Minutes of the 2nd Meeting of the 5th Term City District Council

Date: 17 March 2016 (Thursday) Time: 2:30 p.m. Venue: Conference Room, Office

Present: Chairman: Mr PUN Kwok-wah Vice-chairman: Mr CHO Wui-hung Members: Dr KWONG Po-yin Miss LEUNG Yuen-ting Dr the Hon LEUNG Mei-fun, Priscilla, SBS, JP (Left at 5:00 p.m.) Ir Dr CHENG Lee-ming Mr NG Fan-kam, Tony Mr LO Chiu-kit (Left at 5:00 p.m.) Mr TING Kin-wa Mr LAM Tak-shing Mr LAM Pok, Jimmy Mr YUE Chee-wing, Admond Mr YEUNG Chun-yu, Ronald Mr HE Huahan Mr YANG Wing-kit Mr KWAN Ho-yeung, Roger Ir CHEUNG Yan-hong, MH Mr LAI Kwong-wai The Hon LEE Wai-king, Starry, JP Mr SIU Leong-sing Mr LUK King-kwong Mr SIU Tin-hung, Terence Mr NG Po-keung Secretary: Miss LAM Yuk-ying, Alletta Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Kowloon City District Office

Absent: Mr HO Hin-ming, MH

In Attendance: Mr TSUI Yiu-leung, William, JP District Officer (Kowloon City) Miss CHONG Tan-na, Tanna Assistant District Officer (Kowloon City) Ms CHIU Kam-chun, Jamie Senior Liaison Officer (Special Duties & Ho Man Tin), Kowloon City District Office Ms IP Yuk-mei, Eunice Senior Liaison Officer (District Liaison), Kowloon City District Office Mr WONG Kam-keung, Eric Senior Liaison Officer (Building Management), Kowloon City District Office Ms KWOK Lai-kuen, Eva Senior Executive Officer (District Management), Kowloon City District Office - 2 -

Ms CHEUNG Ching, Jocelyn District Commander (Kowloon City), Police Force Mr Paul David EDMISTON Divisional Commander (Ngau Tau Kok), Miss TANG Man-wah, Sylvia Chief Leisure Manager (Kowloon), Leisure and Cultural Services Department Mr CHENG Wing-fai, Ronny District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Kowloon City), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Mr SZETO Chi-wah, Deacons Senior Transport Officer/Kowloon City, Transport Department Mr YIM Ka-ho Senior Property Service Manager/Kowloon West and Hong Kong, Mr MA Hon-ngai, Harry Chief Engineer/Kowloon 3 (Kowloon), Civil Engineering and Development Department

Attendance by Invitation: Items 2-3: Mr TO Shui-chi Chief School Development Officer (Kowloon City),

Items 6-7: Ms CHEUNG Ching, Jocelyn District Commander (Kowloon City), Hong Kong Police Force Mr IP Siu-keung, Bryan Assistant Principal Immigration Officer (Removal Assessment and Litigation), Immigration Department Mr LEUNG Chiu-pun Chief Immigration Officer (Removal Assessment), Immigration Department

Item 8: Mr YIM Ka-ho Senior Property Service Manager/Kowloon West and Hong Kong, Housing Department

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The Chairman welcomed Members, representatives of government departments and observers to the meeting of the Kowloon City District Council (KCDC). As regards the standing departmental representatives, Mr SZETO Chi-wah, Deacons, Senior Transport Officer/Kowloon City of the Transport Department (TD) was attending the meeting on behalf of Mr LEE Man-ho, Chief Transport Officer/Housing Project of the TD on an interim basis; and Mr Paul David EDMISTON had replaced Ms IP Ka-yee as Divisional Commander (Ngau Tau Kok) of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF). In addition, Miss CHONG Tan-na, Tanna had taken over the post of Assistant District Officer (Kowloon City) from Mr YIM Kwan-lok, Henry, who had been posted out.

2. Before going into the agenda items, the Chairman reminded Members to declare interests in accordance with the KCDC Standing Orders. He also said that when the number of Members present at the meeting was less than 12, he would adjourn the meeting according to Order 12(1) of the Standing Orders. Lastly, he reminded attendees to turn off the ringers on their mobile phones or to switch them to vibration mode, and to remain silent during the - 3 - meeting to avoid causing disturbances to the meeting.

Confirmation of Minutes of the 1st Meeting of the KCDC

3. The Chairman declared that the minutes of the first meeting was confirmed without amendment.

Strong Call for Addressing the Inadequacy of School Places in Kai Tak Development Area (KCDC Paper No. 10/16)

4. The Chairman welcomed Mr TO Shui-chi, Chief School Development Officer (Kowloon City) of the Education Bureau (EDB) to the meeting to discuss the issue. The Secretariat had sent the relevant written response, namely Tabled Paper No. 1, to Members for perusal before the meeting. He enquired of the representative of the Members submitting the paper if he had anything to add.

5. Mr HE Huahan was deeply disappointed by the EDB as it failed in its written response to address the enquiries raised in the paper. He said that relevant enquiries had already been made during the meeting with the Secretary for Education earlier. He pointed out that as a number of property developments in the Kai Tak Development Area were going to be completed and ready for moving in successively, the population in the area would reach 150 000. However, the EDB had yet to determine the sponsoring bodies of the remaining two primary schools and one secondary school in the Kai Tak Development Area. He was thus worried that the inadequacy of primary and secondary school places in the area would further worsen by then. In view of this, he requested the EDB to disclose when the sponsoring bodies of the two primary schools and one secondary school could be announced, and the construction schedule of the school premises concerned.

6. Mr TO Shui-chi, Chief School Development Officer (Kowloon City) of the EDB responded that the EDB had in its written response given a brief account of the construction progress of the school premises and the reprovisioning arrangements regarding the two primary schools and one secondary school in Kai Ching Estate and Tak Long Estate. He said that he did not have the information on the planning and works progress of other school sites in the Kai Tak Development Area for the time being, he would report on the situation at the next meeting. Nevertheless, he explained that in general, the EDB would only conduct school allocation exercises and invite sponsoring bodies to submit applications after school sites were confirmed. Therefore, the EDB would not have the information of the sponsoring bodies of school premises until the advanced planning stage.

