Minutes of the 12th Meeting of Community Affairs and Tourism Development Committee (CATC) under Southern District Council (SDC)

Date : 25 November 2013 Time : 2:30 p.m. Venue : SDC Conference Room

Present: Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP (Chairman of SDC) Mr CHAN Fu-ming, MH (Vice-Chairman of SDC) Ms LAM Yuk-chun, MH (Chairlady of CATC) Mr FUNG Se-goun, Fergus (Vice-Chairman of CATC) Mr AU Lap-sing Mr AU Nok-hin Mr CHAI Man-hon Mrs CHAN LEE Pui-ying Ms CHEUNG Sik-yung Mr CHU Lap-wai Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH Mr LO Kin-hei Mrs MAK TSE How-ling, Ada Dr LIU Hong-fai, Dandy, JP Dr YANG Mo, PhD Mr Paul ZIMMERMAN Ms LI Mei-yung Ms CHAN Lai-wah, Flora Mr CHAN Chi-ho Ms KWONG Yan-po, Emily

Absent with Apologies: Mr WONG Ling-sun, Vincent Mr YEUNG Wai-foon, MH, JP Mr KWAN Chung-chor, Joe Secretary:

1 Miss TSANG Fan, Fanny Executive Officer (District Council) 1, Southern District Office, Home Affairs Department

In Attendance: Ms WAI Yee-yan, Christine, JP District Officer (Southern)

Miss NG Kai-ting, Nettie Assistant District Officer (Southern)

Miss LIN Ming Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Southern District Office, Home Affairs Departments

Miss YEN Miu-ling, Kathy Assistant District Social Welfare Officer, (Central Western, Southern and Islands) 3, Social Welfare Department

Ms HO Pui-ling, Doris Head, Policy & Project Co-ordination Unit of Chief Secretary of Administration’s Private Office for agenda item 1 Ms HUI Yee-ching, Felicia Policy & Project Co-ordinator for Chief Secretary of Administration’s Private Office

Miss Wendy CHUNG Principal Assistant Director (Infrastructure & Research Support), for agenda Education Bureau item 2 Miss LEE Hoi-lun, Leonie Assistant Secretary (Infrastructure) 1, Education Bureau

Mr WONG Yuet-chung Senior Housing Manager, for agenda Housing Department items 3 & 4

Mr LI Chi-shing, Sammy Senior Telecommunications Engineer

2 (Spectrum Planning) 2, Office of the Communications Authority Mr LEUNG Wing-kee Telecommunications Engineer (Spectrum for agenda Planning) 7, item 3 Office of the Communications Authority Dr Jaime SIN Senior Medical & Health Officer (Community Liaison) 2, Department of Health

Ms LAM Ka-lai, Carly PO3/JO1, Joint Offices for Investigation of Water Seepage Complaints Mr LEUNG Kam-hon Senior Health Inspector (Environmental Hygiene) 2, for agenda Food and Environmental Hygiene item 4 Department Mr POON Kam-lun Maintenance Surveyor/HW, Housing Department

Ms Emily MO Assistant Commissioner for Tourism, Tourism Commission for agenda Ms Stephanie LAI Senior Manager (Tourism), item 7 Tourism Commission

Mr LEE Yuen-po, Paul Officer-in-charge (Community Building), for agenda Southern District Office, item 8 Home Affairs Department Mr WONG Che-ngai Director, for agenda Southern District Arts & Culture item 9 Association

Ms CHOI Wan-yee Assistant Social Work Officer, Caritas Integrated Family Service Centre - Aberdeen Mr YAU Kin-man Assistant Social Work Officer, for agenda Caritas Integrated Family Service Centre - item 10 Aberdeen Mr FUNG Ka-cheong Social Worker, Caritas Community Centre - Aberdeen

Dr LUK Chi-chung Cluster Chief Executive,

3 Hong Kong West Cluster Dr Sidney TAM Deputy Hospital Chief Executive I, Queen Mary Hospital for agenda item 13 Ms P. W. Winnie YIP Cluster General Manager (Administrative Services), Hong Kong West Cluster

Opening Remarks:

The Chairlady welcomed representatives from regular government departments to the meeting. She said that Mr WONG Ling-sun was unable to attend the meeting due to illness, while Mr YEUNG Wai-foon, MH, JP and Mr KWAN Chung-chor were absent because of other engagements. Subject to the “Standing Orders of SDC (2012-2015)” (Standing Orders), only the leave application of Mr WONG Ling-sun was accepted.

Agenda Item 1: Public Engagement Exercise on Population Policy (CATC Paper No. 57/2013)

2. The Chairlady welcomed Ms HO Pui-ling, Head of Policy & Project Co-ordination Unit of Chief Secretary of Administration’s Private Office, and Ms HUI Yee-ching, Policy & Project Co-odinator for Chief Secretary of Administration’s Private Office, to the meeting for discussion of agenda item 1.

3. Ms HO Pui-ling, with the aid of PowerPoint presentation (PowerPoint 1), briefly introduced the contents of the paper.

4. Mr AU Nok-hin, Mr Paul ZIMMERMAN, Mr CHAI Man-hon, Mrs MAK TSE How-ling, Dr YANG Mo, PhD, Mr LO Kin-hei, Mr CHU Lap-wai, Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP, Mr FUNG Se-goun and Ms KWONG Yan-po raised comments and enquiries on the subject. Details were summarised as follows:

- a Member opined that the lack of employment protection was one of the main causes of the current labour shortage. The construction industry, for instance, faced problems such as arrears of wages, harsh working environment, unstable labour demand, and so on.

4 Furthermore, the “418” rule concerning employment of continuous contract under the Employment Ordinance did not apply to casual labours such as domestic helpers; - a number of Members expressed concern over the approval mechanism of One-way Permit Scheme. A Member opined that the Hong Kong Government was entitled to know and be consulted on related matters. Also, the Basic Law stated clearly that people from other parts of the Mainland should apply for approval for entry into the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The number of persons who entered HKSAR for the purpose of settlement should be determined by the competent authorities of the Central People’s Government (CPG) after consulting the HKSAR Government. Therefore, in theory, the Government had the responsibility and right to discuss matters relating to the One-way Permit approval with CPG. Another Member expressed regret over the Government’s feeblemindedness and cowering attitude; - a Member asked when the Government would extend the retirement age; - a Member wished to know the percentage of One-way Permit holders with post-secondary education qualifications; - a Member wished to know how the Government would draw up policies to encourage job diversity, whether there would be any consultation exercise on this issue, and how to foster interdepartmental cooperation for such purpose; - a Member held that Hong Kong should not impose directions, preferences or restrictions on the types of imported talent. Rather, we should let the market decide what talent should be imported to provide the skills not met by local labour; - the cost of living, employment terms, job stability and quality of life are amongst the key factors affecting the decision of expatriates in coming to live and work in a city. A number of Members opined that the Government should address the excessively high cost of living (including that of housing) in Hong Kong. A Member wished to know how the Government would translate such targets as well as the objective of fostering a conducive environment for raising children into practicable policy measures; - a Member requested the Government to study measures to attract young people to join trades that suffered from labour shortage such

5 as machinery production industry and other technical trades; - a number of Members expressed concern over the ageing population, and criticised the Government for lack of support for elderly employment. The Government should consider policies to promote elderly employment or volunteer opportunities. For instance, subsidies should be given to corporations and social welfare organisations to encourage the employment of the elderly; - a Member supported the concept of developing an age-friendly community, and suggested that in drawing up the related policies, the Government should take into consideration the health conditions of the elderly, and their preferred trades and work modes; - a Member opined that the Government should offer favourable work benefits and improve the quality of life in Hong Kong, in a bid to enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness with respect to importing and retaining talents of high-tech industries; - a Member opined that whilst it may be difficult to set a ceiling on population size with Hong Kong being a city where there was free movement of people, the Government should set indicators on the population carrying capacity of Hong Kong; - a Member commented that the birth rate was related to the macro-environment of society, including education policy, opportunities of upward social mobility, the political system, rule of law and cost of living etc.; - a Member had reservation on the proposal of encouraging female homemakers to return to the job market, which might affect the raising of young children and diverged from the spirit of fostering a family-friendly environment; - a number of Members commented that young couples were reluctant to have children because of issues such as financial burden, education policy and various matters relating to child raising. The Government could consider introducing 15-year free education, increasing child allowance and providing child-rearing subsidies and support services; - a Member commented that the policy proposals recommended in the consultation paper emphasised on the “quantity” rather than the “quality”. Also, the paper lacked macro considerations such as analysis of the effect of the development in the Mainland and peripheral regions on Hong Kong’s population; and

6 - a Member held that the Government could make use of overseas offices of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reach out and attract talent to Hong Kong.

5. Ms HO Pui-ling thanked Members for their views and gave a consolidated response as follows:

- accepted that the labour protection system in Hong Kong had room for improvement, but disagreed that this was the main reason for young people’s reluctance to join the workforce. Data showed that currently there were around 130 000 unemployed in Hong Kong, representing an unemployment rate of about 3.4%. On the other hand, there were around 70 000 job vacancies in the private sector. The prolonged co-existence of unemployment and unfilled vacancies reflected a structural problem of skill mismatch in the labour market. She said that the consultation document had therefore brought out a number of issues on education and training and invited public views on how best we can ensure that job skills of graduates matched the needs of the market; - nowadays, young people in Hong Kong tended to postpone the start of their career as compared with the past, it seemed that deferment of retirement age warranted consideration. She agreed that the Government could take a leading role in setting the retirement age. The Civil Service Bureau is now considering the question of extending the retirement age of the civil service; - agreed that it needed to consider appropriate ways to encourage the elderly people to continue to stay in the labour market, for example, enabling them to work part-time or in an advisory capacity; - recognised the importance of translating policy objectives into practicable and concrete measures. On promotion of diversified development of different industries, the Economic Development Commission (EDC) had identified a number of potential trades such as the marine industry, convention and exhibition industry/tourism, manufacturing industry and cultural and creative industry. The Steering Committee on Population Policy would, in accordance with its terms of reference, complement the work of the relevant committees to promote economic development and increase economic diversity in a concerted effort;

7 - Singapore was proactive in talent admission. Likewise, the Government could consider identifying and attracting talents to live and work in Hong Kong by providing Chinese living overseas with information about Hong Kong’s economy and employment opportunities through its mainland or overseas economic and trade offices; - it was necessary to review the vocational training and education in Hong Kong in future, such as whether course design could meet the needs of the trades, and strengthen communication and cooperation with the related trades. Efforts should also be made to help young people and their parents better understand what opportunities vocational trades could offer to them; - population growth in Hong Kong was mild and the annual rate of increase would just be around 0.6%. It was anticipated that Hong Kong would have a population of 8.47 million in 2041. According to the population policy report issued by the Planning Department in 2003, Hong Kong was able to carry a population of 8.7 million based on the prevailing situation at that time. As for Hong Kong’s handling capacity for visitors, the issue was being looked into by the bureaux concerned; - the Government endeavoured to offer diversified choices for women through provision of a facilitating environment and family support services and let them decide if they would return to the job market. Overseas experience showed that offering diversified choices for women in family support services had the unintended policy consequence of raising birth rates; - the Government had all along reflected the views of Hong Kong people on the One-way Permit arrangements to the Mainland, such as the public’s concern on the long separation of spouses in Mainland-Hong Kong families, and the admission of over-age children to Hong Kong for family reunion. The relevant authorities of the Mainland had taken into account these views in refining the One-way Permit arrangements; and - the education level of One-way Permit holders has improved generally over the years. One-way Permit holders with post-secondary education qualifications accounted for around 16% of all new arrivals (as opposed to above 30% of the overall population of Hong Kong).

