday and plan for various outbound tours, which in turn will benefit the industry. Nevertheless, as a Member of the Legislative Council, I have to consider the matter in a holistic and objective manner and analyse whether having one additional holiday or aligning statutory holidays with general holidays, as proposed by some Members, will bring more advantages or disadvantages. When the Administration reviews its holiday policy, it has to examine whether the existing policy is appropriate and in what ways the increase in the number of holidays will affect various trades and the economy before making any reasonable adjustment. The Secretary has very clearly told us some of the problems concerned.

The current holiday system of Hong Kong, originated from the system in 1960s when Hong Kong was under British rule, has continued all along. Holidays in Hong Kong are categorized into statutory holidays and general holidays mainly because bank holidays in the old days (now called general holidays) could not benefit blue-collar workers. The society thought that it was unfair. To alleviate social grievances, an additional statutory holiday, 4798 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 i.e. Labour Day, was designated. According to the information of the Labour Department, when compared with our neigbouring economies which similarly have statutory holidays, Thailand has 13 days of holiday, which tops the list; Hong Kong comes second with 12 days. In places which only have general holidays, such as Mainland China and Singapore, employees are only entitled to 11 days of holidays, which are fewer than the number of statutory holidays in Hong Kong. The information shows that holiday entitlement of Hong Kong is in fact not inferior to our neighbouring countries or regions.

Deputy President, the economy of Hong Kong is mainly driven by the service industries, which contributed to more than 90% of our GDP. According to a paper submitted by the Government to the Legislative Council in 2015, after designating an additional statutory holiday, if employers employed replacement workers to relieve the resulting labour shortage, they had to bear additional costs of $370 million as a whole. Given that inflation rate, rent and wages have increased in recent years, the costs incurred will be even higher now. The service industries will bear the brunt, and the greatest impact will be sustained by tourism-related businesses such as retail trades, hotels and catering.

According to the information of the Census and Statistics Department, there are a total of 630 000 employees in the three above mentioned businesses, the majority of which are grass-roots workers. Whenever there is any change to our labour holiday policy, e.g. increasing the number of statutory holidays as proposed in the original motion and some of the amendments, it will have a tremendous effect on the labour-intensive trades. The latest unemployment rate of 2.8% in Hong Kong shows that our economy is close to full employment. Various trades and industries have indicated the difficulties and even inability to recruit staff, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises ("MSMEs") as the benefits and remunerations offered are not as good as that of big enterprises. Fundamentally, importation of labour should be one way to resolve labour shortage, but whenever such a proposal is put forward, Members of the Legislative Council, including those from the labour sector, will often raise strong opposition, thus discouraging the Government from actively implementing the proposal. If the situation continues, I expect that manpower shortage in the labour market will remain unresolved for a very long time.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4799

Since enterprises have expressed difficulties and even inability to recruit staff, if an employee is on leave, it will not be easy for MSMEs to find a replacement, even if higher wages are offered. Thus, before the Government introduces any measures to relieve labour shortage or import labour, arbitrarily increasing the number of statutory holidays will harm MSMEs, reduce plans of service enhancement by the industries to empty talk, weaken Hong Kong's competitiveness in the region and result in monopolization of consortia in the long term. In the end, members of the public and ordinary employees will suffer.

Deputy President, labour rights and benefits in Hong Kong have been gradually improving in recent years. Examples include extension of statutory paternity leave to five days which will commence in the middle of this month, extension of statutory maternity leave to 14 weeks and commencement of a legislative exercise this year for abolishing the offsetting mechanism of the Mandatory Provident Fund System. Considering the uncertain economic situations ahead, I hope the Government will not add to the misfortunes of MSMEs. The Government should comprehensively review the issue of statutory holidays and general holidays and strike a balance between the interests of employers and that of employees before making a wise decision.

Deputy President, with these remarks, I oppose the original motion and all the amendments.

DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I speak in support of Mr POON Siu-ping's original motion and all the amendments.

As pointed out in the report published by the World Economic Forum in October, Hong Kong's competitiveness dropped one place to the seventh in the world. And yet, the most surprising or worrying to all wage earners is that Hong Kong scored zero on workers' rights, and I repeat, zero marks. Hong Kong has the longest working hours in the world, and the number of holidays ranked fourth from the bottom. When the business sector keeps praising Hong Kong's competitiveness or labour force, this is nonetheless achieved at the price of millions of working people, that is, our wage earners, sacrificing their rest time 4800 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 and family time. Therefore, on this basis, I support the proposal and hope that the Government will accept good advice by increasing the current insufficient labour holidays.

Furthermore, very regrettably, Hong Kong still has two types of holidays, including 17 general holidays and 12 labour holidays enjoyed by blue-collar workers. This has created a long-standing weird phenomenon in the society of Hong Kong where wage earners at the most elementary level are always seen as the less favourable group. They are not worthy of enjoying more holidays, but are only entitled to 12 labour holidays. Why would an advanced society which claims to be fair allow the co-existence of two types of holidays? This does not make any sense at all. Therefore, I think this is just the right time to discuss this motion so that the Government can consider rationalizing the disparity between labour holidays and general holidays, with a view to enabling all workers in Hong Kong to enjoy the same number of holidays, regardless of their trades and whether they are white-collar or blue-collar workers, grass-roots workers or other types of workers.

I certainly agree to designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression ("the Victory Day") as a statutory holiday because this proposal is worth supporting. I also want to share some facts with Members here. While we are discussing loud and clear how to commend the war of resistance against Japanese aggression, Members should not forget that the People's Republic of China ("PRC") had expressed different views on the Sino-Japanese War on more than one occasion. In 1972, when the Communist Party of China ("CPC") sent ZHOU Enlai to sign the Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China ("Joint Communique") with Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei TANAKA, an announcement was made that shocked all Chinese people, and that is, China decided to renounce claims for war reparation from Japan for the sake of friendship between the two countries. The Japanese and Chinese societies were shocked at that time. As we all know, owing to Japan's invasion, China suffered human casualties and economic losses. According to the calculation in 1972, the direct and indirect losses of China were US$120 billion and more than US$500 billion respectively. In 1946, the Commission on Reparation of Kuomintang's Executive Yuan also made an estimate of the war reparations, but very regrettably, all claims of war reparations vanished with the signing of the Joint Communique in 1972.

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However, what is even more shocking is that MAO Zedong, former CPC leader, had openly expressed gratitude for Japan's invasion for six times. The first time was in 1956 when MAO Zedong said to former Japanese Lieutenant General Saburo ENDO during his visit to China, "Japan's Imperial Army is also our 'master', and we must thank you. Precisely because you fought this war (that is, Japan's invasion of China), you taught the Chinese people, who had been like a sheet of loose sand, to unite, so we must thank you." In 1960, he repeated the same remark when he received Hiroshi NOMA, the Japanese leftist writer. The third time was in 1961, when he talked at the reception for Hisao KURODA, a Diet member of the former Socialist Party, and the fourth time is in 1964, when MAO Zedong attended the Second Asian Economic Forum, he repeated the same remark to Saburo NANGO, thanking Japan's invasion of China.

Looking up the history of PRC, when this extremely controversial issue of "China does not allow independence" is discussed today, Members should bear in mind the fact that when Japan launched the 18 September Incident in 1931, CPC had split up the motherland into two by establishing the Chinese Soviet Republic in Ruijin, Jiangxi Province. We had two motherlands at that time, one was the Republic of China, an instrument of imperialism, and the other was the Chinese Soviet Republic. When the nationalists and the communists had formed a united front to resist Japan's invasion, the Eighth Route Army and the other armies were ostensibly fighting against Japan, the troops deployed only accounted for one tenth of the force. In fact, as pointed out by many historians and substantiated by facts, the rise of CPC did owe much to the anti-Japanese war, that is, Japan's invasion of China.

It is precisely because of this that I have mixed feelings when we revisited the victory against Japan. When Members spoke categorically with indignation to express their anger at the Japs, the party that claims to be patriotic (The buzzer sounded) … is actually walking side by side with our enemies most of the time …

DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr KWOK Ka-ki, your speaking time is up, please stop speaking.

DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): I so submit.

4802 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

MR WILSON OR (in Cantonese): Deputy President, this year happens to be the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War ("World War II"). It seems that World War II is very remote from us, but had there not been the courageous resistance of the martyrs against the enemies, China will not be so strong and Hong Kong can hardly enjoy stability and prosperity today. Unfortunately, Hong Kong has also experienced World War II and I believe many of our predecessors in Hong Kong still remember vividly the sufferings back then. It is lucky that we are now living in peacetime. Instead of seeing it as a historical burden when we look back, we should respect the predecessors and keep the inheritance. As members of the Hong Kong community, we should respect our own history even more.