7. After consulting Members, the Chairman decided that the item be further discussed at the next meeting, and he hoped that the EDB would provide a more detailed response then.

Strong Call for Increasing the Number of Whole-day Kindergarten School Places (KCDC Paper No. 11/16)

8. The Chairman said that the Secretariat had sent the written response from the EDB, namely Tabled Paper No. 2, to Members for perusal before the meeting. He enquired of the representative of the Members submitting the paper if she had anything to add. - 4 -

9. Miss LEUNG Yuen-ting said that currently, the population in the Kai Tak Development Area was approaching 30 000. Apart from the lack of whole-day kindergarten places, there was also a severe shortage of after-school care and home-based carer services in the area. Many parents therefore had to give up working. She suggested that the two kindergartens in the area consider converting some of their school places to whole-day ones, and that non-governmental organisations be encouraged to provide more after-school care services so that the potential of women workforce could be unleashed.

10. Mr TO of the EDB indicated that kindergartens in Hong Kong were currently operated on an independent and private basis. They could take into account the actual situation of the area and decide whether to offer whole-day, half-day or long whole-day school places flexibly. Nevertheless, the EDB had examined with one of the kindergartens in the area the feasibility of offering whole-day classes, and found that issues like manpower and lunch arrangements had to be resolved first. In response to the Chairman’s enquiry about whether measures would be implemented to encourage and assist private kindergartens to enhance early childhood education services, Mr TO said that the Government had been attaching great importance to kindergarten education, and that the Chief Executive (CE) had emphasised in the Policy Address that free quality kindergarten education would be provided from the 2017/18 school year with a view to raising the quality of education.

Request for Regulating Unscrupulous Sales Methods of Shops in Hung Hom District (KCDC Paper No. 12/16)

11. The Chairman said that the Commerce and Economic (CEDB) and the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC) were unable to send representatives to attend the meeting. The Secretariat had consolidated the written responses from the CEDB and the TIC into Tabled Paper No. 3 which had been sent to Members for perusal before the meeting. He enquired of the Member submitting the paper if he had anything to add.

12. Ir CHEUNG Yan-hong said that the Hung Hom Area Committee had discussed an incident happened four months ago, in which a tourist died after being attacked in a shopping dispute in a jewellery shop in Man Lok Street. The Hung Hom Area Committee had resolved that the issue be taken to the KCDC for discussion. However, owing to the fact that the number of tour groups had dropped drastically recently, the proposal of curbing “zero fee” tour at source was no longer an issue of concern. The TIC said that it had been distributing leaflets and posting posters at shopping spots for tour groups to educate tourists that shopping was not compulsory. The TIC had also reminded the Customs and Excise Department and the Police to take stringent enforcement actions against unlawful acts such as the use of unscrupulous sales methods. Nevertheless, as not all coaches were hired by its members, the TIC could not require that notices be posted on coaches to remind tourists. Finally, he welcomed the development mentioned in CEDB’s written response that the Travel Industry Authority (TIA), a statutory body, would be established, and that it was estimated that the legislative proposal would be submitted to the Legislative Council (LegCo) for consideration within the current term of the Government.

13. The Chairman was disappointed that the relevant parties failed to send representatives to attend the KCDC meeting. He concluded that as tourism was significant to the livelihood of Hong Kong people, it was hoped that the problem of unscrupulous sales methods of the tourist industry could be eradicated with the establishment of the TIA and the - 5 - concerted efforts of different sectors.

Opinions on the Budget (KCDC Paper No. 13/16)

14. The Chairman said that the Financial Secretary’s Private Office was unable to send representatives to attend the meeting due to official engagement. The Secretariat had consolidated the written responses from the Government Bureaux into Tabled Paper No.4 which had been sent to Members for perusal before the meeting. He enquired of the representative of the Members submitting the paper if he had anything to add.

15. Mr Roger KWAN reckoned that the 2016-17 Budget was rather comprehensive, it not only set out the main direction, but also put forward a number of specific measures for promoting economic development. He summarised their views on the Budget as follows: (a) while they supported the policy direction of “New Economic Order”, it was hoped that manpower training would be enhanced, including the provision of sufficient teachers and equipment for promoting education relating to innovation and technology like programming in primary schools; (b) they welcomed the various measures proposed to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including the extension of the application period for the “special concessionary measures” under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme, the reduction of the annual guarantee fee rate and the removal of minimum guarantee fee, the reduction of profits tax and business registration fees, the waiving of license fees for tourism-related business and restaurants, and the launching of a Pilot Technology Voucher Programme under the Innovative and Technology Fund; (c) various proposals raised by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) for alleviating the hardship of members of the public, namely salaries tax rebate, rates waive for the whole year, increase of personal, married person’s and dependent parent allowances, and the provision of one month extra allowance to recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, Old Age Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance and Disability Allowance, had been positively responded to; (d) they were disappointed that the Government did not propose any public housing rent waiver; (e) they would continue to fight for the introduction of tax deduction for rents of residence and the extension of the number of years of home loan interest deduction to 20 years, and to study the lowering of the rates percentage charge of self-occupied properties; and (f) although the Government had proposed increasing the number of residential care places and enhancing community care service, the manpower training for the elderly services was still inadequate. Therefore, they hoped that a development fund for residential care homes for the elderly would be established so that additional resources would be allocated to actively train up personnel specialised in elderly care, and that the salary, promotion and assessment systems for the elderly care industry would be devised.

16. Mr LUK King-kwong pointed out that according to the Government’s assessment, Hong Kong’s economy had entered a downward cycle, but no measure for waiving public housing rent had been proposed in the Budget despite the Government’s possession of abundant fiscal reserves currently. He hoped that the Government would consider proposing more measures for public housing residents in future Budgets, so as to alleviate the impact of economic downturn on the livelihood of the grassroots.