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6. Mr AU Nok-hin, Mr Paul ZIMMERMAN, Mr CHAI Man-hon and Mrs MAK TSE How-ling continued to raise comments and enquiries. Details were summarised as follows:

- a Member opined that the Government should improve related training programmes, such as the “Enhanced Construction Manpower Training Scheme”, to attract young people to join trades suffering from labour shortage; - a Member stressed that casual labours (such as domestic helpers) were not covered by the “418” rule and urged the Government to strengthen labour protection so as to attract people to join the related trades; - a Member opined that apart from identifying diversified industries with development potential, EDC should also identify the diversified job types and job skills; - a Member pointed out that according to the talent importation arrangements under the prevailing immigration policy, expatriates should be employed by a local employer. Such an arrangement operated well and could ensure that the scheme could import skills from outside that were required by the market. In view of this, Government should not excessively interfere with expatriates’ career choices; - a Member held that the Government should pay more attention to improving the quality of life in Hong Kong to attract and retain talents than to promoting economic development and increasing workforce. It was recommended that the Government should lay down more diversified development targets in order to make Hong Kong a better city to live and work in; - a Member criticised the Government for lacking communication with CPG on matters concerning One-way Permit approval, and had not actively voiced the views and strived for more rights and interests of Hong Kong people; and - a Member opined that the Government could consider converting vacant school premises to community centres for providing nursery services. Also, the Government could subsidise local social welfare organisations to develop such services.

9 7. Ms HO Pui-ling gave a consolidated response as follows:

- agreed that population policy should not just pursue economic development, but also pay attention to social development and improving the quality of life in Hong Kong; and - from the perspective of helping women balance life and work and fostering an environment conducive to raising children, the development of more formal nursery services in Hong Kong could be considered, but the question of land supply should be taken into account. The suggestion of encouraging existing social welfare organisations and community centres to develop nursery services in-situ had good reference value.

8. The Chairman invited the departmental representatives concerned to note Members’ views, and advised Members to submit other views on the subject to the department concerned during the consultation period.

(Ms HO Pui-ling and Ms HUI Yee-ching left the meeting at 4:11 p.m.) (Mr. CHU Lap-wai Mr. Paul ZIMMERMAN、Mr. FUNG Se-goun, Fergus Mr. AU Nok-hin and Mr CHAN Chi-ho joined the meeting at 2:38pm, 2:40pm, 2:45pm, 2:46pm and 3:10pm respectively.)

Agenda Item The Use of the ex-premises of Apleichau St. Peter’s Catholic 2: Primary School for international school development (CATC Paper No. 58/2013)

9. The Chairlady welcomed Miss Wendy CHUNG, Principal Assistant Director, and Miss LEE Hoi-lun, Assistant Secretary, of Education Bureau (EDB) to the meeting for discussion of agenda item 2.

10. Miss Wendy CHUNG, with the aid of PowerPoint presentation (PowerPoint 2), briefly introduced this agenda item.

11. Mr Paul ZIMMERMAN, Mrs MAK TSE How-ling, Mr AU Nok-hin, Ms CHEUNG Sik-yung, Mr LO Kin-hei, Mr FUNG Se-goun, Mr CHAN Fu-ming, MH, Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP, Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH and Mr CHAI Man-hon raised comments and enquiries on the use of the ex-premises of Apleichau St. Peter’s

10 Catholic Primary School (the Premises) for international school development. Details were summarised as follows:

- a number of Members supported allocating the said site for international school use to meet the current demand for international school places in the society; - a Member hoped that EDB could help the non-Chinese speaking expatriates and ethnic minorities in enrolling to or adjusting to local schools; - a number of Members expressed concerns over the traffic conditions and considered the crux of the problem lay on the fact that all school buses queued up for students at the same time during school finishing time, resulted in congestion at the locality. It was recommended that EDB should discuss with the Transport Department (TD) and Housing Department (HD) to clearly designate a temporary parking area for the waiting school buses. A Member commented that it was essential to discuss and reach an agreement with TD and HD on related traffic matters before tender invitation; - a Member considered it undesirable to set up a school bus stop near Precious Blood Primary School (South Horizons); - a Member commented that congestion on Ap Lei Chau Bridge could seriously affect students to and from school; - a Member hoped EDB could improve the environment in the neighbourhood of the Premises; - a Member pointed out that the carpark near the Premises was mainly used by light goods vehicles for loading and unloading, and so queried if the carpark could provide two parking places for school buses; - a Member considered that the arrangement of setting up a school bus stop at the lay-by and assigning school staff to escort students to travel between the Premises and the school bus stop was undesirable. This could result in traffic congestion in the lay-by, which in turn would affect traffic to the South Horizons; - a number of Members considered that letting parents or students choose for taking public traffic or student service to and from school could create management problems; - a Member felt that The Link and HD should coordinate to make suitable traffic arrangements; - a number of Members considered that it would be difficult to control

11 parents to pick up or drop off their children by private cars in other places in the neighbourhood. They asked if EDB had measures in place to deal with such a situation; - a Member requested EDB to provide data on the demand and supply of local primary and secondary school places provided by public sector and the demand of the Southern District on international school places; - noting that the school premises was located near a public housing estate, a Member was concerned about the integration of the proposed international school with the local community and sufficiency of supporting facilities in the neighbourhood; - a Member commented that residents in Apleichau Estate West would not be benefited from the development of international school but they had to bear the consequences of the potential traffic impact. Therefore, the Member concerned asked if EDB would provide compensation for the affected residents; - a Member recommended mandatory busing and said that student service fees should be imposed on all students to prevent parents from breaking the rules by driving their children to and from schools; - a Member proposed staggering school starting hours to control traffic volume; - a Member considered that the school should set up a spot check and reporting mechanism to prevent parents from breaking the rules by driving their children to and from school; - a Member requested EDB to explicitly state the requirement for the school to deal with the potential traffic problems in the tender document; - a Member wished to know whether international school places in the Southern District could meet the demand in the district, and the numbers of international schools and related school places in Hong Kong and the Southern District; - a Member maintained that the physical environment of the ex-premises of Apleichau St. Peter’s Catholic Primary School was quite different from those of the German Swiss International School and Hong Kong International School. The potential problems in relation to traffic control of the former were much more serious. Therefore, the Member concerned wished to know if TD supported the traffic arrangements put forward by EDB and if it had further comments and suggestions on the subject;

12 - a Member expressed no objection to the international school development but felt that the Premises was not the right place. The Member concerned said that South Horizon Drive (530 m long) was a single-way road and its capacity was unable to cope with the traffic volume brought about by the 580 students during school starting and finishing time. Furthermore, EDB gave no compelling evidence to prove that students of the future international school would mainly use public transport. Even if mandatory busing was adopted, the large school buses for the 580 students would still give rise to serious congestion at the locality. More importantly, presently Lee Nam Road in the South Horizons had already plagued with insurmountable traffic problems arising from the several kindergartens in the area, such as double parking and cutting lane in search for a parking place. It was believed that a new international school at the site would deteriorate the situation further. Besides, South Horizon Drive was presently a private road where both the Police and building attendants had no authority for enforcement, so it was not hard to envisage the seriousness of illegal parking and traffic congestions following the setting up of an international school in future; - a Member requested EDB for a comprehensive residents opinion survey before deciding on the international school development; - a Member was concerned about the impact of the drastic expansion of international schools on the social harmony and resources allocation in the Southern District; and - a Member asked if local school places were able to meet the future population growth in the Southern District.

12. The Chairlady recognised the local demand for international schools in Hong Kong but was concerned with the traffic impact resulted from developing a new international school on the Premises. She considered that the three pick-up/drop-off points of student service proposed by EDB and the one outside the bus terminus were already very busy at the moment. More than these, they were some distance away from the Premises and pedestrian flow along the way was heavy, so were not suitable locations for picking-up or dropping off students. It was suggested that EDB could study with The Link on providing the parking places near The Link’s market for school buses, though this arrangement could not resolve the traffic problems completely. In short, there was no suitable parking location for school buses at the moment. In addition, the Chairlady pointed out that the basketball court mentioned

13 by EDB was originally a community facility for residents in Ap Lei Chau Estate and not a property of the school.

13. Miss Wendy CHUNG thanked Members for their views and gave a consolidated response as follows:

- the number of school-age children would persistently decrease up to the 2017/18 school year for the 12-year old, and up to the 2014/15 school year for the 6-year old. At present, there were two government primary schools and nine aided primary schools in the Southern District, three of which currently operate only one Primary One class. EDB believed that the public sector primary school places were sufficient to meet the demand in the district in future. For secondary schools, EDB’s statistics showed that the number of school-age secondary one students would significantly drop from 2 100 to about 1 600 (overall decrease of about 23%) from 2012/13 to 2016/17. The Southern District had 14 aided secondary schools, and three of them had already taken steps to reduce secondary one intake in the 2007/08 school year, while another two could only enrol three secondary one classes. EDB projected that the public sector school places could meet the demand of residents in the Southern District based on the above data; - the international school was developed on a territory-wide basis instead of confining to the Southern District. There were seven international schools (including primary and secondary schools and through-train schools) in the Southern District, providing totally 4 197 and 5 802 primary and secondary school places respectively, representing around 25% of all international school places in Hong Kong; - on “traffic” issues, the traffic arrangement options put forward by EDB were the outcomes of the discussion with TD and HD. According to HD, the two parking places closest to the school premises were originally earmarked for school use. TD on the other hand advised that the road section across the Apleichau Estate West was a high-speed road and it was not suitable for pick-up and drop-off of students. Furthermore, TD would not conduct comprehensive traffic study for non-government works. A traffic assessment should be conducted by the school operator; - EDB would request the school operator to report related traffic arrangements to the SDC prior to the operation of the school at the allocated premises; - EDB noted the traffic problems arising from the school dismissal time. In

14 the contract with the service provider of school bus services, the school operator could stipulate clearly that school buses should not park in a specific area or zone, and start picking up or dropping off student immediately after arrival. EDB believed both the school operator and the school bus services operator would respect the contract terms and conditions; - EDB noted the concern about the enforcement mechanism if students were given the choice of taking MTR or school bus services to and from school. EDB indicated that in response to Members’ concern, it would request the school operator only to allow students taking school buses. If needed, it would explore with TD and the Police on measures to regulate and reduce traffic flow. It was necessary to involve the school operator which had been allocated the premises and related departments to study the traffic measures before it could report the outcome to SDC; - EDB understood that the basketball court belonged to residents and the school only borrowed the facility during school hours; and - on integration with the local community, this had been one of the marking criteria in the assessment of application. Through the service agreement, the operator would be required to carry out activities in engaging the community.

14. Mr Paul ZIMMERMAN, Dr YANG Mo, PhD, Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP, Mr AU Nok-hin, Mr LO Kin-hei, Mr CHAI Man-hon, Mrs CHAN LEE Pui-ying, Mr CHU Lap-wai, Mr CHAN Fu-ming, MH and Mr FUNG Se-goun continued to raise comments and enquiries. Details were summarised as follows:

- a Member said he would withdraw his support to this project until EDB provided a clear plan on traffic management. He maintained that the traffic impact assessment (TIA) and the negotiation between HD and The Link should be completed before tender invitation, and suggested that all the other Members should also withdraw their support to the international school development; - a Member commented that the traffic assessment should clearly indicate the picking-up/dropping-off points and time period of picking up students after school. Also the assessment should address the problems arising from all student services parking and waiting their turn to pick up students at the same time; - a number of Members concerned with the impact of the international

15 school on social equality and equality of education. It was suggested that EDB should consult the educational bodies in the Southern District on the establishment of the international school; - a Member considered that it was not appropriate to have nearly 25% of international school places in the Southern District, as this would put pressure on the already burdened traffic conditions in the district. The Member concerned said that the Southern District could not accept more traffic flow without limit; - a Member commented that EBD should take into account the population growth and the demand for school places resulted from the lifting of Pok Fu Lam moratorium; - a Member said that EDB should obtain the support of TD on the traffic arrangements mentioned; - a Member wished to know the follow-up action and work procedures of EDB after this meeting and whether the views and suggestions of Members put forward in the meeting would be adopted; - a Member said that according to past experience, assessment reports prepared by traffic consultants always favoured the bodies or corporations which hired them, and also the reports were usually not very objective and the quality was unsatisfactory; - a Member pointed out that the traffic problems resulted from the proposed project could spread to Pok Fu Lam Road and Aberdeen Tunnel; - a Member hoped that Members should carefully considered the proposed project and concluded that this meeting failed to reach a consensus; - a number of Members considered that EDB should prepare comprehensive traffic assessment including the accurate number of school buses needed and the actual arrangements, and then report to the Committee; and - a Member felt that when launching the Expression of Interest (EoI), EDB should stress the importance of traffic assessment to interested school operators.