While President XI Jinping and members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China attend the grand commemoration held on 3 September every year, the Administration of Hong Kong also organizes an official commemorative event on 3 September every year. Members of the Legislative Council and relevant guests would be invited to attend. However, apart from commemoration, I think Hong Kong should commit more and take one step further. In 2015, pursuant to the decision made by the State Council, the last-term Government sought the enactment of a piece of legislation by the Legislative Council to designate 3 September of that year on a one-off basis as a special holiday. When the then Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew CHEUNG spoke at the meeting of the Legislative Council and in front of the media, he also confirmed the significance of the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression ("the Victory Day"). I hope that Chief Secretary Matthew CHEUNG and Members would use this as a reference and designate the Victory Day as a statutory holiday, with a view to further establishing the historical significance of the commemoration on the victory in the war of resistance.

Furthermore, another profound effect of designating the Victory Day as a statutory holiday is to boost the sense of national identity. It also serves an education purpose to fully implement the teaching of Chinese history for primary and secondary school students to learn more about their Motherland and the place where they live. This motion has precisely provided an opportunity for the public to gain a better understanding of a series of important events, including Japan's invasion of China, Japanese occupation in Hong Kong and the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, and to know clearly the history of their own country and Hong Kong. In my opinion, apart from organizing official activities on the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4803

Victory Day, it is hoped that by providing a leave on that day, community groups will be encouraged to organize different commemorative activities, thereby enabling the leave to carry a more profound significance.

I think that designating the Victory Day as a statutory holiday will not only provide members of the public a good opportunity to commemorate. More importantly, it will also provide a chance for the wage earners to take a break. Deputy President, if this proposed holiday passes the three readings, it will be enjoyed by all wage earners in Hong Kong after it comes into effect. However, just as Mr HO Kai-ming and Mr Andrew WAN highlighted in their amendments, not all wage earners in Hong Kong are entitled to paid general holidays at present.

Deputy President, Hong Kong pursues the free market policy and provides plenty of room for traders and enterprises. Nonetheless, I believe colleagues present at the meeting will agree that the rights and interests of wage earners should not be ignored. After balancing the commercial costs against humane considerations, I think the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) should be amended to gradually to align statutory holidays with general holidays.

At this point, colleagues may have different views and worry that additional labour holidays will increase the operating costs of the business sector and deal a blow to the SMEs in particular. In my opinion, however, the gradual alignment of the two types of holidays is indeed a sharing of economic achievements with employees at large and thus a win-win proposal. The service and tourism industries are important to Hong Kong and have made great economic contributions, but they count heavily on human resources, that is, friendly and diligent staff. Given the consistently low unemployment rate in Hong Kong, various trades and industries, especially frontline services, are now facing a shortage of manpower. As we can image, if frontline employees (commonly known as "blue-collar workers") are entitled to more labour holidays, I think it would be easier to attract more people to join frontline services and the problems of manpower shortage and unsustainability would then be relieved.

At present, there is a difference of five days between statutory holidays and general holidays, which I think can be gradually narrowed through negotiation between employers and employees. Neither the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong ("DAB") nor I demand to align labour holidays with general holidays in one go as this will exert immense additional financial pressure on the business sector, especially SMEs. I also appreciate the 4804 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 concerns of the business sector and the retail industry because the additional costs arising from the provision of five more holidays to employees in one go will certainly leave them at a loss as to what to do and is indeed a difficult task imposed on them. In the face of a weaker general economic environment and increasing operating costs, I believe if SMEs deal any further blow, it would be the employees at large who suffer in the end. Given that there is an established complementary relationship between employers and employees, the best way to achieve long-term stability is to balance the interests of the two sides. Thus, I think it would be wise to gradually align labour holidays with general holidays. Under the existing system, the alignment of the two types of holidays can be included in the agenda of the Labour Advisory Board so that it can discuss and forge a consensus, and then come up with a mutually acceptable option. Of course, I would be happy to give advice and provide assistance on this matter.

Deputy President, based on the above reasons, I support Mr POON Siu-ping's original motion and the amendments proposed by Mr HO Kai-ming and Mr Andrew WAN. Deputy President, I so submit.

MR VINCENT CHENG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, first of all, I would like to thank Mr POON Siu-ping for moving the motion on "Reviewing the holiday policy". I noticed that when the Secretary spoke earlier, he quickly rejected the two demands made by some Members in this Chamber: First, designating the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, i.e. 3 September, as a statutory holiday; second, gradually aligning the numbers of statutory holidays and general holidays at 17 days. I believe his rejection will disappoint many people because these two demands have been discussed in the community and they are generally expected to be met.

Deputy President, the motion today is short. The original motion and the amendments are only two or three lines but they are very meaningful. First, the original motion refers to the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in 1945, which manifested the heroic resistance of the Chinese nation against the enemy. DAB and I believe that 3 September is a memorable day for Chinese people.

The motion is also meaningful because it pointed out that there are two different systems of holiday arrangements in Hong Kong, which is a very small place with less than 4 million working people. I think this is really unsatisfactory and I will explain that later. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4805

Deputy President, first of all, I would like to talk about the significance of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. I believe we are no strangers to the fact that in the background of this War, China was weak then and it was invaded with its territory even divided up by the foreign powers. This humiliating period of history is unforgettable to Chinese people. Our generation is very fortunate as we do not need to experience war. However, when I grew up, I learnt from the books or television episodes how the Japanese army brutally treated Chinese people at that time, and these historical events are still vivid in my mind.

After 14 years, China learnt from the bitter experience and carried out self-improvement and transformation. As a result, Japan's attempt to conquer China and dominate Asia failed and China later attended international conferences as an ally and participated in organizing the United Nations among the strong nations since then. This period of history is of great significance to the Chinese nation.

We should reflect on the lessons that we can learn from history. Commemorating the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression is the source of power for the revival and unity of the Chinese nation. I believe all of us remember that, three years ago in 2015, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression which was a special and solemn day, the Central Authorities announced that it would be designated as a national holiday and the SAR Government also designated that day as a one-off special public holiday and statutory holiday for Hong Kong people. At that time, the proposal was supported in the community and the Chamber, which showed that everybody recognized the significance of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

Therefore, I support designating this day as a commemorative day and the Government should also take the opportunity to carry out more supporting activities such as official commemorative, education and publicity events; establishing a memorial hall where cultural relics related to the victory of Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression will be displayed to enable the future generations to learn more about history. Schools and groups can also hold different ceremonies to give more people the opportunity to commemorate the incident.

4806 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Deputy President, another topic I would like to cover is having holidays. Holidays have always been the expectations of wage earners. At present, there are two holiday systems in Hong Kong, including general holidays and statutory holidays. White-collar workers have bank holidays while blue-collar workers have labour holidays; both kinds of holidays have a legal basis but the treatments are different.

It is understood that our economy was dominated by industrial production in the past. As factory workers were paid daily wages, they would not be paid if they stopped working for a day, and they would have wage reductions in disguise. Since the economic environment was not very good then, many households had too many difficulties to cope with and workers would not take leave easily. Those who enjoyed bank holidays, as the name implied, were clerical staff in public institutions such as banks, government departments, educational institutions, etc. The holiday systems in those days also implied class differences.

Along with social progress, work types today have become multifarious and complex. It is difficult to differentiate between blue-collar and white-collar workers, and class differences are no longer obvious. The continuation of two different holiday systems will not only fail to match social conditions but also create social inequality. In fact, 17 days of general holidays and Sundays will be marked on the desk calendars that are generally used, and labour holidays or bank holidays are rarely marked. This also shows that members of the public are generally on the same page.

Hence, aligning the numbers of statutory holidays and general holidays at 17 days will certainly benefit employees. Currently, about 1.4 million Hong Kong people have labour holidays and these people are mainly engaged in catering, property management, security and cleansing work, etc. On the contrary, employers will definitely bear the brunt. We understand that increasing the number of holidays by five days will have impacts on small and medium enterprises.

On the basis of the wage level in 2011, the Government Economist has arrived at the conclusion that the cost of an additional statutory holiday was $370 million while the cost of five additional days of statutory holiday was more than $1.8 billion. However, will there really be any loss? In fact, members of the public may not stay home during holidays and they may choose to spend money and eat outside, which can invigorate the retail and economic sectors. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4807

Allowing employees to have more holidays and benefits will help increase job stability, morale and productivity, which are difficult to quantify.

It is understood that this subject is related to the interests of employees and employers. The Labour Advisory Board is still conducting a study and a consensus has not been reached. Yet, I think that aligning the number of holidays is a general trend. In order that employers will not find it difficult to accept the policy, the authorities can consider taking forward the policy in a progressive manner and gradually align the number of statutory holidays and general holidays.