17. Ir CHEUNG Yan-hong was concerned that the recurrent expenditure of the Hospital Authority (HA) might be reduced annually by $250 million, as proposed in the Budget, through cutting unnecessary services, slowing down the creation of new posts, and enhancing - 6 - cost-effectiveness. However, the waiting time for the Accident and Emergency services in all public hospitals currently was significantly longer than the time set out in the HA’s performance pledge. He thus hoped that the Financial Secretary would consider withdrawing the decision.

18. The views of Dr the Hon on the Budget were consolidated as follows: (a) the Budget proposed that $200 billion would be set aside for public healthcare services in the coming 10 years, which was a response to the relevant suggestions raised by the Kowloon West New Dynamic over the years. However, she had reservations over the proposed reduction of the HA’s recurrent expenditure by $250 million annually; (b) people of different ages, including robust retired persons, were eligible for the application for the venture fund proposed in the Budget, which was also a response to the request for assisting the silver-haired segment who had retired at 55 in re-joining the labour market to avoid their being a burden to the society; and (c) she was dissatisfied with the Government’s failure to propose a one month rent waiver for public housing. She hoped that the Government would understand and care for the needs of public housing residents.

19. The Chairman said that members of the public were greatly concerned about the Budget. He asked the Secretary to relay to the Financial Secretary’s Private Office Members’ views that the proposal in the Budget to reduce expenditure should be withdrawn, and that measures beneficial to the public such as public housing rent waivers should be implemented again.

(Post-meeting note: The Secretariat had relayed Members’ views to the Financial Secretary’s Private Office after the meeting.)

Call for Serious Action against Fake Refugees (KCDC Paper No. 14/16) Urging the Government to Strengthen Action against Fake Refugees Committing Crime in Hong Kong and Review the Application System As Soon As Possible (KCDC Paper No. 15/16)

20. The Chairman considered that both Papers No. 14/16 and No. 15/16 submitted by Members were about the same issue, he thus, with Members’ consent, decided that the two items be jointly discussed. He welcomed Ms Jocelyn CHEUNG, District Commander (Kowloon City) of the HKPF, Mr Bryan IP, Assistant Principal Immigration Officer (Removal Assessment and Litigation) and Mr LEUNG Chiu-pun, Chief Immigration Officer (Removal Assessment) of the Immigration Department (ImmD) to the meeting to discuss the issue. The Secretariat had consolidated the written responses from the departments into Tabled Paper No. 5 which had been sent to Members for perusal before the meeting. He enquired of the representatives of the Members submitting the papers if they had anything to add.

21. Mr Terence SIU expressed concerns over the problems arising from fake refugees. He indicated that the screening process of the unified screening mechanism for non-refoulement claims (USM) was lengthy. Many torture claimants worked illegally or committed crimes while awaiting screening in Hong Kong, some of them were even involved in triad activities, causing serious threat to Hong Kong’s law and order. Moreover, he stated that many South Asians gathered in the vicinity of a government offices building in Ma Tau - 7 -

Wai smoking or making noise every day, causing nuisance to the residents. He further pointed out that the Government had to spend an enormous amount of public money on processing torture claims, and the fake refugees had added to increasing the burden of Hong Kong’s healthcare system. In fact, over 90% of the claimants had been screened out eventually. In order to solve the fake refugee problem, he proposed that instead of creating directorate posts, the Administration create more frontline posts to expedite the investigation and to take enforcement actions.

22. Dr the Hon Priscilla LEUNG said that the Government expenditure on torture claims had risen from $200 million in 2012 to the current $700 million, hence imposing a heavy burden on public finance. Fake refugees not only affected the normal life of Hong Kong people and the South Asians residing in Hong Kong, but also led many South Asians to worry that the image they had strived to build up in Hong Kong over the years would be damaged. She urged the Administration to consider ceasing the issuance of immigration recognizance forms to torture claimants, and establishing reception centres with better environment and facilities for accommodation of torture claimants. This could not only prevent torture claimants from working illegally or being lured by criminals to commit crimes while awaiting screening, but also reduce the incentive for them to come to Hong Kong. Furthermore, she hoped that the Government would allocate extra resources to expedite the screening of the existing backlog of applications, and set the target time for handling each case to no more than three months, so as to assist refugees with genuine needs and to tackle the fake refugee problem. In the long run, she suggested that the Administration consider including saving or exemption clauses in the Convention against Torture (the Convention) for Hong Kong, with a view to solving the fake refugee problem effectively.

23. Citing the figures provided by the Police, Dr KWONG Po-yin said that many claimants had been in Hong Kong for 11 to 19 months before claiming themselves as refugees. Considering that they could not obtain the $3,000 monthly allowance during that period, it was believed that working illegally was the biggest incentive for fake refugees to come to Hong Kong. Employers of illegal workers, if arrested, would generally receive lenient sentences only, thus giving them the incentive to continue employing illegal workers. In addition, illegal immigrants (IIs) working illegally could still stay in Hong Kong just by making torture claims when they got caught. In this connection, she proposed that relevant departments raise the penalties for illegal employment. She also urged the HKPF and the ImmD to step up enforcement in order to solve the problem concerned as early as possible.

24. Mr YANG Wing-kit said that fake refugees had been posing serious threat to Hong Kong’s law and order, and the Government expenditure on handling relevant issues had also been increasing. According to the information provided by the departments, fake refugees accounted for almost 90% of the torture claimants. He was of the view that most of the local employers were law-abiding; they would not employ illegal workers. However, he worried that crime syndicates would recruit those fake refugees to commit crimes. Therefore, he suggested constructing closed refugee protection centres to accommodate torture claimants pending screening, so as to reduce the threat posed to the law and order of Hong Kong. Lastly, he urged the ImmD to proactively combat the situation that fake refugees entered Hong Kong illegally via the Mainland.

