LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9541
OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Wednesday, 18 May 2016
The Council met at Eleven o'clock
MEMBERS PRESENT:
THE PRESIDENT THE HONOURABLE JASPER TSANG YOK-SING, G.B.M., G.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE ALBERT HO CHUN-YAN
THE HONOURABLE LEE CHEUK-YAN
THE HONOURABLE JAMES TO KUN-SUN
THE HONOURABLE CHAN KAM-LAM, S.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE LEUNG YIU-CHUNG
THE HONOURABLE EMILY LAU WAI-HING, J.P.
THE HONOURABLE TAM YIU-CHUNG, G.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE ABRAHAM SHEK LAI-HIM, G.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE TOMMY CHEUNG YU-YAN, G.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE FREDERICK FUNG KIN-KEE, S.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE VINCENT FANG KANG, S.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE WONG KWOK-HING, B.B.S., M.H.
9542 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
PROF THE HONOURABLE JOSEPH LEE KOK-LONG, S.B.S., J.P., Ph.D., R.N.
THE HONOURABLE JEFFREY LAM KIN-FUNG, G.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE ANDREW LEUNG KWAN-YUEN, G.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE WONG TING-KWONG, S.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE CYD HO SAU-LAN, J.P.
THE HONOURABLE STARRY LEE WAI-KING, J.P.
DR THE HONOURABLE LAM TAI-FAI, S.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE CHAN HAK-KAN, J.P.
THE HONOURABLE CHAN KIN-POR, B.B.S., J.P.
DR THE HONOURABLE PRISCILLA LEUNG MEI-FUN, S.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE CHEUNG KWOK-CHE
THE HONOURABLE WONG KWOK-KIN, S.B.S.
THE HONOURABLE IP KWOK-HIM, G.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE MRS REGINA IP LAU SUK-YEE, G.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE PAUL TSE WAI-CHUN, J.P.
THE HONOURABLE ALAN LEONG KAH-KIT, S.C.
THE HONOURABLE LEUNG KWOK-HUNG
THE HONOURABLE ALBERT CHAN WAI-YIP
THE HONOURABLE CLAUDIA MO
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9543
THE HONOURABLE MICHAEL TIEN PUK-SUN, B.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE JAMES TIEN PEI-CHUN, G.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE NG LEUNG-SING, S.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE STEVEN HO CHUN-YIN, B.B.S.
THE HONOURABLE FRANKIE YICK CHI-MING, J.P.
THE HONOURABLE WU CHI-WAI, M.H.
THE HONOURABLE YIU SI-WING, B.B.S.
THE HONOURABLE GARY FAN KWOK-WAI
THE HONOURABLE MA FUNG-KWOK, S.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE CHARLES PETER MOK, J.P.
THE HONOURABLE CHAN CHI-CHUEN
THE HONOURABLE CHAN HAN-PAN, J.P.
DR THE HONOURABLE KENNETH CHAN KA-LOK
THE HONOURABLE CHAN YUEN-HAN, S.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE LEUNG CHE-CHEUNG, B.B.S., M.H., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE KENNETH LEUNG
THE HONOURABLE ALICE MAK MEI-KUEN, B.B.S., J.P.
DR THE HONOURABLE KWOK KA-KI
THE HONOURABLE KWOK WAI-KEUNG
THE HONOURABLE DENNIS KWOK
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THE HONOURABLE CHRISTOPHER CHEUNG WAH-FUNG, S.B.S., J.P.
DR THE HONOURABLE FERNANDO CHEUNG CHIU-HUNG
THE HONOURABLE SIN CHUNG-KAI, S.B.S., J.P.
DR THE HONOURABLE HELENA WONG PIK-WAN
THE HONOURABLE IP KIN-YUEN
DR THE HONOURABLE ELIZABETH QUAT, J.P.
THE HONOURABLE MARTIN LIAO CHEUNG-KONG, S.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE POON SIU-PING, B.B.S., M.H.
THE HONOURABLE TANG KA-PIU, J.P.
DR THE HONOURABLE CHIANG LAI-WAN, J.P.
IR DR THE HONOURABLE LO WAI-KWOK, S.B.S., M.H., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE CHUNG KWOK-PAN
THE HONOURABLE CHRISTOPHER CHUNG SHU-KUN, B.B.S., M.H., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE TONY TSE WAI-CHUEN, B.B.S.
THE HONOURABLE ALVIN YEUNG NGOK-KIU
MEMBERS ABSENT:
DR THE HONOURABLE LAU WONG-FAT, G.B.M., G.B.S., J.P.