Deputy President, lastly, as the spokesperson for DAB on manpower, I will comment on this motion on behalf of DAB. We support the original motion and the amendments proposed by Mr HO Kai-ming and Mr Andrew WAN. As for the amendment of Dr Fernando CHEUNG which has deleted the reference to "the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression", we can only abstain from voting because we think that such deletion is inappropriate.

Deputy President, I so submit.

MR CHAN CHI-CHUEN (in Cantonese): The Member's motion moved by Mr POON Siu-ping seeks to sustain the one-off holiday designated by the LEUNG Chun-ying Government in 2015, i.e. the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression on 3 September 2015. As far as I remember, when the Second Reading debate was resumed on 9 July 2015, I said, "President, be it only one day or just once, I will support having an extra special holiday on 3 September this year because … Hong Kong people are working excessively long hours but enjoying too few holidays. However, we neither support nor agree with the move made by the Hong Kong Government in following the Chinese Communists to designate this day as a holiday for commemorating the victory over the war of resistance." I still have the same idea today.

First of all, I would like to emphasize that, even if the Government supports this motion to designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression as a statutory holiday so that 3 September will be a holiday each year, this holiday should also be an additional statutory holiday for blue-collar and white-collar workers and this should not 4808 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 replace any existing holiday. The Government may base on the strong view that this commemorative day is highly significant and therefore designate it as a holiday by cancelling another one. I do not think the Member who proposed this motion and Members who support this motion would like this to happen. After all, during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, blue-collar and white-collar workers were similarly affected. Thus, the statutory holiday to commemorate the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression should be enjoyed by all members of the public.

When we discuss this additional holiday, I think we should also examine the historical significance of this commemorative day carefully. Why should the commemorative day of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression be on 3 September rather than on 15 August, i.e. the day on which Japan declared the end of the war? It is because the Japanese representative signed the Instrument of Surrender on the deck of the United States Battleship Missouri on 2 September 1945 and the witnesses included the representatives of China (the Republic of China "ROC"), the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the Soviet Union, which declared war on Japan only in the last few weeks. The Republic of China has designated 3 September each year as the commemorative day of the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the Armed Forces Day was also designated to commemorate this incident since 1955. Yet, the People's Republic of China only started to commemorate this incident annually since 2014.

When we re-examine the history of this commemorative day, we will find that the current Chinese Government has not commemorated the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression or expressed respect to the anti-Japanese heroes or respected history. In recent years, the Chinese Government has increasingly emphasized the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Through the overwhelming anti-Japanese dramas and teaching materials, it tries to instil people with the history as it has presented, playing down the sacrifice and contribution of the ROC army in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, as well as the important role played by the United States in defeating Japan. Furthermore, it emphasized the role of the Chinese Communist Party during the anti-Japanese period. The audience of anti-Japanese dramas may think that Japan would not have surrendered without the contributions of the Chinese Communist Party on that day.

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On the 70th Anniversary of Victory in the War of Resistance against Japan in 2015, the Chinese Government held impressive celebrations, including the military parade overseen by XI Jinping. However, his speech on that day did not mention the efforts made by the Kuomintang in the War of Resistance against Japan, let alone the United Kingdom and the United States etc. that forced Japan to surrender. I remember that the Government stated in the document submitted in 2015 that "2015 is the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese people's war of resistance against Japanese aggression. The Central People's Government will organize a range of large-scale commemorative activities throughout the Mainland and has also designated 3 September 2015 as a national holiday. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will organize various commemorative activities. To facilitate community participation in these activities in remembrance of history …". To promote remembrance of history, we should respect history and learn the anti-Japanese history in an objective and truth-seeking manner.

In respect of education, we must be objective and truth-seeking and describe in the teaching materials of history the forces in China that deployed more armed forces in the Anti-Japanese War to allow the younger generation to understand through figures the forces in China that made the biggest sacrifice in the Anti-Japanese War. In addition to studying the history about China's resistance against Japan, we should also know about the Pacific War, which really ruined the Japanese Empire, and understand how the United Kingdom and the United States defeated the Japanese armies in the Pacific War, forcing the Japanese armies to sign the Instrument of Surrender on 2 September that year. This will enable the younger generation to understand that many countries and units also played an important role in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression.

We should view the history of the war of resistance and the heroes in the war with genuine respect to history if we want to ensure that the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression will not become an occasion for some regimes to give publicity to themselves, distort history or advocate narrow-minded nationalism. We should also designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression as a permanent holiday so that the younger generation will remember the war heroes and reflect on the historical lessons, as well as create a peaceful new world together.

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DR ELIZABETH QUAT (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I speak in support of the original motion of Mr POON Siu-ping to designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression as a statutory holiday, and I also support the amendments of Mr HO Kai-ming and Mr Andrew WAN.

Deputy President, the Japanese armies invaded Nanjing on 8 December 1937 and the fall of Nanjing took place on 13 December that year. The Nanjing Massacre committed by the Japanese armies may be one of the most brutal crimes in human history. The invasion of China by the Japanese armies resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of Chinese people, and countless women were raped and forced to become comfort women. Hong Kong was also invaded on 8 December that year and the disastrous occupation which started 13 days later lasted for three years and eight months. As a result, countless families were ruined and the population of Hong Kong shrank from 1.6 million to less than 600 000. As reported, more than 100 000 Hong Kong people were deceived to board shipment vessels and they were sent to the Nanshitou Concentration Camp in the Pearl River estuary. They became the guinea pigs of the germ warfare of the Japanese South China Expeditionary Army Nami Unit 8604 and they were even slaughtered alive. It was reported that none of them survived.

TAN Yuanheng, a professor at the South China University of Technology, has conducted historical research since 1993 and two books written by him, including The Nanshitou Massacre and Auschwitz of the East were published. They recorded this period of history and revealed the inside stories of the Massacre.

Deputy President, Hong Kong people did not sit still and wait for death back then. Instead, they organized anti-Japanese forces to fight against the Japanese armies. There were countless heroes in the East River Column and the Hong Kong-Kowloon brigade. Among them were the LAW Family from Nam Chung in Sha Tau Kok, known as the "Hong Kong family in the forefront against Japan invasion", with all seven members of the family fighting against the Japanese armies. The old house of the LAW Family in Sha Tau Kok became the first stronghold of the Mainland and Hong Kong anti-Japanese guerrillas. They organized the first people's militia team in Hong Kong and participated in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. Not afraid of sacrifice, they rescued many members of the cultural circles and patriots. They even lurked in the Japanese armies and made great sacrifices for Hong Kong.

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It is a pity that many Hong Kong people have never heard of these historical facts and they are completely unaware of what happened then. In fact, there are many other heroic deeds of Hong Kong people in resisting against Japanese aggression. Hong Kong people, especially the younger generation, however, have never heard of these heroes who were not afraid of sacrifice and defended the country, as well as the horrifying truth of war and violence.

Deputy President, I have talked with different people about the history of the war of resistance against Japanese aggression and I hope that Hong Kong people will not forget this period of history. Nevertheless, Baggio LEUNG and YAU Wai-ching humiliated the country and insulted China in the Legislative Council earlier, which exposed that the younger generation was ignorant about the history of Hong Kong. Designating 3 September each year the commemorative day of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression is one of the ways to express that the community attach importance to this period of history and remember the martyrs. In addition to designating this day as a statutory holiday, Hong Kong should also set up a memorial hall of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in Hong Kong and enhance publicity and education on anti-Japanese history in schools and the community.

I have discussed with the government departments concerned, hoping that Hong Kong Museum of History and different museums will have permanent exhibition halls to be used as memorial halls of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. It is also hoped that the Administration will devote more resources to study, organize and permanently preserve this period of history. Many anti-Japanese veterans tearfully told me that the old warriors they knew gradually passed away. They have kept a lot of historical heritage, which are their memories or records. If these items are not organized or preserved well, they will be lost forever. We also know that some well-intentioned people are constantly travelling between Hong Kong and Guangdong, hoping to preserve the ruins of the Nanshitou refugee camp but it is a pity that the ruins can no longer be preserved. They also hope that the story of the Nanshitou tragedy during the Anti-Japanese War can be preserved at the Hong Kong Museum of History. Unfortunately, the authorities have not given a reply yet.

There are many things that we can do. Designating the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression as a statutory holiday or setting up memorial hall to preserve history is not intended to 4812 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 stir up hatred, and I am not saying that we should be antagonistic against Japan. We should learn from history, always remember history, never forget about national humiliation, oppose war and cherish peace.

Deputy President, I have visited the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. I remember that there is a large wall on which some words are clearly written to be seen by everyone leaving the camp after the visit. It is written on the wall that reads, "If we do not learn from history, history will repeat itself." I believe opposing war and cherishing peace are the universal values nowadays, which is worth learning by Hong Kong people. Therefore, I very much support the motion and I am grateful to Mr POON Siu-ping, who has proposed this motion to give us the opportunity to re-examine this period of history in the Legislative Council Chamber. I hope that Hong Kong people like me will remember this painful experience and let us learn from history. Thank you, Deputy President.