25. Mr Jimmy LAM pointed out that as there were comparatively more sub-divided units with cheaper rent in To Kwa Wan South, many suspected fake refugees chose to reside there. Residents in that area worried that fake refugees would incite the South Asians in the - 8 - area to participate in illegal activities. They also worried about their personal safety as suspicious persons were often seen in and out of the vacant flats in the area. He thanked the Police for deploying additional manpower to patrol the area, and requested the ImmD to take measures to step up efforts to clamp down immigration of fake refugees.

26. Mr CHO Wui-hung held the view that torture claims were abused mainly for the following reasons: (a) apart from the monthly allowance of $3,000, some claimants would also make money by working illegally or committing crimes, which were the economic incentives that attracted them to Hong Kong; (b) crime syndicates encouraged and recruited fake refugees in source countries to come to Hong Kong; and (c) the problem worsened by the fact that fake refugees could still stay in Hong Kong by making torture claims even if they were arrested for committing crimes in Hong Kong. He enquired about how relevant departments would address the problem in an effective manner and expressed his concern that any effort made by the ImmD to amend the Immigration Ordinance might meet with judicial reviews and filibustering in the LegCo.

27. Mr LUK King-kwong indicated that at present the number of torture claims pending screening had been piling up. Each case generally took three to four years to complete, from screening to conclusion of appeals. He opined that it was more likely that fake refugees would take part in criminal activities than working as illegal workers in order to make more money, so the Administration should not only focus on combating illegal employment. He proposed that the Security Bureau (SB), the Police and the ImmD work on both policy and enforcement levels, and enhance intelligence analysis so as to deter crime syndicates from arranging IIs in source countries to come to Hong Kong to make torture claims.

28. In response, Ms Jocelyn CHEUNG, District Commander (Kowloon City) of the HKPF emphasised that the law and order situation in the Kowloon City Police District remained stable in 2015, and the overall crime figure remained at a rather low level. The Police would strengthen the intelligence gathering and analysis with a view to curbing the persons concerned from committing crimes. The Police had been and would continue striving for bringing criminals to justice.

29. Mr Bryan IP, Assistant Principal Immigration Officer (Removal Assessment and Litigation) of the ImmD pointed out that the Government was conducting a comprehensive review on the USM, the preliminary recommendations included:

Pre-arrival Control

To introduce the pre-arrival registration to prevent persons who might overstay in Hong Kong from arriving; to consider updating the definition of “unauthorized entrants” in the Immigration Ordinance by extending it to cover all IIs and to raise the penalties against human smuggling by land and sea; to liaise with relevant authorities on enforcement against human smuggling syndicates; and to review the visa policy.

Screening Procedures

To tighten the timeframe for screening claims and prohibit delaying of procedures; to consider means to screen out manifestly unfounded claims early; to review the provision of publicly-funded legal assistance; and to enhance the ImmD’s capability to collect information from the country of origin.

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Detention

To strengthen the ImmD’s power to detain more claimants pending screening, or whilst screening or appeal; and at the same time to identify or refurbish suitable facilities for expanding immigration detention capacity if necessary.

Enforcement

To expedite the removal process; to step up enforcement against human smuggling syndicates and related criminal activities such as illegal employment in Hong Kong; and to enhance publicity in Hong Kong and in major source countries on the applicable laws and policies of Hong Kong.

30. Mr IP of the ImmD added that the Department was highly concerned about the problem of illegal employment. In the recent series of territory-wide anti-illegal workers operations, a total of 25 illegal workers and eight employers who were suspected of employing illegal workers had been arrested, of whom eight were IIs holding immigration recognizance forms. He reminded the meeting that all IIs and people who were the subject of a removal order were not allowed to take up employment. Anyone who committed the above offence was liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years’ imprisonment. According to the guidelines laid down by the Court of Appeal, a sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment should be applied in such cases. He appealed to the meeting to report any such offences to the Department by the 24-hour immigration offence hotline (no.: 2824 1551), fax (no.: 2824 1166), email (address: [email protected]) or the online report form.

31. The Hon Starry LEE opined that as the comprehensive review took three years to complete, it could not address the pressing problem. She thus asked the Administration to adopt the following short-term, deterrent and effective measures to contain the growth of fake refugees: (a) strengthening intelligence collection to combat human smuggling syndicates with a view to intercepting fake refugees at source; (b) reviewing the penalties against illegal employment, so as to raise the penalties to a level with sufficient deterrent effect; (c) considering using transit centres to accommodate torture claimants in Hong Kong and to restrict their activities; (d) implementing effective measures as soon as possible to combat the problem of fake refugees, so as to prevent honest South Asians, who made Hong Kong their home, from being misunderstood and discriminated; and (e) urging the SB to study the feasibility of Hong Kong’s withdrawal from the Convention.

32. Mr Admond YUE agreed with the views expressed by Members, and opined that the Administration should implement stopgap measures such as withdrawing Hong Kong from the Convention, so as to eradicate the problem of fake refugees completely.

33. Mr LO Chiu-kit reckoned that the immigration recognizance form and the allowance provided by the Government were the causes of the fake refugee problem, which attracted crime syndicates to lure fake refugees to come to Hong Kong. In respect of the ever-increasing number of torture claim cases, he was of the view that the Department’s proposals were palliatives only. In view of this, he suggested the Government review the arrangements of the immigration recognizance form and the allowance systems immediately and construct detention centres in the border areas to accommodate torture claimants. In addition, he proposed that the Police strengthen co-operation with the source countries to intercept fake refugees at source and that the feasibility of Hong Kong’s withdrawal from the Convention be studied. - 10 -

34. Mr LAM Tak-shing said that the government expenditure on handling torture claim cases had kept increasing; the situation was serious and had become a matter of public concern. He added that recently there had been a number of criminal cases such as indecent assault, robbery and theft in Yuen Long involving South Asians. On 7 November 2015, there also had been a criminal case in Hung Hom in which a teenage girl had been indecently assaulted by a South Asian man in Bailey Street. Residents of Hung Hom old district were concerned about the law and order situation of the district as many immigration recognizance form holding torture claimants were living in the sub-divided units in the district. He pointed out that according to the Basic Law, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) could not withdraw from the Convention by itself, and that the United Nations prohibited the use of inhumane measures like closed camps to accommodate refugees. Therefore, relevant departments had to allocate additional resources to intercept fake refugees at source and to expedite the screening of fake refugees in order to tackle the problem.