DR THE HONOURABLE LEUNG KA-LAU
THE HONOURABLE WONG YUK-MAN
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9545
PUBLIC OFFICERS ATTENDING:
PROF THE HONOURABLE ANTHONY CHEUNG BING-LEUNG, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING
THE HONOURABLE EDDIE NG HAK-KIM, S.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION
DR THE HONOURABLE KO WING-MAN, B.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH
THE HONOURABLE WONG KAM-SING, J.P. SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
THE HONOURABLE LAU KONG-WAH, J.P. SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS
MR GODFREY LEUNG KING-KWOK, J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
MR JAMES HENRY LAU JR., J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY
CLERKS IN ATTENDANCE:
MR KENNETH CHEN WEI-ON, S.B.S., SECRETARY GENERAL
MISS ODELIA LEUNG HING-YEE, DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL
MS DORA WAI, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL
9546 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members to the Chamber.
(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members entered the Chamber)
TABLING OF PAPERS
The following papers were laid on the table under Rule 21(2) of the Rules of Procedure:
Subsidiary Legislation/Instruments L.N. No.
Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Romania) Order ...... 61/2016
Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Russian Federation) Order ...... 62/2016
Road Traffic (Parking) (Approved Cards) (Amendment) Notice 2016 ...... 63/2016
Other Paper
Report No. 17/15-16 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Questions. First question.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9547
Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme
1. DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): Under the current Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme (EHCVS), the Government provides health care vouchers with a total value of $2,000 per person annually to eligible elderly persons aged 70 or above to subsidize their use of private primary care services. The unused health care vouchers each year may be retained and used in future, subject to a cap of $4,000 on the cumulative value of the vouchers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the information provided by the authorities to the Finance Committee of this Council in April this year indicated that in both of the past two years, the annual average values of health care vouchers used by an elderly person had exceeded $2,000, with a significant increase in the value of last year as compared with that of the preceding year, whether the authorities will consider increasing the annual value of health care vouchers so as to ease the burden of medical expenses on the elderly; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) as I have learnt that quite a number of elderly persons need to purchase auxiliary medical equipment and buy medicines at pharmacies, but they may not use health care vouchers for such purposes, whether the authorities will consider relaxing the restrictions on the permitted uses of such vouchers; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) as the population projections published by the Census and Statistics Department in September last year indicated that the percentage of elderly persons aged 65 and above in the population would rise sharply, i.e. from 15% in 2014 to 23% and 30% in 2024 and 2034 respectively, whether the authorities will consider afresh lowering the minimum age requirement for EHCVS to 65 so that more elderly persons will benefit from it; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
9548 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, the Government launched the Elderly Health Care Voucher Pilot Scheme in 2009 to subsidize Hong Kong elders aged 70 or above to use private primary care services, including preventive care services. The scheme was converted from a pilot project into a recurrent programme in 2014. Since the implementation of the EHV Scheme, we have introduced various enhancement measures to give elders a greater flexibility in using the vouchers for private primary care services. For example, the annual voucher amount for an eligible elder has increased progressively from the initial sum of $250 to $2,000, and the financial cap has been revised upward from $3,000 to $4,000. Moreover, the face value of each voucher was changed from $50 to $1 in 2014 to make it more convenient for the elders to use the vouchers. As at end-March 2016, about 5 300 healthcare service providers are enrolled under the Scheme and over 610 000 elders have made use of the vouchers (accounting for about 80% of the eligible elderly population).
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) and (3)
We have made a reply on the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme (EHCVS) to the Finance Committee during its examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2016-2017. The figures in the reply show the average amount of vouchers used per elder among those who have made use of the vouchers, with breakdown by age group, during the period from the launching of the Scheme in 2009 up to end 2014 and end 2015.
Analysed by year among those elders who have made use of the vouchers, the average amount of vouchers used by an elder in 2014 and 2015 was $1,260 and $1,711 respectively. Most of them (about 85% and 67% respectively) used an amount of $2,000 or less during these two years.
As regards the requests for lowering the eligible age for the EHCVS to 65 and increasing the annual voucher amount for an eligible elder, according to the Hong Kong Population Projections 2015-2064 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9549
published by the Census and Statistics Department, there will be 930 000 elders aged 70 or above in 2020, which is 1.5 times as much as the existing number of elders using the vouchers, whilst the projected number of elders aged 65 or above is estimated to reach 1.4 million in 2020, which is about twice the number of elders using the vouchers at present. With an ageing population, we anticipate that both the number of elders using the vouchers and the annual financial commitment involved will continue to increase substantially if there is an increase in the annual voucher amount or the eligible age is lowered to 65. Hence, in considering the said requests, we need to examine the effectiveness of subsidizing primary care services in the form of healthcare vouchers and assess in detail the long-term financial implications for the Government.