MR KENNETH LEUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, first of all, I would like to thank Mr POON Siu-ping for moving this motion. The major objective of the motion is to "urge the Government to review the holiday policy and designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression as a statutory holiday". Three Honourable colleagues including Mr HO Kai-ming, Mr Andrew WAN and Dr Fernando CHEUNG have proposed amendments.

Before expressing my views on the motions and amendments, I would like to consider objective figures. Regarding general holidays around the world, there is actually only one type of holiday designated by the governments around the world, i.e. public holidays. On the public holiday chart, Cambodia ranked first and it has 28 days … I only choose countries that we are all familiar with. Sri Lanka has 25 days, India 21, the Philippines 18 and Hong Kong 17 days of public holidays. We are among the top countries with the most days of public holiday. As for European countries, Finland has the largest number of public holidays, i.e. 15 days and Spain has 14 days. After examining such objective information, everyone should recognize the fact and I also believe that Hong Kong "surpass Britain and catch up with the United States" in terms of general holidays. This is a fact that should be recognized by all.

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However, an ironical phenomenon is that although Hong Kong has a larger number of general holidays, according to the surveys conducted by different groups, Hong Kong is also among the top ranked countries in the world in terms of the working hours of the working class. Can an additional statutory holiday allow wage earners and the working class in Hong Kong to have an extra day of rest? I do not think this is necessarily the case.

First, if the Government fails to increase the penalties for breaching the provisions on statutory holidays under the Employment Ordinance, many employers may shrug off their obligation, leading to wage earners and employees failing to enjoy statutory holidays. This is the first point. Can asking for an increase in labour holidays really help wage earners? I do not think this is necessarily the case because, objectively, there are many labour holidays in Hong Kong already. I rarely agree with Mr Tommy CHEUNG but objective figures show that Hong Kong is among the top ranked countries in the world in terms of general holidays.

Secondly, I would like the Government to review the relevant penalties under the Employment Ordinance. If an employer privately arranges for an employee to work on a labour holiday, what should be done? I think that employees very often succumb to intimidation and inducement and work on labour holidays provided that the employers pay them compensatory wages. However, Deputy President, money cannot compensate for the loss of employees' time to spend with family members.

The second aspect of the motion is about aligning the numbers of labour holidays and general holidays. This is a problem left over from history. Why are the numbers of labour holidays different from those of general holidays? Hong Kong has 17 days of general holidays but only 12 days of statutory holidays. As some Honourable colleagues have mentioned, this is a problem left over from history. In the 1970s and 1980s, the manufacturing industry in Hong Kong was booming. Many manufacturing employers only wanted employees to have labour holidays for economic reasons, so only non-blue-collar workers could enjoy general holidays. Nevertheless, I think this differentiation is an insult to blue-collar workers. Anyway, aligning general holidays and statutory holidays is a must. If there are any problems preventing the alignment to be achieved immediately, general holidays and statutory holidays should be aligned by stages, but this must be done.

4814 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

As for the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the State called upon Hong Kong to designate the commemorative day as a holiday in 2015, so the HKSAR Government designated a holiday on the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. In fact, I voted for the Bill back then and I have no objection at all if the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression will be designated as a holiday. I will definitely agree that HKSAR Government should approve designating a holiday on the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression or even the 100th anniversary if I can live until then.

Deputy President, I so submit.

MS CHAN HOI-YAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, first of all, I would like to thank Mr POON Siu-ping for moving a Member's motion on "Reviewing the holiday policy". On the significance of general holidays, I personally think that apart from providing a chance for wage earners to have a rest, the community also want to have a holiday to commemorate a day generally considered as memorable and we, especially the younger generation, can take this opportunity to learn more about local history and culture. About the significance and historical background of the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, as a few Honourable colleagues have touched upon the topic just now, I will not repeat what they have said. As such, I support the original motion moved by Mr POON Siu-ping.

I am also grateful to the other Members who have proposed amendments, which allow us to present arguments and have discussions in this Council and to urge the Government to seriously review the holiday policy of Hong Kong and expeditiously align the numbers of two types of holidays, namely statutory holidays and general holidays, so that wage earners at large can enjoy equivalent numbers of statutory holidays. Hong Kong people are very busy and hard-working, toiling under tremendous stress from making their living. Since standard working hours have yet to be implemented and compensatory wages are often not provided for overtime work, holidays are the time for them to take a break and have a rest for recharging and staying with family members.

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The separate treatment of the two types of holidays at present causes much inconvenience to wage earners, especially grass-roots women. As we have pointed out, grass-roots women are capable of self-reliance but due to their work types, they can have labour holidays only. However, schools and many organizations providing child-care services are basically closed on general holidays. Grass-roots women may have to work when their children are on holiday. They cannot spend time with family members when others are celebrating, and it is difficult for them to find others to take care of their children during holidays. I must say that this situation is unsatisfactory indeed. As an international metropolis, Hong Kong surprisingly has two different holiday systems, which resulted in occupational difference and even occupation discrimination in disguise. I believe that this situation is not what we would like to see and it should not persist.

All along, there are only 12 days of statutory holidays, commonly known as labour holidays in Hong Kong, and there are five more days of general holidays, commonly known as bank holidays, and the total number of holidays is 17 days. I believe the Secretary also knows that the number of statutory holidays in Hong Kong ranks among the bottom five amongst 103 countries and regions around the world. According to an earlier study conducted by the International Labour Organization, other countries and regions have 30 days of statutory holidays on average, so Hong Kong is lagging far behind other places in terms of holiday benefits alone.

Many Legislative Council Members and organizations representing the labour sector have been working hard to strive for standard working hours and to review the minimum wage level every year, etc. Looking back, many labour rights in Hong Kong have changed from "nothing" to "having", and from "zero" to "one" after these people have strived very hard. The process, however, is rather difficult. We are only striving to align the numbers of statutory holidays and general holidays at 17. Since statutory holidays are available and they are already enjoyed, we should consider how to align the numbers of the two types of holidays and eliminate occupation discrimination. As compared with fighting for labour rights that are not yet available, the resistance to our fight for aligning the numbers of holidays should be smaller. Nonetheless, the most important thing is whether the Government has the resolution and determination to increase the number of statutory holidays so that they are on a par with the number of general holidays.

4816 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

The Government may say that many small and medium enterprises are under pressure and we also understand that. In fact, we are not asking the Government to immediately align the numbers of the two types of holidays. The alignment can be implemented gradually and the Government can conduct studies and provide timetables to show us its determination and resolution. This is only a very humble request of wage earners and members of the labour sector. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the authorities to cater for the benefits of the 2 million employees in Hong Kong by aligning expeditiously the numbers of statutory holidays at 17 days, and consider increasing the numbers of holidays so that work and family life balance can be achieved and members of the public can spend time with family members, as well as having more time for further study and self-enhancement.

Even if the proposal cannot be implemented now, I personally request that the Secretary should at least give us hope and consider studying the relevant proposals, or even propose a timetable so that we can have something to look forward to. In addition, I believe that discussions with the business community will help shorten the distance between both parties and reduce differences. We all hope that wage earners will continue to serve their companies diligently and find life meaningful. They will be recharged after the holidays and then return to work and continue to help their employers make money. I think this is a very important point. In addition to fighting for an additional holiday, I also hope that the Government will align the two types of holidays.

I so submit. Thank you, Deputy President.

MR HUI CHI-FUNG: Deputy President, Hong Kong currently has 17 national holidays and, as per our Labour Department, only 12 are considered statutory holiday. This means while some workers enjoy 17 free days to relax and commemorate the holidays, others need to show up at work and have their usual long shifts without salary or leave compensation.

With an average of 14 days annual leave (depending on the years of service) topped with statutory holidays, we are still lagging behind other global cities. As per World Economic Forum, the United Kingdom enjoys a total of 37 days from 28 paid days topped with 9 public holidays. Denmark has 34 days, Portugal has 38 and Sweden even has 41 days in total.

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In addition to our fewer holidays, Hong Kong also has the reputation and enjoys the title of "the city that never sleeps". This might be an advantage to our obviously income-generating and booming industries in attracting more and more tourists and investors to bring in innovative business ideas and opportunities, but what does this imply about our working hours and limited statutory holidays vis-à-vis work-life balance?

(THE PRESIDENT resumed the Chair)

As much as we could boast that Hong Kong is one of the most lively and fast-paced cities in the world, we should acknowledge that we also have the highest ranking of sleep-deprived workers. Generally speaking, the standard working hours is 40 to 44 hours per week, but over half of Hong Kong's workers work more than 44 hours a week. According to a survey conducted by Swiss investment bank, Union Bank of Switzerland ("UBS"), in 2016, Hong Kong employees usually work 50 hours per week. In the same year, the Government reported that around 32 000 workers, excluding foreign domestic workers, put in 75 hours or more per week. Hong Kong actually ranked number one out of 71 cities for having the longest working week.