35. Dr the Hon Priscilla LEUNG requested the Administration to respond to the solutions specifically proposed by the community and Members as early as possible instead of spending another three years on the review. She also enquired of the ImmD how the fake refugee problem would be alleviated by setting up the pre-arrival registration system. Moreover, she hoped that the Department would set a time limit for handling appeals of claimants to prevent the appeal procedures from being delayed.

36. Mr Terence SIU held the view that refugees had learnt how to make use of the loopholes in the system. After entering Hong Kong illegally, they would first hide away until they got caught, when they would claim themselves as refugees. They would then delay the screening procedures with various tricks. He hoped that the ImmD would provide information on the average length of stay of the fake refugees in Hong Kong, and explain the arrangements for removing fake refugees who had been screened out, and the mechanism for handling cases of refusal of removal. He opined that in order to solve the problem concerned, in addition to stepping up enforcement, it was necessary for the Department to intercept fake refugees at source. Moreover, he suggested that police officers be deployed to infiltrate illegal organisations for investigation. Furthermore, as the growing number of refugees had imposed a heavy burden on Hong Kong, he hoped that the Department would be more risk-conscious and solve the problem properly as soon as possible.

37. Dr KWONG Po-yin indicated that as Article 39 of the Basic Law provided that the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights should remain in force in Hong Kong, amendments to the Basic Law had to be made if Hong Kong were to withdraw from the Convention or other treaties in relation to the protection of human rights. Moreover, she opined that refugees should not be detained in refugee camps located in the rural area like the way the Vietnamese boat people had been treated in the past. In addition, she pointed out that given that many refugees had departed from the Mainland, she enquired whether the ImmD would work with the authorities in the Mainland to reduce the number of fake refugees who came to Hong Kong under the arrangement of crime syndicates.

38. The Chairman responded that Hong Kong’s withdrawal from the Convention did not involve amendments to the Basic Law, but any such applications had to be submitted by the Central Government for Hong Kong.

39. Dr the Hon Priscilla LEUNG supplemented that Hong Kong’s withdrawal from the Convention did not involve amendments to the Basic Law. The relevant provision in the - 11 -

Basic Law concerned the international covenants on human rights, even if Hong Kong withdrew from the Convention, it would not change Hong Kong’s position in the international covenants on human rights. As China was both the sovereign state of Hong Kong and the state party to the Convention, Hong Kong’s application for exemption from implementing Article 3 must be submitted by China. However, she reckoned that Hong Kong had yet to exhaust all feasible administrative measures for handling the matter.

40. Referring to the indecent assault case in Bailey Street mentioned by Mr LAM Tak-shing, Ms CHEUNG of the HKPF pointed out that the Police would investigate every case in a serious and impartial manner, and that the case in question had been detected with a man being arrested. The person concerned was not a torture claimant but a Hong Kong Identity Card holder.

41. Mr IP of the ImmD thanked Members for their views, and said that many of Members’ suggestions had been included in the comprehensive review. He gave a consolidated response to Members’ enquiries, of which the salient points were as follows:

- The ImmD would continue to adopt the intelligence-led strategy and expand the area of joint operations with the HKPF and the Labour Department to step up enforcement against illegal employment.

- The basic concept of the pre-arrival registration was that tourists were required to provide information via an electronic platform before boarding flights, with which the ImmD would immediately assess the risk and refuse high-risk persons from boarding flights and setting foot in Hong Kong. He could not provide the figures of persons removed for the time being.

- According to the existing legislation, the sentences of persons assisting or smuggling IIs varied according to the nationalities of the IIs. If the IIs were unauthorized entrants, i.e. residents of the Mainland or Vietnam or were from Macau, they would be prosecuted by the ImmD under the Immigration (Unauthorized Entrants) Order. The ImmD was trying to amend the definition of unauthorized entrants to cover all IIs, so that repeat human smugglers would be prosecuted with the offences imposing heavier penalty, with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of interception at source.

- As regards the immigration recognizance form, the ImmD was reviewing and studying relevant legislations to examine the feasibility of strengthening the Department’s power to detain more claimants pending screening or whilst screening.

- The ImmD would continue to strengthen liaison and intelligence exchange with the authorities in the Mainland, and to review the scope and the fee cap of the publicly-funded legal assistance scheme.

42. In conclusion, the Chairman hoped that the Police would strengthen the protection of the safety and the interests of members of the public. While the ImmD was reviewing the legislations, relevant departments should at the same time further study Members’ suggestions and duly implement short-term administrative measures such as ceasing the issuance of allowance to refugees, so as to alleviate the problem.

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Request for Closer Monitoring of the Retail Price of Domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas for Public Housing and Enhancement of Competition by Bringing More Gas Suppliers into the Market (KCDC Paper No. 16/16)

43. The Chairman welcomed Mr YIM Ka-ho, Senior Property Service Manager/ Kowloon West and Hong Kong of the Housing Department (HD) to the meeting to discuss the issue, and informed the meeting that the (ENB) and the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) were unable to send representatives to attend the meeting. The Secretariat had consolidated the written responses received into Tabled Paper No. 6 which had been sent to Members for perusal before the meeting. He enquired of the representative of the Members submitting the paper if he had anything to add.

44. Mr CHO Wui-hung said that there were signs of “quick going up, slow coming down” and “more going up, less coming down” in the adjustment of the prices of domestic piped liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for public housing. Notwithstanding that the prices of international crude oil had been dropping substantially for months recently, fuel suppliers had not lowered the prices of domestic piped LPG accordingly. He expressed regret that the ENB had failed to send representatives to attend the meeting, and remarked that members of the public feel helpless and frustrated because the ENB indicated that the Government had no right to request fuel suppliers to disclose pricing information in a free market economy. He opined that relevant departments were duty-bound to guard the gate and to make appropriate arrangements for residents of public housing. According to the response from the ENB, instead of helping secure more choices for the residents, the Government had connived at the fuel suppliers’ failure to adjust fuel prices in line with the international market. Lastly, he said that given that the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (HKCG) had indicated that a feasibility study on the provision of Towngas supply could be conducted in individual housing estates, he requested the HD to liaise with the HKCG to follow up the matter.