15. Miss Wendy CHUNG gave a consolidated response as follows:

- The TIA might be inaccurate if it was conducted before a school operator was identified. When a school operator was selected, it would be able to

16 fully and accurately present the traffic arrangement plan to the Committee, which included for example, the special traffic arrangements devised based on the number of enrolment and students’ background. Other districts had also adopted similar procedures. For example, for the school operator which had been allocated a premise in Kwun Tong, it had met with relevant Members to discuss matters related to its traffic assessment. EDB hoped Members could accept similar arrangements, that is, EDB would first identify the school operator, and then the school operator would carry out comprehensive TIA and consult the Council; - the setting up of an international school would not affect the provision and development of public sector schools in the Southern District; - on benefits to residents in the Southern District, while international schools enjoyed autonomy in admitting students, in line with prevailing practice, EDB would require the successful school operator to set aside school fee income for offering scholarships or financial assistance to students who met the entrance requirement but lacked the means to study in the school; and - EDB would incorporate the comments given by Members during the meeting (such as the traffic arrangements and problems relating to the parking of school buses) into the marking scheme for assessing the applications in order to select the most suitable school operator. In addition, EDB would include the above requirements in the service agreement, which the school operator had to comply with. EDB pointed out that the allocation of premises and the service agreement was not permanent in nature. The term of the initial agreement was ten years and subject to renewal of a 5-year term. EDB had the right to terminate the service agreement at any time and arrange for re-tendering.

16. The Chairlady wished to know if TD supported this project.

17. Mr FUNG Se-goun and Mrs CHAN LEE Pui-ying continued to raise comments and enquiries as follows:

- a Member understood that EDB had to confirm the EoI before conducting traffic assessment. As such, it was recommended that the Council would decide whether to support the project after EDB had obtained the EoI and TIA report; - a Member queried the effectiveness of mandatory busing and the ability of the school to restrict parents not to transport their children to and

17 from school by private cars; and - a Member proposed to request the school operator to allocate a certain proportion of school places to residents in the Southern District.

18. Miss Wendy CHUNG gave a consolidated response as follows:

- EDB had meetings with TD and carried out site inspection on this project. TD, in principle, did not object to the development of international school on the site, but requested the school operator allocated with the premises to conduct a traffic assessment. Some recommendations in EDB’s submission were also came from TD. Besides, HD representative verbally advised that two parking spaces closest to the premises were available for school use; - It was a prevailing requirement for the school operators to allocate 10% of their income for offering scholarship and financial assistance for students. As international schools did not admit students on a district basis, it would be difficult to restrict the offering of school places to residents in a particular district. However, applicant bodies which committed similar arrangement would score a higher mark in meeting the needs of the community; and - EDB appealed to Members’ support for EDB to launch EoI first and then invite the suitable school operator to conduct an accurate traffic assessment for SDC’s consideration.

19. The Chairlady said that EDB’s representative had clearly explained that the school operator and not TD should be responsible for the traffic assessment. The Chairlady further enquired if Members agreed to the arrangements that EDB should launch the EoI first and impose a mandatory requirement in the tender document for the school operator to conduct traffic assessment.

20. Mr Paul ZIMMERMAN commented that the purpose of TIA was to alleviate the potential traffic problems arising from the international school development, but not to decide if the site concerned was suitable for such purpose. Therefore, the traffic assessment report should be made available to Members before tender invitation, so that they could decide the suitability of the site for international school use. He requested that TD, in collaboration with EDB, should carry out a traffic assessment before deciding if the school premises was suitable for international school use.

18 21. Miss Wendy CHUNG said that TD would conduct traffic assessment for government’s projects only. Since the Premises was not allocated for use by a government department, TD would not carry out an assessment for this project. Therefore, EDB suggested first to confirm the selected school operator, who would then carry out a more accurate traffic assessment.

22. Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH said that confirming the school operator would imply that the said site was designated for international school use, and it would be unfair to the school operator concerned that if SDC turned down its project proposal after it had submitted a traffic assessment. Given that meanwhile there were still potential traffic problems unresolved, it was not appropriate to make a rash decision.

23. The Chairlady hoped EDB representative could explain that the launch of EoI did not necessarily mean the beginning of tendering exercise.

24. Miss Wendy CHUNG said that the EoI was not part of the tendering exercise. EDB would ask the applicant bodies for detailed proposals after receiving EoI. Even if EDB had selected school operator through the established mechanism, it could reiterate in the offer letter that SDC’s support for the TIA submitted by the school operator was required for the operation of the school. She opined that this condition was binding on the school operator.

25. The Chairlady said that as the international school would be run by a private institution and was not a government project, she enquired if Members agreed that EDB should launch the EoI first, and that the school operator was required to obtain SDC’s support for its traffic assessment before the school could be operated.

26. Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP commented that TD should take care of the study on the suitability of the said site for international school development as proposed by Mr Paul ZIMMERMAN. In other words, as a first step, TD or its contractor should conduct a TIA to determine the suitability of the site. He suggested that before launching the EoI, EDB should request TD to give a written reply on whether it supported the proposed project and traffic arrangements put forth by EDB.

27. Mr LO Kin-hei agreed with the above suggestions and that EDB should obtain a written reply or traffic assessment report from TD. In addition, he wanted to know if EDB had the power to stop the school operator from admitting students before it met the requirements stipulated in the tender document and the notification

19 of successful tender; and whether EDB could promise SDC that it would not allow the school to operate until the traffic problems were resolved.

28. Miss Wendy CHUNG responded that EDB could withhold the approval for registration of the school operated at the said premises pending the completion of the TIA.

29. Mr AU Lap-sing supported the views of Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP to request TD to provide a preliminary traffic assessment report first.

30. In closing, the Chairlady concluded that the Transport Department (TD) should be responsible for conducting the transport assessment on whether the assigned location is suitable for the usage of international school. The Chairlady urged the Education Bureau to contact TD after the meeting for the aforesaid action.

(Miss Wendy CHUNG and Miss LEE Hoi-lun left the meeting at 5:35 p.m.) (Ms. CHEUNG Sik-yung left the meeting at 5:30 p.m.)

Agenda Item Impact of the Installation of Radio Base Stations on the 3: Rooftop of Public Housing Estates (CATC Paper No. 50/2013)

31. The Chairlady welcomed Mr WONG Yuet-chung, Senior Housing Manager of HD; Mr LI Chi-shing, Senior Telecommunications Engineer, and Mr LEUNG wing-kee, Telecommunications Engineer of Office from the Communication Authority (OFCA); and Dr Jaime SIN of Department of Health (DH) to the meeting for discussion of agenda item 3.

32. The Chairlady said that this agenda item was put forward by Mr AU Nok-hin.

33. Mr AU Nok-hin briefly introduced the agenda item as follows:

- at present, HD had allowed various telecommunications companies to install telecommunications transmitters (transmitters) for mobile networks on the rooftop of public rental housing (PRH) estates, and this arose public concerns about the long-term effects of the radiation

20 generated from these transmitters on human health; - if PRH tenants worried about the effect of the transmitters on their health and were feeling unwell because of it, could this be a legitimate reason for asking for a transfer; and - some studies showed that a clearance of two metres between radio base stations and domestic premises could significantly reduce the effect of radiation on human body. It was asked if government departments would consider setting safety standards on installation of radio base stations to safeguard the health of residents.

34. Mr WONG Yuet-chung briefly introduced HD’s reply as follows:

- HD’s representative corrected information in the paper that presently there were six PRH estates installing totally 45 radio base stations in the Southern District. Among which, Wah Fu (I) and Wah Fu (II) Estates had ten and eight such stations respectively; - HA did not have a specific guideline for the increase/decrease of the number of telecommunication installations erected in PRH estates; - upon receipt of telecommunication installation application, HA would require the operator to submit a Carrier Licence issued by the Communications Authority (CA), and the application would be processed in accordance with the established procedures, including assessing whether the application complied with relevant Ordinances and the requirements of HA’s Regional Works/Management Staff and Independent Checking Unit. Regarding the radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation safety, operators were required to apply to and obtain approval from CA on their technical submission to ensure related safety standards were met before installation of the telecommunication facilities concerned; - at present, HA had no plans for future specific increase or decrease of the number of telecommunication installations erected in PRH estates, HA would monitor the number of base stations erected in individual estate in accordance with its situation; and - when handling applications for transfer from tenants, HA would consider the needs of individual PRH residents including social and medical factors and make assessment case by case; and would arrange transfer as appropriate.

21 35. Mr LI Chi-shing briefly introduced OFCA’s reply as follows:

- according to licence conditions, licensees of telecommunications services had to obtain approval from the CA before bringing base stations into use. In assessing licensees’ applications, the CA would consider whether the radio base stations would comply with the technical requirements of electromagnetic compatibility and radiation safety; - in consultation with DH, the CA adopted the limits recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) as the criteria for vetting and approving applications for putting the radio base stations into operation. According to the assessment of World Health Organisation (WHO), there was no convincing scientific evidence to suggest that radio base stations meeting the ICNIRP limits would cause adverse health effects on the public; and - if the public had any enquiries on the radiation level in their accommodations, they could contact OFCA by phone to arrange for on-site measurement.

36. Dr Jaime SIN briefly introduced DH’s reply as follows:

- radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) generated by radio installations were a type of non-ionizing radiation which had lower energy and was insufficient to change the chemical properties of substances. It could not cause harm by breaking chemical bonds of substances in the human body. RF EMF might generate a small amount of heat when absorbed into the human body. This would normally not give rise to any adverse health effects as the human body’s normal thermoregulatory processes could carry this heat away; - based on scientific literature and related health risk assessments, ICNIRP had developed the “Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Time-varying Electric, Magnetic, and Electromagnetic Fields” (ICNIRP Guidelines), which were recognised by WHO. WHO had recommended that national authorities should adopt the ICNIRP Guidelines, and considered that at present, there was insufficient evidence to suggest that exposure to EMF (including RF EMF) under the exposure limits set out in the ICNIRP Guidelines would cause any

22 adverse health effects; and - DH had been paying close attention to studies on the effect of EMF on health, and would continue to keep in view the findings of researches on EMF-related health effects as well as relevant reports published by other authorities, in order to keep abreast of the latest development and assess the risk to public health.

37. Dr YANG Mo, PhD, Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP, Dr LIU Hong-fai, JP and Mr AU Nok-hin raised comments and enquiries on the subject. Details were summarised as follows:

- a Member wanted to know the effect of radiation generated from mobile phones and X-ray on human body; - a Member hoped the Government could strength publicity effort to clear up public doubts on the effect of radiation; - a Member asked CA about the measurement on the safety standards of radiation and the circumstances under which radiation would cause harmful effects on human body; - a Member asked if HD would receive revenue for allowing telecommunication companies to install radio base stations on the rooftop in PRH estates; - a Member asked CA if there were any cases in Hong Kong that the radiation levels in buildings exceeded safety standards; and - a Member wished CA or DH could regulate installation of such facilities, e.g. imposing restrictions on their distance from domestic premises and formulating related safety measures.