(2) Under the existing EHCVS, vouchers cannot be used solely for purchasing medications or other medical equipment or products. However, vouchers can be used for preventive, curative and rehabilitative services, including the treatments provided by healthcare service providers in their professional capacities to meet the healthcare needs of the elderly patients after consultation, as well as the medication and medical products, and so on, provided to the patients during the course of treatment. In this regard, healthcare service providers should assume professional responsibility towards their patients. Such arrangements serve to protect patients' rights while allowing a certain extent of flexibility to facilitate elders to use vouchers for paying various private primary care services.
Besides, the Department of Health is currently conducting a comprehensive review of the EHCVS in collaboration with the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care. Opinions of elders and service providers on the Scheme, including its operational arrangements will be collected during the review. We will closely monitor the pattern of using the vouchers and actively consider enhancing the Scheme as appropriate taking into account the review findings and the Government's fiscal condition.
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DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): President, I thank the Secretary for mentioning that the authorities will "actively consider enhancing the Scheme", and that they will also actively examine my suggestion of lowering the eligible age for using the healthcare vouchers to 65.
I hope that the Secretary can adopt a people-oriented approach because that is what administrators should do. My supplementary question is whether the authorities can consider the issue from the perspective of the elderly and expedite their studies on expanding the scope of application of the vouchers and lowering the eligible age to 65.
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, the public hope that the EHCVS can be enhanced in various ways. We are very clear about their requests, including lowering the minimum age requirement for EHCVS from 70 to 65, increasing the annual value of healthcare vouchers for each eligible elder and raising the cap on the cumulative value of the vouchers. Regarding the operation of the EHCVS, members of the public have suggested relaxing the restrictions on the permitted uses of the vouchers to enable the elders to buy certain medicines, medical equipment, and so on.
As I have pointed out in the last part of my main reply, the Department of Health is conducting a review in collaboration with the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care. In addition to collecting views of stakeholders, the review will also deliberate on the direction the authorities should proceed along in enhancing the EHCVS.
MR KWOK WAI-KEUNG (in Cantonese): We all know that any person aged 65 or above may apply for a Senior Citizen Card, and yet one has to wait until reaching the age of 70 to use the healthcare vouchers upon. Under this situation of "one voucher, two systems", elderly persons are classified into different categories, thereby depriving elders aged 65 to 69 of the medical protection they should be provided with. In fact, most elders may feel unwell one way or the other. Apart from the reason of physiological deterioration, some elders may be burdened by sickness because they strived hard to contribute to the economy and support their families when they were young. Therefore, we very much hope that the Government can complete the review as soon as LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9551 possible. In fact, many elders have said to me, "Mr KWOK, I am worried that I may not be able to wait until the Government completes the review".
The Secretary said in the last paragraph of the main reply that the authorities are conducting a review in collaboration with the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care. May I ask whether the Secretary can tell us the timetable of the review and when he can lower the minimum age requirement for using the vouchers in response to the request of the elderly?
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, first of all, I would like to point out that the minimum age requirement for the EHCVS was set at 70 and not 65 for a special reason. The reason is that elderly persons using the healthcare vouchers are not required to undergo any means and asset tests. Currently, different factors have been taken into consideration in setting the minimum age requirement for different benefits.
Just now Mr KWOK asked about the timetable. Regarding the requests for enhancement I referred to just now, the two main requests, namely increasing the annual value of healthcare vouchers for each eligible elderly person and lowering the minimum age requirement for the EHCVS, will result in a significant financial commitment by the Government. As such, we have to take into consideration the process of allocating additional resources.
My present aim is to submit the relevant proposals (if any) in time within this annual resource allocation cycle upon completing the review. Certainly, I cannot circumvent the procedures and tell Members that we have already reached any conclusion. However, I have to point out that if the conclusions will result in a financial commitment by the Government, we have to seek additional resources within the resource allocation cycle of the Government in order to implement the proposals.
MISS ALICE MAK (in Cantonese): President, the Secretary said in the reply that in 2014-2015, elders used healthcare vouchers in the amount of $2,000 or less on average. If the cumulative value of unused vouchers can be raised, elders can use the vouchers to obtain other medical services, including buying medical equipment or even obtaining dental services. Since the Government has 9552 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 already reserved resources, can the Secretary seriously consider further raising the cap of the cumulative value of unused vouchers from $4,000 to $6,000, or even to $8,000?