45. Mr YANG Wing-kit was disappointed that the ENB had failed to send representatives to attend the meeting. Referring to the written response from the Bureau that members of the public could check the prices of domestic piped LPG on the websites of the LPG companies, he pointed out that such information were no longer uploaded to the websites. Furthermore, he was of the view that there was a lack of Government’s monitoring of the situation, as evidenced by the fact that the prices of domestic piped LPG had not been lowered accordingly with the fall of international oil prices. He therefore requested that a monitoring mechanism be set up by the ENB. Finally, he indicated that the HKCG had said that it was technically feasible for two gas supply systems to co-exist in a housing estate, thus he suggested that the HD include a clause in the new contracts to allow other gas companies to be the fuel suppliers of the housing estates when negotiating with the existing LPG suppliers on renewal of contracts.

46. The Hon Starry LEE pointed out that the adjustment of the retail prices of domestic piped LPG was similar to that of the overall retail prices of petrol in Hong Kong, which also failed to reflect the rate of decrease in international oil prices and showed signs of “quick going up, slow coming down”. Therefore, she hoped that the Competition Commission (CC) would further study the matter. She also enquired whether residents in public housing estates were allowed to change the fuel system themselves, and whether the HD would allow the HKCG to carry out infrastructure works such as pipelaying in public housing estates. She requested the HD to provide the schedule for the provision of Towngas supply system in - 13 - public housing estates in the district, and proposed that the KCDC write to relevant departments to demand a review of relevant policies without delay so that the residents could make their own choices of fuel suppliers.

47. Mr LUK King-kwong considered that relevant departments were disrespectful to the KCDC as they had only submitted written responses instead of attending the meetings. He thus asked the District Officer and the Secretariat to follow up the matter. He pointed out that the HD had only repeated their old arguments in its written response and evade the aspirations of public housing residents. He opined that apart from writing to ask for reviews, the KCDC should also request the Department to conduct a feasibility study on the introduction of other fuel suppliers as soon as possible and to report the progress to the KCDC.

48. Mr Tony NG said that he had been requesting the HD to introduce competition and to provide more choices for members of the public over the years. He also suggested the HD enhance the transparency of its contract renewal negotiation with the LPG companies and compare and analyse the information and prices of different fuels. He also opined that the ENB was irresponsible as it had repeatedly failed to send representatives to attend the meetings.

49. Mr YIM Ka-ho, Senior Property Service Manager/Kowloon West and Hong Kong of the HD gave a consolidated response to Members’ enquiries, of which the main points were as follows:

- As Towngas was to be supplied to the whole housing estate through a central system, individual residents could not switch to other fuel system by themselves. However, they could choose to use electric stoves. If the central LPG supply system were to be replaced by Towngas system, apart from the supply system and the pipes, all cooking appliances of the residents had to be replaced as well.

- The HD had to take safety factors into consideration and to conduct risk assessments when determining the use of the central gas supply system. Under the current policy of the Department, only one central gas supply system should be installed in a housing estate at any one time.

- The term of the existing contract between the HD and the gas supplier of Oi Man Estate was 10 years. The Department would take into account Members’ suggestions and consider comparing and analysing the information and prices of different fuels before renewing the contract.

- The office in the HD responsible for gas matter would review the existing policies, including the re-examination of the feasibility of installing two piped gas supply systems in the same housing estate, and would inform the Secretariat of the review schedule or review arrangements in due course.

50. In response to Members’ views on the attendance of departmental representatives at the KCDC meetings, Mr William TSUI, District Officer (Kowloon City) said that it was the long-held stance of the HKSAR Government that departments would send representatives to attend District Council meetings as far as practicable. The Chief Secretary for Administration was also concerned about the attendance of departments at the meetings. He - 14 - would relay Members’ views to the departments which had failed to send representatives to the meetings and request them to try their best to send representatives to attend future meetings.

51. The Chairman thanked Mr TSUI for undertaking to follow up the issue of attendance of departmental representatives at the KCDC meetings. Moreover, he called upon Members to actively participate in the meetings on district administration organised by the Government to directly express the aspiration to relevant Secretaries that departments should send representatives to attend the KCDC meetings. Furthermore, he asked the Secretariat to write to the HD in the name of the KCDC requesting the HD to conduct a feasibility study on the provision of additional gas supply system and to provide the KCDC with relevant schedules.

(Post-meeting note: The Secretariat had sent letters to the HD and the HKHS and an email to the CC respectively after the meeting to relay Members’ views and requests.)

Budget of KCDC for the Financial Year 2016-17 (For Community Involvement Funding) (KCDC Paper No. 17/16)

52. The Chairman asked the Secretary to briefly introduce the contents of Paper No. 17/16. After consulting all Members, the Chairman declared that the budget of the KCDC for the financial year 2016-17 (for community involvement funding) was endorsed.

District-led Actions Scheme in Kowloon City District (KCDC Paper No. 18/16)

53. Mr William TSUI pointed out that in light of the fact the District Administration Pilot Scheme (Pilot Scheme) implemented in Sham Shui Po and Yuen Long had been completed with satisfactory results, the CE had announced in the Policy Address 2016 that the Scheme would be extended to all 18 districts across the territory and renamed as District-led Actions Scheme (Actions Scheme). Under the Actions Scheme, the District Management Committees chaired by District Officers would be given the decision-making power to tackle certain management and environmental hygiene problems of public areas, whereas the District Councils would advise on the work priorities in a bid to further take forward the concept of “addressing district issues at the local level and capitalising on local opportunities”. He said that the Kowloon City District Management Committee (DMC) had earlier discussed and endorsed the inclusion of two local issues, namely “improvement of environmental hygiene” and “handling of problems created by tourism”, in the Actions Scheme. The Kowloon City District Office (KCDO) would later follow up with the DMC on the implementation details of the Actions Scheme after hearing the views of the KCDC.