It seems no one could escape this work culture, not even expatriates. In a female expatriate satisfaction survey conducted in 2016 by an expatriate networking website, InterNations, Hong Kong ranked 53rd out of 191 countries or jurisdictions in the work-life balance category. This is not only alarming in respect of Hong Kong's work-life balance, but it also says a lot about our city's attractiveness as a place to live in. Is this not another clear implication on Hong Kong's declining international reputation?

It is very important to note that there is no maximum working hours set by law and what is more dreading is that overtime pay is also not protected and guaranteed by law. Needless to say, our workers do not have enough days to rest. Most described themselves as "over-worked".

It is a fact that Hong Kong is a hardworking society. This is already embedded in our culture and is something to be proud of, but everything has a limit, including what our mind and body could realiztically offer.

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Different countries in Europe are already experimenting and implementing shorter work weeks. Recently in Germany, metal workers have won the right to a 28-hour working week. In New Zealand, a company experimented a four-day work week for two months, which was successful enough for the management to consider making the change permanent.

A shorter work week may still be something far from what Hong Kong can currently implement, but it could be something to look into. After all, we can proudly say that we are a world city, innovative and able to cater to the emerging demands of the modern world. Then why should we not do it for our own people?

We were successful in extending the statutory paternity leave for Hong Kong fathers from three days to five days, it is something I believe could extend more in the future, giving greater importance and priority to a higher quality of life, not only in terms of monetary, but most especially in terms of personal and family life.

I support that the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression should be a statutory holiday since this would lessen the disparity between the number of general and statutory holidays. This is just. We should maintain fairness and give high dignity to our labour. But I also further urge that the rest of the national holidays―Good Friday, the day following Good Friday, Easter Monday, the day following Buddha's birthday and the first weekday after Christmas day should be part of the statutory holiday list. If we are proposing and highlighting the commemoration of the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, why do we not highlight the value of other equally important holidays as well? I do not see a particular reason to single out this holiday.

As much as the Government wants to promote and maintain a highly competitive business environment for Hong Kong, it should seriously start prioritizing the well-being and rights of employees to ensure that we are able to offer and maintain a high standard of productivity, efficiency and quality.

Mr LEUNG, I hereby speak in support of the original motion and all the amendments. Thank you.

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MR AU NOK-HIN (in Cantonese): Concerning today's motion on "Reviewing the holiday policy", first of all, I believe that the Members who have spoken have reflected a bigger consensus that the differential treatments for white-collar workers, who are entitled to 17 days of holiday, and blue-collar workers, who can have 12 days only, should be abolished. I also understand that the various amendments all aim at dealing with these differential treatments. I support the abolition of that.

We have no reason to think that wage earners engaging in different kinds of work should have any fundamentally differential treatments in terms of the number of holidays they are entitled to. First, this arrangement is essentially unfair. However, in the discussion of the sufficiency of holidays wage earners are entitled to, some Members mentioned some numbers, which I hope Members will take a clear look at whether they are reasonable. Many Members, especially those from the commercial and industrial sectors, have quoted from the annex to an information paper prepared by the Legislative Council titled "Arrangement of Holidays Designated for Employees and General Holidays in Neighbouring Economies of Hong Kong" in which it is stated that the numbers of holidays designated for employees and general holidays are 12 and 17 respectively. However, we should not forget that wage earners in Hong Kong are entitled to seven days of paid annual leave.

In this respect, I have found a statistics chart which shows that in terms of the number of days of paid annual leave Hong Kong ranks the fourth from the bottom, a rather low ranking, with only several other countries below it. The countries and places that also provide seven days of paid annual leave are Singapore, Brunei and Taiwan. How about other countries? Some countries provide much longer paid annual leaves. For example, people in Switzerland, Ireland and Holland can enjoy 20 days of paid annual leave, and in Finland, they have even 25 days. I am not asking Hong Kong to follow suit because different countries have different situations―Mr LEUNG is smiling. However, I think that these simple differences are not sufficient to support the view that wage earners in Hong Kong have many holidays already. Mr Tommy CHEUNG said the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression ("the Victory Day") could be designated as a statutory holiday on condition that it took the place of the Labour Day holiday. I do not think he need to be so mean. Hong Kong's wage earners are merely entitled to seven 4820 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 days of paid annual leave. Do they really have many holidays? In comparison with other regions, I think that 12 days of labour holidays that wage earners are entitled to is on the low side and we do not advocate differential treatments.

I wish to deal with another issue in my speaking time. Should the Victory Day be regarded as the reason for a holiday? First let me talk about some background. When I was studying this motion, I considered very carefully whether I should propose a Committee stage amendment. My colleagues at my office and I also considered the amendment to be proposed, such as changing the Victory Day to a holiday for Ramadan of Islam. Many ideas came up during our discussion. I even suggested proposing an amendment for each event of different religions, for example, an amendment for designating the birthday of QIU Chuji, a historic figure of Taoism, as a holiday. However, my colleagues finally thought that I was insane and dissuaded me from doing do. Finally, I did not propose any amendment.

Another question I would like to ask is: if we must use the victory over Japanese aggression as the reason for designating a holiday, we need to consider whether this holiday can really achieve the meaning of a holiday. Even if someone thinks that the Victory Day is a very important event in the history of China and a holiday must be designated on that day, must the name of the holiday carry such words as victory over Japanese aggression?

We always say the East Asian countries should lay down their historic hatred to promote peace. In recent years, many historians, especially those from Chinese, Japanese and Korean, earnestly hope that they compile the history together. On a number of occasions around the period between 2005 and 2010, they published the modern history compiled by the historians of the three East Asian countries concerning the common interpretation by the three countries of their historic events, leaving aside the special incidents arising from the history textbooks published by publishers like Fusosha Publishing for the time being. From this perspective, we can see that everyone has a common goal and they believe that if countries blindly advocate nationalism, it will bring evil consequences to the human race. World War II has left the people of the whole world a very important lesson, which is, blind nationalism will eventually bring disastrous consequences. Historic hatred will eventually bring to the human race indelible consequences.

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From this point of view, we should consider how the holiday should be titled. As regards what title should be used to describe the day on which the victory was won over Japanese aggression during World War II, I think there is room for further deliberation. If the motion lays too much emphasis on the meaning of nationalism and national hatred, I certainly cannot support it. On the contrary, we should look at it from the perspective of a peaceful relationship and mutual understanding among countries and see if we can amend the motion using better wording. I think that there is still room for further deliberation on this subject.

On the whole, most Members in this Council have reached a major consensus concerning labour interest. However, in respect of the name of the holiday, I think that we can discuss further whether we must use no other words but the victory over Japanese aggression.

President, I so submit.

MR LEUNG CHE-CHEUNG (in Cantonese): President, just now I saw Mr AU Nok-hin reading those figures with great difficulties. As Members, we basically have no concept of holidays because we can only visit the districts and work during the holidays and we have no idea whether a holiday is a public holiday or not. Hence, I think it is normal for Mr AU Nok-hin to have such a difficult time reading the figures because none of us remember how many days of holidays we are supposed to have.

However, when we discuss this issue, we must find out the difference between the statutory holidays and public holidays in Hong Kong that makes Mr POON Siu-ping propose to review them. As a matter of fact, as different industries and trades have different holidays, Members think that this phenomenon should be reviewed. The purpose is to determine whether 12 days of holidays are sufficient. Considering that white-collar workers have 17 days of holidays, how do we determine what is reasonable?

I have listened very carefully to the speech of Mr Tommy CHEUNG. He said that when talking about holidays, we should set an example as sometimes Legislative Council Members may be inhumane to their assistants or colleagues by not allowing them to take as many days-off as they are supposed to. I see some points in his view. When you are an employer, will you have the same mentality like his? I have to clarify that I will not because I feel that when the 4822 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 public consider a certain number of days of holidays is reasonable, I will allow my staff to enjoy all the holidays they are entitled to and I will not deduct any of them. If you want your staff to work with enthusiasm, you should give them appropriate rest. In respect of this point, I believe all Members in the Legislative Council have a consensus. What Members are disputing relates only to the appropriate number of days for holiday. In some countries, for example, people are entitled to 25 days of holidays but we are only entitled to 11, while those in our neighbouring city may be 15. Hence, Secretary, this review is really hard to conduct. Are 12 days enough, or are 17 days better? This question is very hard to answer.

I feel that since members of some industries and trades in Hong Kong are entitled to 17 days of public holidays but ordinary wage earners are only entitled to 12 now, it is appropriate to review the holiday policy and I will support it.