38. Mr WONG Yuet-chung gave a consolidated response as follows:

- except for government departments, HD would charge a market rent on all telecommunication companies for installing radio base stations in PRH estates; and - HD received a monthly rental income of about HK$500,000 in total for the 45 radio base stations in the Southern District.

39. Mr LI Chi-shing gave a consolidated response as follows:

- in general, the radiation levels emitted from radio base stations would be

23 far below the ICNIRP limits. According to the measurement records, no accommodations in public housing estates exceeding ICNIRP limits. CA could disclose the data to the residents in buildings which on-site measurement had been conducted; - The radiation levels emitted from radio base stations would vary with a number of factors, such as distance, direction of the antenna and environmental factors. It would not be appropriate to estimate whether the radiation level would comply with the radiation safety standard by means of distance only. Nevertheless, CA would ensure that the radiation levels in places accessible by the general public would meet safety standards; - CA would try to accommodate public request for radiation measurement on buildings and disclose the data to the residents concerned; - in assessing the applications for installing radio base stations, the CA would consider whether the radio base stations would comply with the technical requirements of electromagnetic compatibility and radiation safety. OFCA would also inspect the radio base stations and measure their radiation levels on a sampling basis. The assessment process and inspections of radio base stations had already ensured the public avoiding the harm of radiation; and - OFCA could distribute leaflets to the public when taking a radiation measurement to enhance their knowledge on radiation.

40. In closing, the Chairlady said that departmental representatives had already answered the questions and concerns raised by Members, and hoped related departments would note Members’ views.

(Mr WONG Yuet-chung, Mr LI Chi-shing, Mr LEUNG Wing-kee and Dr Jamie SIN left the meeting at 6:28 p.m.) (Mr. Paul ZIMMERMAN and Ms LI Mei-yung left the meeting at 6:28pm.)

Agenda Item Concern on the Functions of the Joint Offices for Investigation 4: of Water Seepage Complaints (CATC Paper No. 51/2013)

41. The Chairlady welcomed Ms LAM Ka-lai, Professional Officer of the Joint Offices for Investigation of Water Seepage Complaints (JO); Mr LEUNG Kam-hon,

24 Senior Health Inspector of Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD); Mr WONG Yuet-chung, Senior Housing Manger, and Mr POON Kam-lun, Maintenance Surveyor, of HD to the meeting for discussion of agenda item 4.

42. The Chairlady said that this agenda item was put forward by Mrs MAK TSE How-ling, Mr CHU Lap-wai and Mr YEUNG Wai-foon, JP, MH.

43. Mr CHU Lap-wai briefly introduced this agenda item as follows.

- Members had from time to time received calls of assistance from residents about water seepage, and so raised the agenda item to explore the functions of JO; and - according to the paper, normally HD would resolve water seepage cases within a month, while JO could only successfully resolve about 20% of seepage cases in the last three years. He wanted to know the reasons for the low successful rate and the time required for investigation of each case.

44. Mr WONG Yuet-chung briefly introduced HD’s reply as follows:

- HD was responsible for carrying out water seepage repair in flats of PRH estates as well as rental flats in Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) estates. If the cause of water seepage was arisen from a sold flat in a TPS estate, HD would request the property management agent (PMA) appointed by the Incorporated Owner of the TPS estate to liaise with the corresponding flat owner for taking necessary repair work; - if the PMA failed to provide assistance within one month, HD would consider referring the case to JO; - in the past ten months, HD received on average about 1 400 water seepage cases from all over the territory per month and almost 80% of which had been resolved within one month; - when a referral or complaint on water seepage was received, HD would conduct an investigation so as to find out the causes of water seepage and identify the possible source of water. HD would then arrange the necessary repair works. The repair works would be conducted upon making appointment with the tenant. Under most circumstances, the water seepage problem could be resolved within one month’s time; - To follow up the case, the complainant would be asked to provide

25 relevant information about the water seepage e.g. frequency, duration and timing. In addition to visual inspection to the affected areas for verifying the severity of water seepage problem, HD would also use diagnostic equipment, such as moisture meter, colour dye and pressure gauge to assist locating the root sources of water seepage. If water seepage was suspected to be attributed by the flat above, HD would visit the upper flat to make further diagnosis; - there were cases that the tenant of upper flat refused to cooperate with the HD and did not allow HD’s contractor to carry out repair work. HD would brief the tenant clearly on the seepage problem suffered by the tenant below as well as the repair method to be adopted. For avoidance of the delay in rectification, HD would notify the tenant of the implications under the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement. If the tenant still ignored HD’s repair request after one verbal and two written warnings, seven penalty points would be allotted to the household.

45. Ms LAM Ka-lai briefly introduced JO’s reply as follows:

- briefly presented the “number of water seepage cases received”, “number of cases in hand”, “number of cases with source identified after investigation” and “number of cases with source cannot be identified and seepage persisted after investigation” between 2010 and 2012. Details were at Annex 1 of the paper; - She said that during the investigation of water seepage cases, JO staff would conduct multiple non-destructive tests; - if the seepage was mild, or significant improvements had been found, or the source of seepage could not be identified after all the possible and required non-destructive tests had been done, the investigation work of JO would cease. Regarding the low successful rate, as the test carried out by JO was non-destructive in nature, its limitation may make the sources of seepage difficult to be identified. Also, JO could not take enforcement action when there was no compelling evidence to substantiate the source of seepage.

46. Mr LEUNG Kam-hon briefly introduced FEHD’s reply as follows:

- JO was responsible for the investigation of water seepage cases in

26 private premises. Once JO successfully diagnosed the source of seepage, JO would issue a Nuisance Notice to require the owner concerned to rectify the situation within a specified period. If the owner failed to do so within the prescribed period, JO would take prosecution against the owner concerned; and might apply to the court for a Nuisance Order to impose a more serious penalty on the owner concerned; and - owners of private properties were responsible for the maintenance and repair of their own properties and could apply for an extension of time for compliance of the Nuisance Notice, so the time needed for resolving a seepage case might be longer.

47. Mr CHAN Fu-ming, MH, Ms KWONG Yan-po, Mrs MAK TSE How-ling, Mr CHU Lap-wai, Mr AU Nok-hin, Mr AU Lap-sing, Mrs CHAN LEE Pui-ying and Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH raised comments and enquiries on the subject. Details were summarised as follows:

- a Member wanted to know the percentage of cases resolved in the total number of cases received since the establishment of JO and whether the investigation would be outsourced; - a number of Members criticised JO for the low effectiveness and long processing time in resolving water seepage cases, and that it was unable to identify the source of seepage. They hoped that JO could seriously review its performance; - a number of Members queried that the diagnostic equipment used by JO was obsolete and suggested the use of new technologies such as Rapid Infrared Thermographic Survey; - a Member shared a water seepage case at Wah Mei House in Wah Fu Estate; - a Member hoped that JO could review how to effectively enter premises, especially TPS flats, for investigation of water seepage cases; - a number of Members considered it necessary to strengthen the enforcement power of JO through legislation; - a Member commented that on their transfer, investigation officers did not give proper handover to their replacements, which caused the slow progress in the investigation of some cases; - a Member suggested JO to introduce a mediation mechanism to facilitate communication among residents so that they could work

27 together to resolve seepage problems; - a Member considered that the power of JO in addressing seepage problems and imposing penalty after sources of seepage were identified should be enhanced; - a Member hoped the departments concerned could provide data including the number of seepage cases in South Horizons being handled in the last five years, their investigation progress and results; and - a Member wanted to know if the manpower of JO was sufficient.

48. Mr WONG Yuet-chung clarified that the problems in Wah Mei House mentioned by a Member was caused by sewer blockage and not water seepage.

49. Ms LAM Ka-lai gave a consolidated response as follows:

- the investigation by JO were divided into three stages. The first stage of investigation aimed to diagnose the seepage nuisances. If the moisture level measured at the affected area was equal to or over 35% and it was suspected that the seepage was caused by other units, the investigator would initiate the second stage of basic investigation, such as colour dye test. For complicated cases or cases that the sources of seepage could not be identified through primary investigation, JO would arrange the third stage in which the consultants employed by the Government would carry out professional investigation, which might include one or more tests such as water pond test. If it was still unable to identify the source, JO would cease the investigation for the time being; - as at the end of 2012, JO received totally 1 138 seepage cases concerning the Southern District, and 1 469 cases were being followed up (the number included the cases received before 2012 which were still under investigation). Among which, 186 cases had been resolved, in other words, the successful rate was more than 10%; - as the seepage tests carried out by JO was non-destructive in nature, its limitations might prevent JO from identifying the source of seepage in some of the cases; - the Buildings Department and FEHD would meet regularly to review the investigation procedures of water seepage to improve the work efficiency of JO; - JO would enhance the internal management system including the

28 exchange of information between different units; - the moisture meter and colour water test adopted by JO were widely used and effective means for ascertaining the source of seepage. Also, with the help of Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, JO was studying the introduction of new technologies in detecting water seepage; - owners were responsible for the maintenance and management of private buildings (which included addressing water seepage) and they should try to identify the source of water seepage themselves first and discuss with other owners on the repair works as appropriate; and - a review on the long-term policy directions and resources allocation of JO was underway, which included studying the introduction of a mediation mechanism and the role of the Government in addressing seepage problems in private buildings.

50. Mr CHAN Fu-ming, MH pointed that JO was responsible for investigating seepage problems in private buildings and minimising the disputes.

51. Mr LEUNG Kam-hon gave a consolidated response as follows:

- if the circumstances required, JO would apply for a “Warrant to effect entry into premises” for entering private premises under Section 126 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance; - representative of FEHD admitted that it was difficult to apply for a “Warrant to effect entry into premises” and agreed that study could be made to enhance the power of JO in entering private premises for investigation and conducting of tests through legislation, in order to shorten the time for addressing water seepage problems; and - water seepage on external walls was usually caused by rain penetration and in general would not involve public health concern. FEHD would issue letters to advise related owners and owners’ corporations to deal with the problems.

52. In closing, the Chairlady hoped that JO could review the lengthy process in handling water seepage cases and suggested JO to explore the introduction of new technologies on water seepage tests. The Chairlady further asked related departments to provide information on the data on water seepage cases in South Horizons as requested by a Member.

29

(Ms LAM Ka-lai, Mr LEUNG Kam-hon, Mr WONG Yuet-chung and Mr POON Kam-lun left the meeting at 7:02 p.m.) (Ms CHAN Lai-wah, Flora joined the meeting at 7:12pm.)

(Post-meeting note: The Secretariat has circulated the supplementary information provided by JO on 6 January 2014.)

Agenda Item Confirmation of the Draft Minutes of the 11th CATC Meeting 5: Held on 23 September 2013

53. The draft minutes of the 11th CATC meeting held on 23 September 2013 were confirmed without amendments.

Agenda Item Applications for SDC Fund Recommended by the Vetting 6: Sub-Committee (CATC Paper No. 59/2013)

54. The Chairlady asked Members who did not attend the 9th meeting of the Vetting Sub-Committee (Sub-committee) to complete the “Declaration of Interests for Project Financed by Southern District Council Funds” on the table.

55. The Chairlady said that the Secretariat had received 28 funding applications at a total amount of $1,101,715, which included district community involvement projects, Cantonese operatic song-oriented activities, arts and cultural promotion activities, sports promotion activities, promotion of community inclusion and care, promotion of health and safe community, and promotion of the work of the four Area Committees. The Sub-committee considered the above applications at its 9th meeting on 11 November 2013 and its vetting recommendations were set out in the vetting recommendation report of its 9th meeting tabled. Also, the funding applications from the Southern District Arts and Culture Association and Southern District Healthy & Safe Association would be discussed under agenda items 9 and 10.