54. Mr TSUI then invited Ms Eva KWOK, Senior Executive Officer (District Management) of the KCDO to briefly introduce the two proposals of the Actions Scheme:

Improvement of Environmental Hygiene

The KCDO would draw up a list of district hygiene black spots after consulting Members. It would then discuss the operation details with relevant departments and hire staff to carry out inspections at the hygiene black spots in the district. If it was found that the hygienic conditions were unsatisfactory, the case would be referred to relevant departments for - 15 - handling. In addition, the KCDO would enhance publicity on maintaining environmental hygiene.

Handling of Problems Created by Tourism

After consulting Members, the KCDO would draw up a list of “black spots of illegal coach parking” and a list of “gathering places of tour groups”. It would then hire district tourism ambassadors to assist in keeping the pavements unobstructed and to advise tourists to keep places clean at those places. In addition, if illegal coach parking was found during inspections at the black spots, the tourism ambassadors would contact the Police for follow-up.

55. Mr YANG Wing-kit supported the two proposals above, and expected that the Actions Scheme would effectively tackle the problems of shop front extensions (SFEs) and illegal coach parking, which had persistently been a matter of concern to the residents in the district.

56. The Hon Starry LEE also supported the extension of the Pilot Scheme to the 18 districts, but she would like to know the implementation time of the Actions Scheme and the amount of funds available for the Actions Scheme. As regards the improvement of environmental hygiene, she expected that the additional staff would also assist in clearing refuse in addition to carrying out inspections in the district. Besides, while she supported the implementation of the district tourism ambassador scheme on a trial basis, she hoped that the tourism ambassadors would, apart from keeping pavements unobstructed and advising tourists to keep places clean, advise coach drivers to park their coaches in the parking spaces designated for coaches in future.

57. Dr the Hon Priscilla LEUNG was in support of the general direction of the Actions Scheme, and reckoned that the KCDO had picked the right issues to focus on. Nevertheless, she indicated that as the district tourism ambassadors had no enforcement power, they could only give advice to the coach drivers who illegal parked their vehicles, thus the proposal might not be effective in tackling the problem of illegal coach parking. She also pointed out that according to the past experience, the problem could not be solved completely even with police intervention.

58. Mr Ronald YEUNG had reservations on the proposal of hiring district tourism ambassadors to step up inspections at black spots of illegal coach parking and to refer the cases concerned to the Police for enforcement actions. He opined that the KCDO should hire the tourism ambassadors jointly with the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the TIC to help tackle the problems in the district created by tourism. In addition, he opined that the staff hired should also be responsible for clearing refuse in addition to carry out inspections at hygiene black spots, so as to utilise resources more effectively.

59. Ir CHEUNG Yan-hong supported the proposals of the KCDO, but he was of the view that the problem of SFEs had to be included in the Actions Scheme. He suggested that, apart from hiring more staff to step up inspections to improve the problem of pavement obstruction and the environmental hygiene problems caused by shops, relevant departments have to strengthen enforcement at the same time. As to the problems in the district caused by tourism, he proposed that the KCDO deal with them jointly with the TIC and the proposed TIA. - 16 -

60. Mr SIU Leong-sing was concerned about the use of additional resources and pointed out that given that the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) had been deploying staff to carry out regular inspections at the black spots concerned, it might not provide the FEHD with practical support for their enforcement actions if the staff hired would only be deployed to carry out inspections at hygiene black spots. In addition, he hoped that the District Officer would consider extending the proposal to cover “three-nil” buildings and private streets in the district.

61. Mr LO Chiu-kit said that as the Chairman of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee, he personally greatly welcomed the second proposal as he found the environmental hygiene problem in the Kowloon City District very serious. He hoped that the problems such as SFEs, mosquito infestation and rodent infestation would also be covered by the Actions Scheme in order to safeguard the health of the residents. Besides, he indicated that the residents in the district were still being plagued by the illegal coach parking problem, but he was afraid that if the resources were injected to only apply the past practices of distributing leaflets and giving advice, it might not be effective in tackling the environmental hygiene problems and the problems created by tourism. He hoped that the District Officer would explore with the KCDC more effective ways to tackle the two problems in the district.

62. Ir Dr CHENG Lee-ming supported the two proposals put forward by the KCDO although he reckoned that they might only have limited effect. He held the view that the proposal concerned only dealt with the illegal coach parking problem, but failed to address the problem of illegal parking of vehicles in the district. In addition, the problem of hygiene black spots would remain unsolved if only the SFEs problem were to be addressed. He suggested that the Government must adopt a high-tech real-time monitoring system to deter members of the public from littering or parking illegally.

63. Mr Jimmy LAM supported the inclusion of the above two proposals in the Actions Scheme. However, he pointed out that the performance of the contractors was unsatisfactory in the then Team Clean campaign, as they had failed to properly carry out the cleansing work in “three-nil” buildings. In view of that, he opined that if the KCDO decided to implement the Actions Scheme making reference to the modus operandi of the Team Clean campaign, more cleansing contractors should be encouraged to tender for the cleansing work so as to raise the quality of successful tenderers. In addition, he pointed out that construction waste and miscellaneous items were constantly found accumulated in the vicinity of the primary schools and private streets in the district, but there was no government department coordinating the cleansing work concerned, he thus agreed that new technologies should be introduced to monitor the situation. Furthermore, he questioned whether the district tourism ambassadors could effectively discharge their duties, but he concurred that the KCDO should team up with the TIC and restaurants to provide resources for implementing the Actions Scheme.