In his original motion, Mr POON Siu-ping especially requests to increase one day of statutory holidays to a total of 13 and designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression ("Victory Day") as that holiday. He also follows the practice of our State and set the day on 3 September. If the Government let everyone discuss on what day the new statutory holiday should be, I, for myself, will support designating the Victory Day as the statutory holiday because it is worth the commemoration of all generations of Chinese people. On that day 74 years ago, an important event happened that no Chinese people can forget. If a holiday is designated on that day, everyone will remember that there was such a day which is worth our commemoration and it will also help refresh our memory of our past history.

As regards the history of the past, Mr AU Nok-hin said that people have different understanding of it. But as far as I understand, all Chinese people must keep the history of that event in mind, which makes us cherish the peace we have now and avoid going to war as it will cause great loss of life and great sufferings to people. If we keep this part of history in mind, it will remind us to cherish the peace and people will head toward peace. Lest Japanese militarism in the past may revive and the countries that are bullying others now may not use guns but the economy as a weapon instead and it will cause even more suffering. Hence, we must always bear the history in mind and it is very important to both the human race and their social development.

I would like to recommend a book to everyone, including the audience in front of the television watching the broadcast now. The book, Kerr's Diary, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4823 records the historic event of the rescue of some American fighter pilots by anti-Japanese guerrillas in Hong Kong between 1943 and 1944. It happened while Hong Kong was fighting against the Japanese. Although this event was not known to many people, recently the descendants of those American pilots and the descendants of the Hong Kong guerrillas joined hands in writing this book, in which it describes how the guerrillas rescued the American pilots, with KERR being the most famous among them. This historic event reflects how people in Hong Kong protected their home and defended their country, making contributions to the Chinese people's war against the Japanese at that time. This is also an event in which we, the indigenous residents of the New Territories, made great contributions and it is a very important event in the history of Hong Kong. I hope that everyone will keep the history in mind so that the days of peace in the world that we can enjoy in the future can last as long as possible.

I so submit. Thank you, President.

MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): President, there are two sets of holidays in Hong Kong, namely statutory holidays and public holidays. As there are only 12 statutory holidays, five days fewer than public holidays, this issue has led to endless disputes between employers and employees over the years.

As estimated by the Government, about 980 000 employees are entitled to statutory holidays and over 1 360 000 employees are entitled to 17 public holidays a year at present. The labour sector has been striving hard for standardizing both types of holidays to 17 days. Employers have always opposed this proposal, for fear that it will lead to an increase in operation costs of the small and medium enterprises and the additional costs might be passed on to the public, jeopardizing the business environment. Since both sides insist on their own views, this problem has remained unsolved so far.

I have always believed that both sides live through the good times and bad times together, and any reform needs the consent of both sides. Otherwise, it will only arouse conflicts between employers and employees and do no good to anybody in the end. It is proven that if the Government is willing to mediate, many controversial issues can be resolved and agreements made in the end. As regards the present problem concerning holidays, we cannot disregard the worries of employers as the present predicament first appeared in the 1960s and has remained till today. Even if it can be solved, it should be put forward for discussion by the public, with the Government acting as a mediator. We have 4824 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 always used the negotiation mechanism of the Labour Advisory Board ("LAB") and I believe that this problem can also be left for LAB to study and come up with a solution that both sides can accept.

While we are seeking a long-term solution, it does not mean we can fold our arms and do nothing now. The Government can adopt short-term measures to ease labourers' everyday pressure. I have always advocated work-life balance, in the hope that people can enjoy their lives after work and enhance their living quality. Specific measures include staggering working hours, home office and allowing the staff to take special holidays. In 2017, I suggested that the Government set up a "work-life balance fund" which models on the mode of the Community Care Fund, with injections from the Government. The fund will sponsor employees who are only entitled to the statutory holidays to take special holidays to relieve their work pressure. The advantage of this fund is that with funding from the Government, it can be launched immediately.

The Labour and Welfare Bureau conducted a survey in 2015 and found that about 980 000 employees were entitled to statutory holidays in Hong Kong. Basing on that figure, if these 980 000 employees took one more holiday, the total cost incurred would be $370 million, in terms of the wages in 2011. If they took five more holidays, the total cost incurred would be $1.83 billion. If this measure of special holidays was implemented, the Government only needed to spend $370 million and it would allow almost 1 million labourers to take one extra holiday. If they took five extra holidays, the total cost was $1.83 billion, which is roughly $2.5 billion in terms of today's wages. Imagine that the Government just needs to spend $2.5 billion and it will give 1 million people or a few hundred thousand families a happy holiday and help relieve the grievances of the whole community. I think the money is well spent. If it is considered that it costs too much public money to finance all five holidays, the Government may just finance one or two days. The resources required will be limited. Of course this is only a preliminary suggestion and whether the specific plan will work still needs further studies by the Government.

It takes the sincerity of both sides to find a long-term solution to this problem. The Government also needs to mediate and even finance part of the expenses to help the small and medium enterprises tide over the difficulties smoothly. I believe that the present conflicts can definitely be resolved this way.

These are my remarks.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4825

MR LUK CHUNG-HUNG (in Cantonese): President, first of all, I thank Mr POON Siu-ping for moving this highly meaningful motion to designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression ("the Victory Day") as a statutory holiday. A holiday has several meanings. First, it allows people to recuperate and restore their energy and achieve a work-life balance. Second, this is a day of historical, religious and cultural significance. As a matter of fact, the Victory Day is a day with great historical significance. It should be commemorated not only by all Chinese people but also people in the whole world as a day of victory over Japanese aggression or the victory of the anti-Fascism war.

I go particularly against some colleagues who politicize and take advantage of this topic concerning such serious matters as the overall national interest and labour welfare. For example, Dr KWOK Ka-ki kept his diehard habit of making use of this kind of opportunity to publicize his anti-communist theory. He took some state leaders' past comments out of context and made groundless accusations. If Dr KWOK Ka-ki does not understand Chinese people's speaking techniques, let me respond to him in the following. Dr KWOK Ka-ki, I thank you for your jests and also your fallacies, which prove that our theory is correct. I also thank Dr KWOK Ka-ki for his ignorance of history, which shows the importance of education on history.

In respect of the knowledge about history, Dr CHENG Chung-tai said the war against Japanese aggression had nothing to do with people in Hong Kong. Again, this shows our failure in our education on history. It is fortunate that Dr CHENG Chung-tai no longer teaches in the university; otherwise he will continue to mislead young people. How could the Chinese's fight against Japanese invasion not related to Hong Kong people? Hong Kong is part of China and Hong Kong people are Chinese. How could there be no relation? During the Sino-Japanese War, there was the Dongjiang Column in Hong Kong who rescued cultural intellectuals from Hong Kong and brought them to the Mainland to flee from the war. They helped preserve the important elites of our nation. People can watch the movie Our Time Will Come, which won the best film in the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2018, directed by Anne HUI. If they find reading a book boring, they can watch the movie. Besides, there were many Chinese servicemen in the Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers). Hence, even in the Hong Kong region, many Hong Kong people were involved in fighting against Japanese invasion and we must bear this history in mind.

4826 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Today we are not going to discuss the contributions and errors of anyone in history, which leader had more achievements in the Sino-Japanese War or the army of which political party got more military credit. As Chinese people, we must bear the history in mind. It is said that to forget history is to betray history. We have no intention to incite hatred but we cannot forget the sacrifice made by 30 million soldiers and civilians in return for the independence and freedom of our nation and peace in the world after 14 long years of fighting against Japanese aggression. Therefore, as Chinese people who love peace, we must always bear the history in mind, cherish peace and oppose war.

I absolutely do not agree to Mr AU Nok-hin's comments that to commemorate the anti-Japanese War was to advocate blind nationalism. Actually, Mr AU Nok-hin's comments showed that he did not want to consider the matter from the perspective of the Chinese. Instead, he looked at it from the historical perspective of "de-sinicization" and he did not care about right and wrong. There are righteous and unrighteous wars and the Chinese's fight against Japanese invasion was a righteous one. We must always remember this important part of history and guard against historical nihilism and confusion of right and wrong advocated by Mr AU Nok-hin.

I am totally baffled by Dr Fernando CHEUNG's amendment. From what we understand in general, Dr Fernando CHEUNG is not an activist of "Hong Kong independence" or "self-determination". But why did he delete the reference to "the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression" in the original motion? Would Dr Fernando CHEUNG think that as Chinese people, we should not commemorate this day? I really cannot understand it.

It is to Hong Kong's advantage that there is the "one country, two systems" policy but there should not be "one holiday, two systems", President. Secretary, we are all wage earners but why should 850 000 to 1 million of us have their holiday entitlement five days fewer than the others? Workers are no longer divided into white-collar workers, blue-collar workers or grey-collar workers in the service industry now. Many workers engaged in manual work, including the reporters outside this Chamber, are entitled to statutory holidays or labour holidays, that is, they have 12 holidays only. Secretary, in a well-developed economic entity like Hong Kong, how can we bear "one holiday, two systems" here?