56. The Committee agreed with the recommendations of the Sub-committee and endorsed a total allocation at $375,132 for the funding applications recommended by the Sub-committee.

30

Agenda Item Matters Arising 7: (CATC Paper No. 60/2013)

Review the Utilisation of Vacant School Premises in the Southern District

57. The Chairlady urged Members to note the following matter. Regarding the utilisation of the ex-SKH Stanley Village Primary School, the District Lands Office/Hong Kong West and South had referred three applications for short term tenancy (including the renewal application from the existing tenant) to the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) for advice on whether policy support would be given to such applications, and HAB’s reply was awaiting.

Aberdeen Tourism Project

58. The Chairlady welcomed Ms Emily MO, Assistant Commissioner for Tourism, and Ms Stephanie LAI, Senior Manager (Tourism), of the Tourism Commission (TC) to the meeting for discussion of agenda item 7.

59. Ms Emily MO briefly presented the result of the feasibility study on the development of a dining cum entertainment zone featuring seafood cuisines at part of the site under Ap Lei Chau Bridge and along the waterfront of north-eastern Ap Lei Chau as follows:

- according to the past study on the Aberdeen Tourism Project, the following factors were critical to the success of a tourist attraction: good accessibility and provision of sufficient parking spaces; good variety and scale of offerings; availability of attractions in the vicinity to achieve the “complementary effect”; free admission; and it was also patronized by local residents, for example, having offices and commercial buildings nearby would greatly enhance the business potential of a dining facility; - TC had visited the site along the waterfront of north-eastern Ap Lei Chau together with TD to examine some key issues related to the site’s transport connectivity. The findings revealed that the site had poor accessibility as it currently lacked link roads as well as pick-up/drop off points and coach parking spaces in the vicinity;

31 - in this connection, TC and TD had further examined the feasibility of developing a road to connect the site and Ap Lei Chau Main Street. However, the land that lay between the site and Ap Lei Chau Main Street was part of the Ap Lei Chau Park and basketball court. Such road development would substantially cut down the area of the Park and the sports ground. It would be against the area’s planned community uses and would affect the users of the existing park and sports ground; - since the road proposal to connect the site with Ap Lei Chau Main Street proved impractical, TC and TD had considered another option of building a connecting road to Ap Lei Chau Praya Road. Under this option, part of the site would be reserved for ancillary transport facilities, such as pick-up/drop off points and coach parking spaces. However, according to the study findings, in order to facilitate the access by a larger number of visitors to the proposed dining and entertainment zone, more than half of the site was required to be converted into roads and public transport facilities. This arrangement would significantly cut down the space available for development and hence reduce the scale and attractiveness of the proposed project; - catering operators in general preferred to operate at sites with high patronage. The site concerned compared less favourably with the tourist attractions at other waterfront areas, as it only offered a distant view of residential buildings on the opposite shore. Without tourist attractions in its vicinity nor the support by large-scale offices and shopping malls, its capability of drawing stable sources of customers to support its operation was doubtful. Overall speaking, the proposed project’s appeal to catering operators was very low; - as shown in the above analysis, in view of the geographical constraints of the site, there existed insurmountable problems in improving its transport facilities and connectivity. Besides, the location of the site lacked natural scenery or other tourist facilities that could attract visitors. These factors would seriously constrain the viability and commercial potential of the development of a successful tourist attraction at the vacant site under Ap Lei Chau Bridge. As these constraints were not easy to overcome, TC considered that there were no justifiable grounds to support the development of a tourist attraction in the form of a dining and

32 entertainment zone at the site; and - TC believed that when SDC discussed the possible long-term development of the site concerned, Members might consider using part of the site for district leisure facilities or study whether it could be used for coach parking spaces by improving the road connectivity.

60. Mr CHAN Fu-ming, MH, Mr LO Kin-hei, Mr AU Nok-hin, Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH, Mr CHAI Man-hon and Mr CHU Lap-wai raised comments and enquiries on the subject. Details were summarised as follows:

- a Member considered TC’s report was acceptable but had reservation on the proposal to set up a coach parking area at the location as it could have an adverse impact on the traffic conditions in Ap Lei Chau; - a number of Members expressed that there was a gap between TC’s positioning and study direction and the Committee’s expectations. Instead of a sizable, luxurious dining cum entertainment zone which required a large amount of coaches and private cars transporting tourists to the area, the Committee expected to build a localised, “Dai Pai Dong-alike” dining zone within walking distance, where only basic facilities such as sewer, water and electricity power and fire services installations were provided; - a Member was disappointed and frustrated with the study report of TC. The location in fact possessed the factors which TC considered necessary for a successful tourist attraction: (a) a link road was already existed between Aberdeen Main Street and the location concerned, and parking spaces were available on Aberdeen Praya Road; (b) there were many scenic spots and unique food establishments along the way from Sham Wan Towers to the Main Street; (c) there were a number of attractions such as Hung Shing Temple and furniture outlets at Lee Nam Industrial Area in the vicinity; (d) free admission for the dining cum entertainment zone, also people could go there by public transport; and (e) many food establishments in Ap Lei Chau were listed in Michelin Guide, and many local people and overseas and Mainland tourists would go there to taste the food. The Member concerned wished TC could make an evaluation again; - a number of Members said that TC had promised to study and plan for

33 the Aberdeen tourism development, so were disappointed with TC for turning down the proposal of fishermen’s wharf and other tourism plannings for Aberdeen Harbour; - a Member considered that the overly emphasis of TC on the growth of the number of tourists would not benefit tourism development in Hong Kong and hoped TC could review its policy; - a Member wished to know the next step of TC; - a Member commented that TC should not just concentrate on certain aspects but should take both sides of Aberdeen Harbour as a whole in studying the development of tourism projects; and - a Member said that the spot was accessible by sampans and attractions like Ocean Park and Jumbo Kingdom in the vicinity could support its development, so it had great potential to be a tourist spot.

61. Ms Emily MO thanked Members for their comments and gave a consolidated response as follows:

- TC aimed to develop tourist attractions of a good scale of offerings with convenient road transport and coach parking facilities to receive tourists. The Food premises such as “Dai Pai Dong-alike” food stalls and “food kiosks” were not tourism projects that TC aimed at; - the MTRC worksite underneath the Ap Lei Chau Bridge was a narrow strip of plot and it would be difficult to build a dining establishment with good scale near the Ap Lei Chau Praya Road under the bridge. As a result, TC’s study concentrated on the viability of setting up food establishments near the waterfront area. After the discussion with TD, TC had discovered that the development of a road to connect the site to Ap Lei Chau Praya Road and the provision of coach parking spaces would use up over half of the site area; - TC understood that coach parking spaces already existed in the vicinity, e.g. the parking spaces on Ap Lei Chau Praya Road. However, a number of SDC Members and members of local community had complained about a shortage of coach parking spaces in the Southern District, and the large number of coaches arising from a sizable dining cum entertainment zone would further worsen the parking problem in that road section; - TC showed support to the growth of a cluster of food establishments in Ap Lei Chau Main Street which was formed naturally in response to

34 market-driven business opportunities, and thus hoped to tie in with its development through the improvement works at Ap Lei Chau Main Street and adjacent streets under the Aberdeen Tourism Project; - noting the large number of tourist attractions in the Southern District, the Hong Kong Tourism Board and TC had spared no effort in promoting tourism of the Southern District; and - TC did not plan to devise a specific tourism development planning for every district of Hong Kong. Nevertheless, the Working Group on Convention and Exhibition Industries and Tourism under the Economic Development Commission set up by the Government was reviewing the mid- and long-term development of the tourism industry in Hong Kong and would give advice to the Government on the potential and new tourism projects.

62. Mr CHAI Man-hon, Mr CHAN Fu-ming, MH, Mr LO Kin-hei, Ms CHAN Lai-wah and Mr FUNG Se-goun continued to raise comments and enquiries as follows:

- a Member strongly disagreed with TC representative’s statement about TC sparing no effort in promoting tourism development in the Southern District and said that the booming tourism industry in the Southern District in recently years was the result of the concerted effort by SDC, Southern District Office and the local community; - a number of Members clarified that what SDC had in mind for the plot under Ap Lei Chau Bridge was not a large-scale, luxurious dining cum entertainment zone but food premises like “food kiosks” and “Dai Pai Dong” where small restaurants or food stalls providing simple food and cuisines that characterised the Southern District, just like those existed in some of the popular tourist attractions like Tsim Sha Tsui. Also, the place would only require very basic facilities such as sewer, water and electricity power and fire services installations; - TC was unable to convince Members that the plot was not suitable for the development of a dining cum entertainment zone. To address the road-related problems, TC could discuss with SDC, TC and MTRC to work out suitable transport arrangements to cope with the tourism development after the removal of the worksite. It was irresponsible of TC to rule out the possibility resolutely;

35 - a Member suggested TC to consider revitalising and re-structuring Class II stationery vessels and developing a water market by capitalising the natural scenery and the unique features of the typhoon shelter in the Southern District; - a Member said that people could walk to the location after getting off near Sham Wan Towers, so did not understand why TC insisted on constructing a new road; - a Member regarded the said plot as an extension of the seafood dining area at Ap Lei Chau Main Street; - a Member said that it was the Hong Kong Southern District Women’s Association which promoted the tourism development in the Southern District as the association had organised tourism and cultural activities relating to Aberdeen Harbour (such as visit to fish market and talks on fishermen’s culture by real fishermen) for three years consecutively; and - a Member said that TC should make reference to the example of Singapore and proactively set up a zone at the waterfront area where there were stalls providing light food and refreshment to promote the unique catering culture of the Southern District.

63. Ms Emily MO gave a consolidated response as follows:

- TC had considered that the area near the abutment of the Ap Lei Chau Bridge was not suitable for the development of dining facilities, so the study focused on the viability of developing a seafood dining zone along the waterfront; - TC considered that in the course of exploring new tourist attractions, they would take into account the long-term planning for related transport facilities and arrangements including the provision of sufficient coach parking spaces and connecting roads, so that the tourist attractions would not give rise to traffic problems in the area. Since the site area of the waterfront of north-eastern Ap Lei Chau was not large, it was necessary to use a relatively large part of the space for building transport and road facilities; - TC considered that the food establishments on Ap Lei Chau Main Street were examples of market-driven development due to local business opportunities and potential. TC admitted that it would be attractive if the food establishments and dining zone at Ap Lei Chau

36 Main Street could be extended to the waterfront. However, there were Ap Lei Chau Park and a basketball court separating the Main Street and the site concerned, which was not conducive to the construction of road. This was the reason why TC studied the proposal to build a road connecting Aberdeen Praya Road and the proposed dining cum entertainment zone; - the food kiosks cited as examples by Members were welcome by tourists because of the people flows and business opportunities drawn by the popular tourism spots where they were located. TC aimed to develop a tourism projects with good scale of offerings but not “food kiosks”. Besides, it was rather difficult for TC to justify themselves to request resources for such kind of small district projects. If local groups wished to develop district projects with smaller scale, TC would help with the promotion and publicity as appropriate; - on revitalising Class II Stationery Vessels, TC would refer the Member’s views to related departments for consideration and discussion; and - in view of the geographical constraints of the site at the waterfront of north-eastern Ap Lei Chau, there existed insurmountable problems in improving its transport facilities and connectivity, and coupled with other factors mentioned in the paper, TC considered that it would be difficult to develop a a dining and entertainment zone in a form of tourist attraction at the site.

64. The Chairlady concluded that the Committee was disappointed by the result of TC’s study, and commented that TC should take into account the new trends and development of the Southern District, including the new opportunities brought by the MTR South Island line. In addition, instead of merely focusing on the tourism project in Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau, TC should plan the tourism development of the Southern District as a whole, and report to the Council when appropriate.