64. Mr Roger KWAN supported the above two proposals and agreed to include them in the Actions Scheme. However, he would like to further understand the details and implementation schedule of the Actions Scheme. He also pointed out that the proposal of improvement of environmental hygiene was more or less the same as the work currently undertaken by the FEHD, only that the Actions Scheme was initiated by the KCDO. In - 17 - addition, he questioned whether the tourism ambassadors could effectively deal with the illegal coach parking problem. In conclusion, he suggested that the KCDO take up the coordinating role and work with various departments to take effective actions to strengthen the clearing of refuse and disposed construction waste, as well as issuing summons to offenders.

65. Mr LAI Kwong-wai said that the district tourism ambassadors had no enforcement power, so even if they found illegally parked vehicles during inspections, they could only report the situation to the Police. Comparing to the current practice that the Police took enforcement actions against illegal parked coaches, it was a rather indirect approach, thus further undermining the efficiency. In addition, he opined that the inspections of hygiene black spots to be carried out by the additional staff as proposed would overlap with the work currently performed by the FEHD; and he worried that if the above work was to be carried out by various departments, they would shirk responsibilities when handling reports of hygiene black spots.

66. Mr William TSUI gave a consolidated response, of which the following salient points were as follows:

- The HAD would be allocated a funding of $63,000,000 in the current financial year for the implementation of the Actions Scheme, and the budget for the district had yet to be formulated.

- The DMC would later discuss with relevant departments the implementation details of the Actions Scheme subject to Members’ views.

- The KCDO would earmark some resources for hiring cleansing contractors for the provision of cleansing services. If the cleansing contractors during the inspections found that the hygiene conditions of the hygiene black spots were unsatisfactory, the KCDO would consider engaging them to provide cleansing services for the black spots.

- All environmental hygiene-related items such as SFEs, mosquito infestation and rodent infestation would be included in the Actions Scheme.

- District tourism ambassadors were mainly responsible for giving advice when tourists obstructed pavements and when coach drivers parked illegally, which were of an auxiliary nature. The Police and the FEHD would still be responsible for the enforcement actions concerned. As regards the alleviation of the problem of illegal coach parking, the KCDO would strengthen the liaison with the TD and the Police, while the Tourism Commission had already identified two sites in Kowloon City in the hope that the sites could be converted to temporary coach parking lots.

- The enhancement of inspections at hygiene black spots and the work of the FEHD could supplement each other to effectively improve the environmental hygiene of the district.

- The Actions Scheme would be coordinated and monitored by the DMC, which was - 18 -

chaired by the District Officer. Members of the DMC included representatives of executive departments, the Chairman and Vice-chairman of the KCDC and the Chairman of the Committees under the District Council. The DMC would discuss the implementation details of the Actions Scheme and then timely report the same to the KCDC.

67. The Hon Starry LEE requested the KCDO to reflect the following views to the DMC: (a) the tackling of the problem of SFEs and the cleansing of “three-nil” buildings should be included in the proposal of Improvement of Environmental Hygiene; (b) resources should first be allocated to employ cleansing contractors to provide cleansing services, and inspections at the hygiene black spots in the district should be stepped up if additional resources were available; (c) given that the TIC was unable to create the post of tourism ambassadors due to insufficient resources, she supported using the resources of the Actions Scheme to hire district tourism ambassadors for carrying out the duties of giving advice to tourists on keeping the pavements unobstructed and keeping places clean; (d) district tourism ambassadors should only contact the Police for taking enforcement actions after their best endeavours of advising drivers of the illegally parked coaches to move away proved futile; and (e) the Police, the FEHD and the should be requested to maintain close contact with the additional staff to provide appropriate support for them.

68. Ir Dr CHENG Lee-ming said that the success of the Actions Scheme hinged on its sustainability, and emphasised that the effectiveness of the Actions Scheme would be affected if continuous funding for the Scheme could not be guaranteed. He reiterated that new technologies should be employed in Hong Kong to monitor offences, and that legislative amendments be made so that penalty tickets could be issued to the offenders repeatedly to achieve the deterrent effect.

69. Mr Admond YUE indicated that at the previous meeting of the Working Group on Concern about the Problems Caused by Coaches in the District, the Police had responded that the two proposed sites identified by the Tourism Commission for use as coach parking lots were still subject to confirmation, so he wanted to have more information about the two sites. He pointed out that the residents in the district had long been disturbed by the problem of illegal coach parking, so he hoped that the KCDO would actively follow up the matter.

70. Mr William TSUI responded that the fixed penalty system for SFEs as proposed by the HAD had progressed to the legislative stage and the proposed penalty level was set at $1,500. Relevant departments would combat SFEs with the fixed penalty system in future. As for the two sites proposed to be rezoned for use as temporary coach parking lots, one of the sites was situated in Bailey Street near the waterfront, the other was in Hung Hom. The Tourism Commission would consult the Harbourfront Commission on the matter, and Members would be timely informed of the details.

71. In conclusion, the Chairman said that it was expected that through the co-operation with the Police and the FEHD in the Actions Scheme, the illegal coach parking problem in the district could be relieved and the environmental hygiene improved effectively. In addition, he hoped that the sites for the provision of temporary coach parking lots could be decided as early as possible, and that the implementation details of the two proposals would be further discussed at the subsequent DMC meeting. Lastly, the meeting unanimously agreed to support the District-led Actions Scheme in the Kowloon City District.

- 19 -

Any Other Business

Signature Project Scheme

72. Mr William TSUI reported on the latest progress of the project of Revitalisation of the Rear Portion of the Cattle Depot, and said that he had attended the meeting of the LegCo Panel on Home Affairs on 18 January 2016 and two meetings of the Public Works Subcommittee (PWSC) under the Finance Committee (FC) in March. The Panel on Home Affairs had expressed support for the project, while the PWSC was still scrutinising the project. The next meeting of the PWSC was tentatively scheduled for mid-April. Upon the endorsement of the project, funding approval would be sought from the FC.

Date of Next Meeting

73. The Chairman declared that the next meeting would be held on 12 May 2016, and the deadline for submitting papers would be 26 April 2016. There being no other business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 5:16 p.m.

This minutes of meeting was confirmed on 12 May 2016.

The Chairman

The Secretary

Kowloon City District Council Secretariat May 2016