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4827

Some employers say that their staff have many holidays already but I would ask them to stop replacing the concept in disguise. Although there seem to be many statutory holidays, employees have merely a few days of annual leave and hence only a few holidays in total. A survey conducted by the UBS Group has found that a Hong Kong person works for a total of 2 606 hours a year. President, this is the highest number of working hours in the whole world. The Government has said that the legislation for standard working hours involves many technical problems and it is hard to carry it out. However, it is easier to increase the number of holidays and there are no technical difficulties in drafting a bill on it. Besides, employers should have a broader perspective because when people have more holidays, more people will spend money. Employers should not just worry about fewer people working. There are many ways to enhance productivity other than exploiting the employees. The people should bear the history in mind. Employees should also be allowed to share the fruits of our economic success, have more leisure time and have a balance in physical and mental health as well as family life.

I so submit. Thank you, President.

MR SHIU KA-CHUN (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr POON Siu-ping for moving the motion on "Reviewing the holiday policy". I support the motion, mainly because I wish to take this opportunity to address the problem of employees being overworked. President, if one more holiday can alleviate the problem of wage earners being overworked, I will support it without any doubt. My reason is that workers in Hong Kong work far too long. There are 300 000 wage earners working overtime without pay and 600 000 people work over 60 hours a week. We have striven for years for legislation on standard working hours but to no avail. More disappointingly, the overall standards of Hong Kong's policies on labour rights and interests and employee benefits are all below the minimum standards of most countries.

Looking at the recruitment advertisements placed in the recruitment web page of the Labour Department, we can still find companies that offer seven days of annual leave, statutory labour holidays and Mandatory Provident Fund as benefits. A study by an international labour organization in 2008 found that in terms of the number of statutory holidays, Hong Kong ranked fourth from the bottom among 103 countries and regions, lagging far behind advanced countries 4828 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 and places where there are 30 days of holidays on average. Therefore, for wage earners, especially the overworked ones, to have one additional holiday is definitely good news.

When it comes to wage earners, we cannot but mention Carl MARX. We very much hope that there are fewer overworked workers and society shows more humanity. In his notes in 1844, Karl MARX described how people worked at that time, which is something like, "When man engages in productive activities, he feels that he is like an animal." I think this is Karl MARX's harshest accusation against the capitalist system. Society makes people lead an inhumane life and they can only find the dignity of humanity through inhuman activities, which is a problem far graver than the wealth discrepancy between the rich and the poor.

Almost two centuries has passed but the situation has remained almost unchanged. In today's Hong Kong, some people are in low spirits when they are at work but in high spirits when they get off work. They try hard to enjoy themselves during the weekends to make up for the loss of their time while working. Even more people prefer to do nothing but sleep during the weekends to make up for their lost sleep and that has become their "small fortune".

In the era when Karl MARX denounced the crimes of capitalism, in Britain, home of the industrial revolution, many children were forced to work for over 14 hours a day, which seriously damaged their physical and mental health. Today, there is no more child labour and Hong Kong has become a service-driven post-industrial society. Those bloody scenes are rare but that does not mean the people-consuming nature of capitalism has changed now. Although there are not many accidents in which workers lose their limbs or even their life, workers have to work very long hours instead, and jobs under the responsibility scheme are commonly seen. In different industries and trades, labourers bear the risk of suffering chronic illnesses. Once they fall victim to these illnesses, they will have to undergo a complicated diagnostic and treatment process and a long and uncertain process of recovering the compensation for occupational injuries.

In the past, we described people working very hard as "working like a horse" but today we describe them as "selling their liver and kidney". With the passage of time, there seems to be advancements, but the workers' situation is only changed from having surgeries to being treated for chronic illnesses. The LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4829 essential nature is still harming workers' physical and mental health. Hence, I very much hope that by means of this motion, we will be able to alleviate the problem of workers being overworked.

President, I support Dr Fernando CHEUNG's amendment to designate five general public holidays that are not currently statutory holidays as statutory holidays. There is a wealth discrepancy in terms of holidays today. According to the statistics provided by the Census and Statistics Department, there are 978 000 wage earners who are only entitled to 12 statutory holidays (labour holidays), not 17 public holidays (bank holidays). These 30% of Hong Kong's wage earners are all employees of the bottom tiers. I think that Dr Fernando CHEUNG's amendment can eliminate the discrimination in terms of holidays.

In fact, many local big enterprises have such a discriminatory policy with white-collar employees, or those working in the office, being entitled to 17 public holidays while blue-collar employees are only entitled to 12 labour holidays. These enterprises include the First Bus, Citybus, Hongkong International Terminals, Swire Group and Hong Kong Disneyland. These two different sets of holidays established by the Government have led to these enterprises discriminating against their employees of the bottom tiers.

Statistics show that employees who are entitled to fewer holidays work longer, 5.9 days a week on average. On the contrary, employees entitled to 17 days of holidays only need to work 5.3 days a week. This reflects that in respect of holidays and working hours, there is also a phenomenon of the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer.

As estimated by the Government, if the holidays are to be standardized as 17 days, the labour cost will be increased by $1.83 billion. This seems to be a huge amount. However, when compared to the total labour cost of all employees in Hong Kong in a year, which is estimated to be $500 billion, the increase in cost is only about 0.3% of the overall labour cost. Besides, in its estimation, the Government assumed that employers would hire temporary workers to take the place of all employees taking holidays and the actual cost increase will definitely be lower than $1.83 billion. Also, just by increasing about 0.3% of the employers' labour cost, or 0.1% of their operation cost, it will benefit 978 000 employees. There is no doubt that a small change can bring about a big improvement.

4830 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

In 2016, the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions met with the Employers' Federation of Hong Kong to propose to it the alignment of the numbers of the labour holidays and public holidays. The representatives of the Employers' Federation of Hong Kong did not object to gradually increasing the number of labour holidays until it is the same as that of public holidays.

President, I think that the five days' difference between labour holidays and public holidays signifies the discrimination against the grass roots. Besides, the increase of five paid holidays will only bring about a minimal increase in labour cost. Lastly, this increase is a family-friendly employment policy which will benefit employers and do them no harm. Hence, I support aligning the numbers of labour holidays and public holidays at 17 to put an end to the discrimination against workers of the bottom tiers. Thank you, President.

MR WONG TING-KWONG (in Cantonese): I speak in support of the motion moved by Mr POON Siu-ping to designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression ("the Victory Day") as a statutory holiday.

In the 1930s and 1940s of the last century, Japan waged a war to invade China and the Pacific War, and the Japanese Army had destroyed our homeland. This is the hatred harboured by the country and families, and is the part of history that we cannot forget. Nor can we forget the huge price paid by our nation to resist the invasion. During the difficult days of the eight-year War of Resistance, Hong Kong had also experienced the Japanese occupation for three years and eight months. Therefore, I think the war victory, though a painful one yet it is a civic pride, does have its historical and educational significance. We cannot forget the pain after the scar has gone, nor can we allow the younger generation to forget the memorable and meaningful days when we fought hard against the invasion. Therefore, as of now, I think Mr POON Siu-ping's motion does have practical rather than simply historical significance.

Regrettably, the viewpoints expressed by some Members are indeed contemptible, completely devoid of national pride and awareness. On the other hand, some Members have put the boots on the wrong foot as Mr POON Siu-ping's motion is not intended to deal with the disparity between statutory holidays and labour holidays. While we can surely discuss whether the disparity between statutory holidays and labour holidays is justifiable on another occasion, this is not the focus of the original motion of Mr POON Siu-ping. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4831

Furthermore, some Members have calculated, from an accounting perspective, the costs incurred in providing an additional day of holiday, the expenses to be borne by the Government and how the employers would bear the additional costs. In my opinion, however, there is no need to haggle over the numbers when dealing with issues having great historical and practical significance. Therefore, I think that the original motion moved by Mr POON Siu-ping and the amendments proposed by Mr HO Kai-ming and Mr Andrew WAN are worthy of support. On the contrary, I am really baffled by the amendment proposed by Dr Fernando CHEUNG.

Thank you, President.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Does any other Member wish to speak?

(No Member indicated a wish to speak)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr POON Siu-ping, you may now speak on the amendments. The speaking time limit is five minutes.

MR POON SIU-PING (in Cantonese): President, first of all, I would like to thank Members who have spoken on this motion. I would like to take this opportunity to express my views on the amendments proposed by Mr HO Kai-ming of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions ("FTU"), Mr Andrew WAN of the Democratic Party and Dr Fernando CHEUNG of the Labour Party. The position of the amendments of FTU and the Democratic Party basically dovetails with that of the labour sector. Since I have already explained the reason why I do not incorporate the relevant amendments into my original motion when I spoke on the original motion, so I am not going to repeat here. Therefore, I fully support the amendments proposed by Mr HO Kai-ming of FTU and Mr Andrew WAN of the Democratic Party.