(Ms Emily MO and Ms Stephanie LAI left the meeting at 6:02 p.m.)

Implementation of the Conservation Measures and Promotion of Abandoned Military Facilities

65. The Chairlady informed the meeting that the Secretariat distributed the supplementary information from the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) on

37 the “Historic Military Structures in Southern District in the List of 1 444 Historic Buildings” to Members on 16 October 2013. Subsequently, a Member provided further information for AMO’s follow up.

(Ms CHAN LEE Pui-ying left the meeting at 7:54 p.m.)

Agenda Item 8: Application for SDC Fund: Rehab Power Grow Go Goal in the Southern District (CATC Paper No. 61/2013)

66. The Chairlady welcomed Mr LEE Yuen-bo, Officer-in-charge (Community Building) of the Southern District Office, to the meeting.

67. Mr LEE Yuen-bo briefly introduced the fund application concerned, and Members did not raise comments or enquiries on the subject.

68. The Committee endorsed an allocation of $35,000 to the aforesaid fund application.

(Mr. LEE Yuen-bo left the meeting at 8:06pm.)

Agenda Item 9: Application for SDC Fund: Activities Promoting Culture and Arts (CATC Paper No. 62/2013)

69. The Chairlady said that due to the absence of the quorum as prescribed in the Standing Orders resulting from the recusal of a number of Members from the meeting owing to their potential conflict of interest on the fund applications, the discussion on this agenda item would be resumed after the meeting of the District Development and Environment Committee (DDEC) on 2 December 2013.

Agenda Item 10: Application for SDC Fund: Activities Promoting Healthy City and Safe Community (CATC Paper No. 63/2013)

38 Programme to Promote Mental Health with Themes on Home Safety and Community Care

70. The Chairlady declared interest to the meeting, and invited the Vice-Chairman of CATC to chair the vetting of fund applications in agenda item 10.

71. The Vice-Chairman welcomed Ms CHOI Wan-yee and Mr YAU Kin-man, Assistant Social Work Officers of Caritas Integrated Family Service Centre - Aberdeen, to the meeting.

72. Ms CHOI Wan-yee briefly introduced the fund application.

73. The Vice-Chairman wished to know how the baby towels would be distributed.

74. Ms CHOI Wan-yee replied that the baby towels would be distributed to the needy at street stations and during home visits.

75. Mr AU Lap-sing wished to know whether the applicant organisation would target people with potential mental health risks when carrying out home visits.

76. Ms CHOI Wan-yee replied that home visits would be carried out by random sampling, and people with potential mental health risks would be included.

77. Mr CHAI Man-hon wished to know how the applicant organisation would identify the 1 300 households for carrying out home visits, and how it could ensure that resources could be used effectively to provide support for the needy.

78. Mr YAU Kin-man replied that home visits by random sampling could avoid the labelling effect on people suffering from mental health risks. The existing cases handled by the Centre would also be included as the target clients of this programme.

79. Mrs MAK TSE How-ling asked how many volunteers would be deployed in the home visits.

80. Ms CHOI Wan-yee responded that for cases handled by the Centre, centre staff would accompany the volunteers during home visits.

39 81. Mr YAU Kin-man supplemented that under this programme, 80 volunteers in groups of two persons would carry out the home visits.

82. The Committee endorsed an allocation of $10,000 to the Southern District Healthy & Safe Association Ltd. for organising the said programme.

(Ms. CHOI Wan-yee and Mr YAU Kin-man left the meeting at 8:13pm.)

Community Planting Programme

83. The Vice-Chairman welcomed Mr FUNG Ka-cheong, Social Worker of Caritas Community Centre - Aberdeen, to the meeting.

84. Mr FUNG Ka-cheong briefly introduced the fund application. Also, regarding the expenditure item of “Metal sheets” in the application form, he said that it should be “Metal racks”.

85. Mr CHAI Man-hon asked if the applicant organisation would take anti-mosquito measures.

86. Mr FUNG Ka-cheong said that the rooftop on which this activity was held was equipped with proper drainage system and full-time staff would be deployed to clear accumulated water. Also, routine pest control would be carried out to prevent mosquito and pest infestation.

87. The Committee endorsed an allocation of $20,000 to the Southern District Healthy & Safe Association Ltd. for organising the said programme.

(Mr FUNG Ka-cheong left the meeting at 8:20pm.) (Dr. YANG Mo left the meeting at 8:22pm.) (The Chairlady took over the chair of the meeting at this juncture.)

Agenda Item 11: Review on the Funding for Promotion of Literature and Music (CATC Paper No. 64/2013)

88. The Chairlady said that on 14 November 2013, SDC endorsed to earmark

40 funds under “Promotion of Literature” and “Promotion of Music” each at $300,000 respectively for the promotion of arts and culture in the Southern District in the financial year 2014-15. In 2013-14, SDC, for the first time, endorsed to set up funding schemes for the “Promotion of Literature” and “Promotion of Music” at $150,000 each respectively and the project ceilings were capped at $50,000. Afterwards, at the 10th CATC meeting, Members approved to adopt the six literary figures of the “Southern District Literary Trail” as the literature-based theme, while Russian music and crossover of Chinese and western folk songs as the music-based themes. Subsequently, the Secretariat received two literature-based and three music-based applications. Eventually the Committee endorsed two literature-based and two music-based applications with a total allocation at $171,782. As the number of funding applications received in 2013-14 and the quality of the proposals fell short of expectations, it was suggested that Members should review the project ceilings, thematic scopes and eligibility criteria of the said funding items before drawing up respective themes for 2014-15.

89. The Chairlady continued to said that, on 4 November 2013, the Chairpersons and Vice-Chairpersons of SDC and its committees, as well as the District Officer (Southern), convened a meeting to discuss the aforesaid funding arrangements, and eventually put forward the following recommendations: (a) the project ceilings should be adjusted upward from $50,000 to $100,000 to enhance project quality; (b) the thematic scopes of the said funding schemes should be expanded to allow more freedom for local organisations when planning activities, so that more diversified activities could be staged in the same year; and (c) the activities should be more educational (such as docent service, workshops, sharing sessions and so on) instead of just pure performances, with a view to enhancing local residents’ interest and understanding on literature and music, students in particular.

90. The Committee endorsed that the project ceiling should be increased from $50,000 to $100,000.

91. Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP and Mr AU Nok-hin raised comments on the subject. Details were summarised as follows:

- a Member commented that the mandatory requirement of education-oriented contents instead of just pure performances already implied the expansion of thematic scope, so there was no need to set specific themes;

41 - a Member opined that the funding schemes should target at promoting literature and music to youths/teenagers; and - a Member suggested that enhanced effort should be made to explain the “Guidelines on Application for SDC Funds (2012-2015)” (the funding guidelines) to various organisations.

92. The Committee endorsed that the activities under the said funding schemes should be education-oriented instead of just pure performances.

93. The Chairlady asked Members whether a cap should be set on the number of approved projects and approved amounts.

94. Mrs MAK TSE How-ling, Mr AU Nok-hin, Mr LO Kin-hei and Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP raised enquiries and comments on the subject. Details were summarised as follows:

- a Member worried that with the imposition of a cap, the organisations would enjoy less freedom when planning their activities; - a number of Members opined that the existing funding guidelines already had a comprehensive coverage, and the Secretariat could further elaborate to the organisations concerned on which types of projects would not be approved; and - a Member commented that the necessity of amendments to the funding guidelines could be referred to the Vetting Sub-committee (the Sub-committee) for discussion.

95. Miss LIN Ming supplemented that before submitting fund applications to the Sub-committee for consideration, the Secretariat would verify the eligibility of these applications with reference to the funding guidelines. As a matter of fact, Members tended to have more reservation on the conflict of interest associated with the applicant organisations concerned. For instance, they were concerned about whether members of these applicant organisations would get paid as performers or instructors. Furthermore, under the existing funding guidelines, there was no cap on the reimbursement amount on the so-called “administrative fee”, and profligate claims on such expenditure item (such as under the title of “editor fee”) were observed. In view of this, the Committee could consider whether a cap should be imposed on the said expenditure item, or let the Sub-committee to consider and decide on individual cases.

42

96. Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP, Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH, Mr CHAN Fu-ming, MH, Mrs MAK TSE How-ling and Mr LO Kin-hei continued to raise comments and enquiries. Details were summarised as follows:

- a number of Members commented that vetting should be based on individual applications, and it was not necessary to amend the funding guidelines; - a number of Members pointed out that members, directors or originators of charities registered under Section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance should not get paid; and - a number of Members suggested that ‘Culture and heritage in the Southern District’ should be included as one of the funding themes.

97. The Committee approved the following: (a) the project ceilings will be adjusted upward from $50,000 to $100,000; (b) the thematic scopes of the said funding schemes will be expanded; (c) the activities should be more educational instead of just pure performances; and (d) the themes for the funding of 2014-15 will be ‘Promotion of Literature’, ‘Promotion of Music’ and ‘The Culture and Heritage of Southern District’.

Agenda Item 12: Duty Roster for Evaluation of Community Involvement Projects by SDC Members and Co-opted Members (2014-2015) (CATC Paper No. 65/2013)

98. The Chairlady said that according to the funding guidelines, a grantee which had been granted SDC Funds exceeding $20,000 was required to invite SDC Member(s) to be the guest(s) of the project. In accordance with a duty roaster, the Secretariat would invite district councillors, co-opted members or staff from the Home Affairs Department, who did not involve in the administrative work of the project and did not have an interest in the organisaiotn or project under evaluation, to visit and carry out an evaluation on the activity concerned. Members were invited to give views on the draft of “Duty Roster for Evaluation of Community Involvement Projects by SDC Members and Co-opted Members (2014-2015)”.

99. The Committee endorsed the arrangements mentioned in the ‘Duty Roster

43 for Evaluation of Community Involvement Projects by SDC Members and Co-opted Members (2014-2015)’.

Agenda Item 13: Queen Mary Hospital Redevelopment Project - Conversion of the Senior Staff Quarters (CATC Paper No. 66/2013)

100. The Chairlady welcomed Dr LUK Chi-chung, Cluster Chief Executive, and Ms P.W. YIP, Cluster General Manager (Administrative Services), of Hong Kong West Cluster, and Dr Sidney TAM, Deputy Hospital Chief Executive I of Queen Mary Hospital (QMH), to the meeting for discussion of agenda item 13.

101. Dr LUK Chi-chung, with the aid of PowerPoint presentation (PowerPoint 3), briefly introduced the contents of the paper.

102. Dr LUK Chi-chung reported to the Members on the views of resident representatives from Royalton and Radcliffe in the previous meetings: - QMH met the representatives of Royalton in September, who expressed general support in QMH’s redevelopment project, but were concerned about the safety of children walking along Road B; - QMH tried to contact representatives from Radcliffe, who initially insisted that there was no need for such meeting. Nevertheless, QMH continued to take the initiative in communicating with them. Subsequently, Radcliffe’s representatives replied and attended the meeting with QMH last week; and - Radcliffe’s representatives expressed their concern on the short distance between the proposed location of mortuary and the residence area, hence suggesting the QMH to consider re-locating it.

103. Dr LUK Chi-chung responded to the residents’ suggestion as follows: - At the initial stage of planning, QMH has tried to explore other potential locations for the mortuary, but in vain; - the mortuary will be completely sealed and closed, that people will not be able to look into the mortuary from the outside; - tailor-made vehicles with appearance identical to regular vehicles would be used to deliver corpses to the mortuary;

44 - most of the ceremonies and rituals will be held in Funeral parlor, only a few would be held in the mortuary, where the activities carried out inside is completely invisible from the outside; - QMH would continue to communicate with the residents of Radcliffe; and - the plan of conversing the senior staff quarters was supported by the Central and Western District, he hoped that the Southern District could also support the plan.

104. Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH, Ms KWONG Yan-po, Mrs MAK TSE How-ling, Mr AU Lap-sing, Mr CHAI Man-hon and Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP raised comments and enquiries on the subject. Details were summarised as follows:

- a number of Members pledged support to the Conversion of Senior Staff Quarters (SSQ) project; - a Member commended the Hong Kong West Cluster for updating SDC and hearing SDC Members’ views actively; - a Member pointed out that under the redevelopment plan, the mortuary was further away from the wards than before. In this regard, he wished to know how QMH would deliver the corpses; - a Member asked whether QMH had designated a specific area for the family to pay last tribute to the deceased; - a Member called on QMH to support the expansion of the bus stop for north-bound traffic at No. 3 Sassoon Road; - a Member asked whether road improvement works would be carried out near QMH and better traffic arrangements would be in place there, in order to facilitate the access of ambulances; and - the road section near QMH was already very busy. It was expected that many dump trucks would travel on the road section concerned during project works. A Member requested QMH to pay attention to the situation, and follow up on traffic safety problems on the fast lane turning onto QMH near Ebenezer New Hope School.

105. Dr LUK Chi-chung gave a consolidated response that the Hong Kong West Cluster had plans to improve traffic arrangements near No. 3 Sassoon Road and Ebenezer New Hope School as mentioned by the Members. Given that the relatively narrow road section from Ebenezer New Hope School turning onto QMH was on a steep slope, normally, large-sized vehicles would not use the road section concerned

45 to go to the SSQ. During works period, in principle, dump trucks from Pok Fu Lam Road would go to the main gate of QMH directly, and then turn onto the work site via the U-shape roundabout. QMH would try its best to improve the traffic arrangements, in a bid to minimize the traffic impact on Pok Fu Lam Road.

106. Dr Sidney TAM replied that tailor-made vehicles with appearance identical to regular vehicles would be used to deliver corpses to the mortuary, so the public would not be affected very much by such an arrangement. In addition, QMH would arrange the family to pay their last tribute to the deceased indoor.

107. Dr LUK Chi-chung supplemented that normally, ceremonial rites such as burning joss papers were prohibited inside QMH.

108. Mrs MAK TSE How-ling wished that QMH could let the family accompany the deceased to go to the mortuary and leave the hospital for funeral service afterwards.

109. Dr LUK Chi-chung said that QMH would make all ceremonial rites and practices to be carried out indoor.

110. In closing, the Chairlady concluded that the Committee was in support of the Conversion of SSQ project, and invited QMH to note Members’ views on the subject, traffic arrangements in particular.

(Dr LUK Chi-chung, Ms P.W. YIP and Dr Sidney TAM left the meeting at 9:07pm.)

Agenda Item 14: Any Other Business

Progress Report on Promotion of “Southern District Literary Trail”

111. The Chairlady said that at its 10th meeting on 22 July 2013, the Committee endorsed to let the public to elect their favourite application software (commonly known as “apps”) with respect to the landmarks of the “Southern District Literary Trail” through online voting. A website was available for voting between 1 November and 31 December 2013. Members were invited to note the above arrangements and encourage residents to participate in the voting.

46 112. The Chairlady said that in recent years, SDC had cooperated with the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (HKYAF) to organise several public art programmes such as the “Literature Gala at Sunset + Love in Spring” Public Art Exhibition in 2013. The Chairlady asked whether Members agreed to cooperate with HKYAF again for organising the public art programme in 2014. Subject to Members’ approval, HKYAF would be invited to submit a proposal.

113. The Committee endorse the above proposal.

Distribution of 2014 SDC New Year Publicity Items

114. The Chairlady said that it was decided that SDC Members should start distributing the SDC hanging calendars 2014 to the public on 29 November 2013 (Friday) at 9:00 a.m. simultaneously, and distribution before the prescribed date/time was prohibited. It was scheduled to deliver all calendars to the addresses completed by SDC Members in the reply slip from 26 to 27 November 2013. The Secretariat would announce related details later.

Vita Green Cycling for Health Marathon Challenge 2014

115. The Committee decided not to send a team to the competition.

2014 International KamCha Event - HK 18 Districts Semi-final Competition

116. The Association of Coffee and Tea of Hong Kong (ACT) would like to invite the Southern District Council (SDC) to be the co-organiser of the “2014 International KamCha Event - HK 18 Districts Semi-final Competition”. The Chairlady stated that it was not the District Council’s usual practice to provide funding for holding competitions, and applicants could only apply for SDC funds under the categories approved by SDC. Hence, it was recommended not to grant the funding to ACT for the abovementioned event.

117. The Committee endorsed not to accept the invitation.

Concessionary Rate on Copyright Tariffs Offered by Hong Kong Recording Industry Alliance Ltd.

47 118. The Chairlady said that Hong Kong Recording Industry Alliance Ltd. had agreed to offer a 20% cconcessionary rate on standard tariffs for ad hoc events/projects solely organised by 18 District Offices, DCs or the Home Affairs Department. The discount rate was valid from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014.

119. Members noted the above arrangements.

Southern District Age Group Athletic Meet 2013

120. The Chairlady said that the Southern District Recreation and Sports Association would like to invite SDC to send a team for participating in the “Four Area Committees 4 x 100m Relay Invitation Match” in the “Southern District Age Group Athletic Meet 2013”.

121. The Committee decided not to send a team to the above competition.

Nomination of SDC Members to Join the “Customer Liaison Group” of Hongkong Post

122. The Committee endorsed to nominate Mr CHU Lap-wai to join the “Customer Liaison Group” of Hongkong Post on SDC’s behalf.

Nominations for Sports Ambassadors 2014-15

123. The Committee endorsed to nominate Mr CHU Lap-wai and Mr AU Nok-hin to be Sports Ambassadors of the Southern District on SDC’s behalf in 2014-15.

Performances at the 48th Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo Fair

124. The Chairlady said that on 14 November 2013, SDC endorsed to invite “Music for the Growing Mind” to participate in the performances at the 48th Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo Fair on behalf of the Southern District. As the performance would last for 30 minutes, and children members of “Music for the Growing Mind” could only perform a couple of songs, she suggested inviting more organisations (such as the Hong Kong Southern District Orchestra and Hong Kong Youth Symphonic Orchestra) to perform at the expo fair. Furthermore, she suggested reserving a provision of $5,000 for this activity.

48

125. The Committee endorsed the above arrangements and agreed to earmark $5,000 for the activity.

Date of Next Meeting

126. The Chairlady said that the discussion on the “Application for SDC Fund: Activities Promoting Culture and Arts” under agenda item 9 would be postponed to after the DDEC meeting on 2 December 2013.

127. The Chairlady informed the meeting that the 13th CATC meeting would be held at 2:30 p.m. on 20 January 2014 (Monday).

128. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

Secretariat, Southern District Council January 2014

49

Minutes of the 12th Meeting of Community Affairs and Tourism Development Committee (CATC) under Southern District Council (SDC) (Continued)

Date : 2 December 2013 Time : 5:00 p.m. Venue : SDC Conference Room

Present: Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP (Chairman of SDC) Mr CHAN Fu-ming, MH (Vice-Chairman of SDC) Ms LAM Yuk-chun, MH (Chairlady of CATC) Mr FUNG Se-goun, Fergus (Vice-Chairman of CATC) Mr AU Lap-sing Mr AU Nok-hin Mr CHAI Man-hon Mrs CHAN LEE Pui-ying Ms CHEUNG Sik-yung Mr CHU Lap-wai Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH Mr LO Kin-hei Mrs MAK TSE How-ling, Ada Dr LIU Hong-fai, Dandy, JP Mr YEUNG Wai-foon, MH, JP Dr YANG Mo, PhD Mr Paul ZIMMERMAN Ms LI Mei-yung Ms CHAN Lai-wah, Flora Mr CHAN Chi-ho

Absent with Apologies:

50 Mr WONG Ling-sun, Vincent Ms KWONG Yan-po, Emily Mr KWAN Chung-chor, Joe

Secretary: Miss TSANG Fan, Fanny Executive Officer (District Council) 1, Southern District Office, Home Affairs Department

In Attendance: Ms WAI Yee-yan, Christine, JP District Officer (Southern)

Miss NG Kai-ting, Nettie Assistant District Officer (Southern)

Miss LIN Ming Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Southern District Office, Home Affairs Departments

Mr. WONG Che-ngai Director, Southern District Arts & Culture Association

Opening Remarks:

The Chairlady said that Mr KWAN Chung-chor, Joe and Ms KWONG Yan-po, Emily were unable to attend the meeting due to other engagements.

Agenda Item 9: Application for SDC Fund: Activities Promoting Culture and Arts (CATC Paper No. 62/2013)

1. The Chairlady said that Southern District Arts and Culture Association (SDACA) wished to apply for a total grant of $416,497 for organising five activities in 2014, as follows:

51 - New Year Concert by Southern District Children’s Choir 2014 - Training Programme for Southern District Children’s Choir and Dance Training 2014 - Cantonese Opera Appreciation Programme - Training Programme for Hong Kong Southern District Orchestra 2014 (from January to June 2014) - Hong Kong Southern District Orchestra Exchange Concert 2014

2. The Chairlady declared interest to the meeting and invited the Vice-Chairman of CATC to chair the vetting of the following fund applications.

Fund Applications with Respect to Southern District Children’s Choir and “Cantonese Opera Appreciation Programme”

3, The Vice-Chairman welcomed Mr WONG Che-ngai, Director of Southern District Children’s Choir, to the meeting.

4. Mr WONG Che-ngai briefly introduced the fund applications with respect to Southern District Children’s Choir and the “Cantonese Opera Appreciation Programme”. Also, he wished to apply for reimbursement on the expenditure incurred by the dress rehearsal prior to funding approval to the “New Year Concert by Southern District Children’s Choir 2014” was granted.

5. Mr Paul ZIMMERMAN said that earlier on, he had requested the Secretariat to provide funding status of such recurrent applications in the previous year, including approved amounts and effectiveness of the programmes concerned (such as the number of participants).

6. The Secretary supplemented on the approved amount to the applicant organisation concerned in the previous year. The activities of similar nature with ‘New Year Concert by Southern District Children’s Choir 2014’, ‘Training Programme for Southern District Children’s Choir and Dance Training 2014’ and ‘Cantonese Opera Appreciation Programme’ were approved with the amount of $43,460, $176,660 and $1,285 respectively.

7. Mr AU Nok-hin wished to know whether the Secretariat had kept past records on participation of these activities, and opined that such information could be provided in future.

52

8. Mrs CHAN LEE Pui-ying opined that past SDACA programmes had enjoyed active participation.

9. Miss LIN Ming supplemented that applicant organisations were required to submit a final report after completion of an activity, which included the number of participants and an evaluation report completed by district councilors, such information was available at the Secretariat. As the Committee had not requested for such at the last meeting, related information was not provided at this meeting. It is know that the participation in most SDACA programmes met the target.

10. The Committee endorsed an allocation of $222,017 to SDACA for organising the three activities mentioned above, and approved to reimburse the expenditure incurred by the dress rehearsal prior to funding approval to the “New Year Concert by Southern District Children’s Choir 2014” was granted.

Fund Applications with Respect to Hong Kong Southern District Orchestra

11. The Vice-Chairman welcomed Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH, Director of Hong Kong Southern District Orchestra (HKSDO), to the meeting.

12. Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH briefly introduced the two fund applications with respect to HKSDO.

13. The Secretary supplemented on the approved amount to the applicant organisation concerned in the previous year. The ‘Training Programme for Hong Kong Southern District Orchestra’ and ‘Hong Kong Southern District Orchestra Exchange Concert’ were approved with the amount of $106,200 and $40,410 respectively in 2013.