With regard to the amendment proposed by Dr Fernando CHEUNG of the Labour Party, no matter how careful I listened to Dr CHEUNG's speech, I fail to understand why he objects to designate the Victory Day as a statutory holiday. Although I support Dr Fernando CHEUNG's proposal to align statutory holidays with general holidays, he has removed a major part of my original motion. Therefore, I have reservation about his amendment. 4832 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

Last of all, I would like to once again thank Members who have spoken on the motion, and hope that Members will support my original motion as well as the amendments proposed by Mr HO Kai-ming of FTU and Mr Andrew WAN of the Democratic Party.

President, I so submit.

SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE (in Cantonese): President, I once again thank Mr POON Siu-ping for moving this motion and the three Members for moving the amendments.

The Government has great respect for various festivals and celebrations, including those which originate from traditional rites and historical events or those with religious significance, etc. Regarding whether an individual festival or commemorative days should be designated as a statutory holiday, consideration should be given to the interests of the society as a whole, including labour rights and benefits and the affordability of employers. The speeches delivered by Members show that there are different concerns about holiday policy. I believe Members will agree that employers and employees are interdependent and close working partners. In considering holiday policy, attention has to be given to the affordability of small and medium enterprises, which comprise over 98% of all enterprises in Hong Kong; and families which have employed 380 000 foreign domestic helpers.

In response to the overall social and economic developments, the SAR Government has reviewed labour laws from time to time to gradually improve labour rights, benefits and protection on the premise of considering the rights and benefits of employees and the affordability of employers. Regarding statutory holidays, the 12 statutory holidays currently entitled by employees were designated on the basis of a consensus gradually reached after extensive consultation of various sectors in society. Apart from the number of statutory holidays, the Government has also made various amendments to the operation of statutory holidays to improve the arrangements concerned. These amendments include prohibiting payment in lieu of statutory holiday; designating the fourth day of Lunar New Year as a holiday in substitution when either Lunar New Year's Day, the second day of Lunar New Year or the third day of Lunar New Year falls on a Sunday; and designating the second day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival as a holiday in substitution when the day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival falls on a Sunday. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4833

A number of Members have drawn comparisons between the holidays in Hong Kong and those in other regions, but I hope all Members will note which holidays are being referred to in the information provided in the comparisons. Some Members very often make various additions or subtractions to the number of statutory holidays, general holidays and leave days under the Employment Ordinance (i.e. annual leave days) and draw comparisons between an apple and an orange; and some Members compare general holidays in other countries with statutory holidays instead of general holidays in Hong Kong. Thus, I hope Members will pay attention to these points.

Mr YIU Si-wing mentioned some information provided by the Labour Department and compared the figures with some of our neighbouring economies. I would also like to provide some information; though they may be repetitive, I think it is important. The number of statutory holidays designated in Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines is 12 days; as for other economies, 13 days in Thailand; 11 in Mainland China, Singapore and New Zealand; 10 to 13 days in most parts of Australia; 10 days in Macao; and 9 days for factory workers and 12 days for non-factory workers in Taiwan. There are general holidays in Korea and Japan, but the laws in Korea provide that employees are entitled to only one paid holiday, i.e. 1 May; and in Japan, there is no provision for any entitlement to statutory holidays by employees. Simply put, there is no statutory holidays in Japan. Therefore, when Members draw comparisons, I hope they are comparing an apple with an apple. The number of statutory holidays in Hong Kong is not few.

As I said in my opening remarks, on 22 March 2018 when I responded to the motion moved by Mr HO Kai-ming and the amendments thereto, I said that the current-term Government hoped to deal with some important tasks of labour issues, including abolishing the offsetting arrangement under the Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") System; extending the duration of maternity leave; reviewing ways to increase the penalty levels for non-compliance of requirements to strengthen the protection of occupational safety for employees and increasing the number of paternity days, etc. We must accord priority in dealing with these issues and we must consider the affordability of society as a whole. When dealing with the tasks I just mentioned, there are actually great controversies and our work will have significant impact on our society and economy.

However, I have to raise one point. Mr CHAN Kin-por, for example, mentioned earlier that he had suggested the Government to foot the bill for the wage difference incurred as a result of the five additional holidays. 4834 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

I hope Members will understand that in relation to abolishing the offsetting arrangement under MPF, the Government's ultimate proposal is to make a transitional arrangement to assist employers in dealing with problems which may occur. When the laws are amended to cancel the original offsetting arrangement, the Government has the responsibility to assist employers to tide over difficulties.

Regarding maternity leave, the Government has to foot the bill for the wages of four additional weeks arising from the increase in the duration of maternity leave from 10 to 14 weeks. The purpose is to alleviate any problem of unfair treatment of women in employment which may arise from the extension of maternity leave. Such measures are introduced not because the Government has the financial means, but because they serve certain purposes. If Members ask the Government to pay for each improvement of labour rights and interests, they should understand that the Government's money is actually money of the society and of taxpayers.

Regarding the proposals of Members in relation to holiday policy, the Government will maintain communication with employers, employees and other relevant stakeholders; listen to different views and seek to gradually reach a consensus. Meanwhile, the Government will continue to make publicity and promotional efforts to encourage employers to adopt better measures on human resources management, and provide employees with benefits (including holiday entitlement) better than those stipulated under the Employment Ordinance according to the actual circumstances and affordability.

President, I so submit.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now call upon Mr HO Kai-ming to move an amendment.

MR HO KAI-MING (in Cantonese): President, I move that Mr POON Siu-ping's motion be amended.

The amendment moved by Mr HO Kai-ming (See the marked-up version at Annex 1)

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4835

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now propose the question to you and that is: That the amendment moved by Mr HO Kai-ming be passed.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now put the question to you as stated. Will those in favour please raise their hands?

(Members raised their hands)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Those against please raise their hands.

(Members raised their hands)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I think the question is agreed by a majority respectively of each of the two groups of Members, that is, those returned by functional constituencies and those returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections, who are present. I declare the amendment passed.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Members have already been informed that as Mr HO Kai-ming's amendment has been passed, Mr Andrew WAN and Dr Fernando CHEUNG have withdrawn their amendments.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr POON Siu-ping, you still have 7 minutes and 12 seconds to reply. Then, the debate will come to a close.

MR POON SIU-PING (in Cantonese): President, I would like to thank the 20 or so Members for speaking on my motion, but I am disappointed with the reply given by the Secretary. The Secretary has simply failed to explain why the Victory Day of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression should not be designated as a statutory holiday; he is also unwilling to review the holiday policy.

President, the Labour Department conducted a survey in 2011 on the taking of statutory holidays and general holidays by employees, so as to study the situation of wage earners taking general holidays and statutory holidays in Hong Kong. As the estimated cost for one additional statutory holiday is only 4836 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019

$0.37 billion, the effect on the economy of Hong Kong is minimal. I hope the Government will actively and positively consider increasing the number of statutory holidays to improve the rights and interests of employees.

President, I do not intend to use up my remaining speaking time. I believe Honourable colleagues are clear about my motion and I hope they will give support.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now put the question to you and that is: That the motion moved by Mr POON Siu-ping, as amended by Mr HO Kai-ming, be passed. Will those in favour please raise their hands?

(Members raised their hands)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Those against please raise their hands.

(Members raised their hands)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I think the question is agreed by a majority respectively of each of the two groups of Members, that is, those returned by functional constituencies and those returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections, who are present. I declare the motion as amended passed.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Debate on motion with no legislative effect.

As Mr Alvin YEUNG is not present, this Council will not deal with his motion.

NEXT MEETING

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now adjourn the Council until 10:30 am tomorrow for holding the Chief Executive's Question and Answer Session.

Adjourned accordingly at 4:23 pm.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 4837

Annex 1

The marked-up version of the amendment moved by Mr HO Kai-ming (Translation)

That the existing disparity between the number of general holidays and that of statutory holidays has resulted in varying numbers of holidays for employees; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously review the outdated holiday policy, increase the number of statutory holidays to bring it on a par with that of general holidays so that all employees in Hong Kong are entitled to the same number of holidays, and designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression as a statutory holiday.

Note: Mr HO Kai-ming's amendment is marked in bold and italic type.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 9 January 2019 A1

Appendix I

WRITTEN ANSWER

Written answer by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to Mr Kenneth LEUNG's supplementary question to Question 6

From 2013 to 2017, 828 persons were prosecuted for money laundering offences and 620 persons were convicted. None of the cases involves violation of the United Nations Sanctions Ordinance (Cap. 537).