14. The Committee endorsed an allocation of $194,480 to SDACA for organising the two activities mentioned above.

(The Chairlady took over the chair of the meeting at this juncture.)

53 Agenda Item 14: Any Other Business

Performances at the 48th Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo

15. The Chairlady said that at its meeting on 25 November 2013, the Committee endorsed an allocation of $5,000 to sponsor the performances presented on behalf of SDC by Hong Kong Southern District Orchestra or Hong Kong Youth Symphonic Orchestra at the 48th Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo.

16. The Chairlady welcomed Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH, Director of HKYSO, to the meeting.

17. Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH briefly introduced the fund application.

18. The Committee endorsed an allocation of $5,000 to Hong Kong Youth Symphonic Orchestra for participating in the performances at the Expo.

Community Participation Scheme 2014-15

19. The Chairlady said that the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education (CPCE) had invited District Councils (DCs) to submit project proposals or recommend local organisations to submit suitable applications under the “Community Participation Scheme 2014-15” for launching activities to promote civic education at district level. CPCE would provide a maximum allocation of $200,000 to each interested DC to finance one or more projects. In 2014, CPCE would continue to sponsor projects on the theme of “Cherish yourself and your family, Love Hong Kong and your country”.

20. The Committee endorsed to follow last year’s arrangement, that is, to invite the Southern District Committee on Promotion of Civic Education to submit the applications to CPCE.

Lunar New Year Southern District Fishermen’s Bazaar 2014

21. The Chairlady said that the “Southern District Fishermen’s Bazaar” was held during the fish moratorium under the “2013 Southern District Tourism and Culture Festival” (the Festival) which was a SDC initiative. To capitalise on the fruit of the Festival, the Hong Kong Southern District Community Association (the Association)

54 planned to organise the “Lunar New Year Southern District Fishermen’s Bazaar 2014” before the Lunar New Year in 2014, which would be launched alongside with the Winter Fiesta at the same time. The Association invited SDC to be the supporting organisation of the aforesaid activity and requested to display banners at a section of the open space at Aberdeen Promenade near the fish market from 28 to 30 January 2014.

22. The Committee endorsed the SDC to be the supporting organisation of the aforesaid activity and to provide some banner locations for its promotion.

Approval Procedure of “Block Allocation of Southern District Council Funds to Sponsor Community Building Activities Organised by Residents’ Organisations”

23. The Chairlady said that according to the established arrangements, upon receipt of a fund application for “Block Allocation of Southern District Council Funds to Sponsor Community Building Activities Organised by Residents’ Organisations”, the respective Area Committee would consider it first and then recommended it to CATC for approval. In the past, the Committee usually endorsed the funding applications by circulation of papers.

24. The Chairlady asked whether Members agreed to endorse such fund applications by circulation of papers in accordance with the established arrangement, or these fund applications would be submitted to the Vetting Sub-committee for consideration first and then recommended to the Committee for endorsement.

25. The Committee decided to follow last year’s arrangement, that is, to approve the “Block Allocation of Southern District Council Funds to Sponsor Community Building Activities Organised by Residents’ Organisations” by circulation of papers.

Date of next meeting

26. The Chairlady informed the meeting that the 13th CATC meeting would be held at 2:30 p.m. on 20 January 2014 (Monday).

27. The meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m.

Secretariat, Southern District Council January 2014

55 Annex

12th Meeting of Community Affairs and Tourism Development Committee

Declaration of Interest

Capacity in the Project Title Applicant Organisation Member Applicant Organisation as Organiser: 躍 馬 奔 騰 賀 新 禧 The Incorporated Owners of Lei 1. (New Year celebration for the Year Tung Estate of the Horse at Lei Tung Estate) Assisting Organiser:

Hong Yip Service Ltd. Mr CHAN Fu-ming, MH Chairman and 新春喜氣在田灣綜合表演嘉 Organiser: designated 2. 年華 Tin Wan Kai-Fong Federal officer-in-charge of (New Year variety show at Tin Wan) Association the project 華貴邨慶春同樂日暨歌唱綜 Organiser: 合 晚 會 3. The Incorporated Owners of (New Year fun day and variety show Wah Kwai Estate at Wah Kwai Estate) Organiser: Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH Committee Member 海 怡 同 歡 賀 新 歲 2014 South Horizons Estate Owners’ (New Year celebration at South Committee 4. Horizons 2014) Assisting Organiser: South Horizons Management Limited Organiser: Mrs CHAN LEE Pui-ying Chairlady and Stanley Women Association designated Limited officer-in-charge of 2014 三 八 婦 女 節 新 春 同 樂 日 the project 5. (New Year carnival in celebration of Assisting Organiser: Mrs CHAN LEE Pui-ying Chairlady and International Women’s Day 2014) Shek O Association of Women designated Limited officer-in-charge of the project Organiser: Sham Wan Towers Owners’ 醒 獅 獻 瑞 迎 金 馬 Committee 6. (Lion dance celebration in the Year Assisting Organiser: of the Horse) Hong Yip Service Ltd.

鴨 脷 洲 元 宵 繽 紛 嘉 年 華 Organiser: Ms CHEUNG Sik-yung Designated (Carnival in celebration of the Ap Lei Chau North District officer-in-charge of 7. Lantern Festival Carnival at Ap Lei Women’s Joint Association the project Chau) Organiser: Mr CHU Lap-wai Advisor Shek Pai Wan Residents’ Association 石 排 灣 新 春 同 樂 日 2014 Assisting Organiser: Mr CHU Lap-wai Committee Member 8. (New Year fun day at Shek Pai Wan Shek Pai Wan Estate 2014) Management Advisory Committee

Organiser: 2014 年 新 春 嘉 年 華 會 The Incorporated Owners of 9. (New year carnival 2014) Baguio Villas

1 Capacity in the Project Title Applicant Organisation Member Applicant Organisation as Organiser: Wah King House Mutual Aid Committee Co-organiser: 新 春 同 樂 日 Wah Tai House, Wah Sang 10. (New Year fun day) House, Wah Cheong House, Wah Hing House, Wah Chui House Mutual Aid Committees Assisting Organiser: Wah Fu (II) Estate Office Organiser: 漁 安 新 春 嘉 年 華 2014 The Incorporated Owners of 11. (New Year carnival at Yue On Court Yue On Court 2014) Assisting Organiser: Hong Yip Service Ltd. Organiser: Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP Chairman and 南區(置富)健 康 日 Pok Fu Lam and Chi Fu designated 12. (Southern District (Chi Fu) Health Women’s Association officer-in-charge of Day) the project Organiser: Mr CHAN Fu-ming, MH Chairman and 香 港 仔 中 心 新 春 嘉 年 華 2014 The Incorporated Owners of designated 13. (New Year carnival at Aberdeen Hoi Chun Court, Hoi Chu officer-in-charge of Centre 2014) Court, Hoi Shan Court and Hoi the project Wu Court of Aberdeen Centre Organiser: 絲 竹 歡 騰 賀 新 歲 14. CCC & Music Friends (New Year Chinese music concert)

Organiser: Ms LEE Mei-yung Chairlady and The Bauhinia Academy of Art designated officer-in-charge of 紫荊曲藝敬老粵曲欣賞會 the project 15. (Cantonese operatic songs concert Mr CHAN Fu-ming, MH Vice-Chairman and for the elderly) designated officer-in-charge of the project 粵 藝 綻 放 金 曲 迎 Organiser: 16. (Cantonese operatic songs spring Aberdeen Centre Chinese concert) Opera Society 流 水 飛 韻 在 南 區 (中樂演奏 Organiser: 會 暨 繪 畫 比 賽 ) CCC & Music Friends 17. (Chinese music concert cum drawing contest in Southern District)

Organiser: Mrs MAK TSE How-ling Committee Member Southern District Arts and Mrs LAM Yuk-chun, MH Executive 2014 南 區 少 年 兒 童 合 唱 團 新 Culture Association Committee Member 年 音 樂 會 18. Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH Orchestra Director (New Year concert by Southern Mr AU Lap-sing Secretary District Children's Choir 2014) Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP Orchestra Advisor Ms CHAN Lai-wah Committee Member Organiser: Mrs MAK TSE How-ling Committee Member 2014 南 區 少 年 兒 童 合 唱 團 及 Southern District Arts and Mrs LAM Yuk-chun, MH Executive 舞 蹈 訓 練 計 劃 Culture Association Committee Member 19. (Training programme for Southern Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH Orchestra Director District Children’s Choir and Dance Mr AU Lap-sing Secretary Training 2014) Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP Orchestra Advisor Ms CHAN Lai-wah Committee Member

2 Capacity in the Project Title Applicant Organisation Member Applicant Organisation as Organiser: Mrs MAK TSE How-ling Committee Member Southern District Arts and Mrs LAM Yuk-chun, MH Executive Culture Association Committee Member Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH Orchestra Director 粵 劇 欣 賞 Mr AU Lap-sing Secretary 20. (Cantonese opera appreciation Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP Orchestra Advisor programme) Ms CHAN Lai-wah Committee Member Co-organiser: Leisure and Cultural Services Department Organiser: Mrs MAK TSE How-ling Committee Member 2014 香 港 南 區 管 弦 樂 團 訓 練 Southern District Arts and Mrs LAM Yuk-chun, MH Executive 計劃(1-6/2014) Culture Association Committee Member 21. (Training Programme for Hong Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH Orchestra Director Kong Southern District Orchestra Mr AU Lap-sing Secretary 2014 (from January to June 2014)) Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP Orchestra Advisor Ms CHAN Lai-wah Committee Member Organiser: Mrs MAK TSE How-ling Committee Member Southern District Arts and Mrs LAM Yuk-chun, MH Executive 2014 香 港 南 區 管 弦 樂 團 交 流 Culture Association Committee Member 音 樂 會 22. Mr LAM Kai-fai, MH Orchestra Director (Hong Kong Southern District Mr AU Lap-sing Secretary Orchestra Exchange Concert 2014) Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP Orchestra Advisor Ms CHAN Lai-wah Committee Member 2014 年 南 區 長 跑 訓 練 計 劃 (1 Organiser: 月 份 至 12 月份) Southern District Recreation (Southern District Distance Run and Sports Association 23. Training Programme 2014 (from January to December))

共 融 繽 紛 活 力 鼓 Organiser: (Drum show to promote community Ebenezer New Hope School 24. inclusion)

Organiser: Ms KWONG Yan-po Director Southern District Healthy & Mr YEUNG Wai-foon, MH, Director Safe Association Ltd. JP Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP Chairman and 「家居安全、關愛社區」精 designated 神 健 康 推 廣 計 劃 officer-in-charge of 25. (Programme to promote mental the project health with themes on home safety Ms LAM Yuk-chun, MH Director and community care) Co-organiser: Caritas Integrated Family Service Centre – Aberdeen

Organiser: Ms KWONG Yan-po Director Southern District Healthy & Mr YEUNG Wai-foon, MH, Director Safe Association Ltd. JP Mr CHU Ching-hong, JP Chairman and 「天空上的綠洲」社區種植 designated 26. 計劃 officer-in-charge of (Community planting programme) the project Ms LAM Yuk-chun, MH Director Co-organiser: Caritas Community Centre - Aberdeen 3 Capacity in the Project Title Applicant Organisation Member Applicant Organisation as Mrs CHAN LEE Pui-ying Vice-Chairlady and 南 區 東 分 區 敬 老 聯 歡 2014 Organiser: designated 27. (Fun party for the elderly presented Southern District East Area officer-in-charge of by East Area Committee) Committee the project 鴨 脷 洲 長 者 午 間 茶 敍 Organiser: Mr AU Nok-hin Committee Member 28. (Tea gathering for the elderly at Ap Southern District South Area Ms LAM Yuk-chun, MH Vice-Chairlady Lei Chau) Committee

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