Besides, in replying to Mr KWOK Wai-keung's supplementary question just now, the Secretary has mentioned that if the minimum age requirement for EHCVS is lowered from 70 to 65, additional social resources will be incurred. However, let us bear in mind this question: Where will elders aged 65 to 69 turn to for medical services, given that they cannot use healthcare vouchers? They may go to the accident and emergency departments or out-patient clinics of public hospitals, and so the result will just be the same. I hope the Secretary …
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Miss Alice MAK, please pause. Since this Council has not dealt with questions for a long time, Members may have forgotten the rules. During the question session, Members should, first, raise only one supplementary question; and second, refrain from making long speeches. Miss MAK, you have put your supplementary question, please sit down and let the Secretary reply.
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, as I have pointed out earlier, the authorities are very clear about the various public requests for enhancing the EHCVS. If we receive any suggestions on enhancing the EHCVS during the review process, we will consider them in light of the requests. Like Members, we thoroughly understand the elderly persons' needs for primary and preventive healthcare services, and we very much hope that healthcare vouchers can help more elderly persons.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, Miss MAK asked whether the cap of the cumulative value of unused vouchers could be raised.
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, the request for raising the cap of the cumulative value of unused vouchers will be considered together with the other requests in the review.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9553
MR TAM YIU-CHUNG (in Cantonese): President, elders aged 65 to 69 often complain that they cannot enjoy many benefits, such as the "fruit grant". Judging from the current figures, we can see that medical benefits are very well-received by the people. If the minimum age requirement for the EHCVS is lowered so that elders aged 65 can also enjoy the benefit, I believe the people will welcome the change very much. While the Secretary has pointed out in his reply that the authorities will carefully "examine the effectiveness of subsidizing primary care services in the form of healthcare vouchers and assess in detail the long-term financial implications for the Government", the amount involved is actually easy to calculate. According to the population figures, if each elderly person aged 65 to 69 is given healthcare vouchers valued at $2,000 each year, what will be the approximate government expenditure incurred? It should not be difficult to calculate. Does the Secretary have the figure on hand to tell us?
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, if the minimum age requirement for the EHCVS is lowered from 70 to 65, according to the population figures of 2016, it is estimated that the number of eligible elders will increase by 400 000 from about 770 000 to about 1.17 million. According to our rough estimates, the change will imply an additional financial commitment of $700 million to $2 billion.
DR PRISCILLA LEUNG (in Cantonese): President, in fact, if the elders are not sick, they may not have any need for the healthcare vouchers. Thus, the vouchers are certainly provided for those who need them. Now that we know the Government is seriously considering lowering the minimum age requirement for the EHCVS to 65, may I ask the Secretary whether the group of eligible elders can be further enlarged to cover the age group of 60 to 64, so that some healthcare vouchers can be offered to elderly persons who are retirees without medical insurance cover?
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, the request we have heard all along is to lower the minimum age requirement for the EHCVS from 70 to 65. Dr LEUNG asked earlier whether the minimum age 9554 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 requirement can be further lowered from 65 to the age group of 60 to 64. I believe Members are aware that the EHCVS is indeed being enhanced all along. We shall have the answer to the first question of whether the minimum age requirement can be lowered to 65 after the review is completed. If we can really introduce this enhancement, there will naturally be other considerations and requests afterwards, and the EHCVS may be further enhanced then. However, I believe we have to draw a line somewhere because this is a healthcare scheme for the elderly after all.
MR WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese): President, in answering a Member's question just now, the Secretary has raised the point that the approach of setting the current age requirement for the EHCVS at 70 or above is similar to that of setting the age requirement for the "fruit grant" which is non-means tested. Can the Secretary tell us whether the baseline applicable to social welfare benefits such as the "fruit grant" will be used as a reference point in the current review; or the authorities will consider the matter from the healthcare perspective and treat healthcare vouchers as a tool to promote the use of primary healthcare services, so that elderly persons can use such services more extensively in their twilight years?
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, the main purpose of the EHCVS is to give elders in need another option in seeking primary healthcare services. At the same time, through the EHCVS, the authorities may also encourage elders to obtain or receive health and preventive treatment or services more often. However, as I have pointed out in my response to another Member's question earlier on, in considering the applicability of the EHCVS (particularly the minimum age requirement for EHCVS), we will take various factors into account, but we may not necessarily adopt, as Mr WU has suggested, the same criteria of another welfare scheme. Therefore, I believe we will decide on our direction after we have completed the review. Regarding whether we will use or adopt the model of another social welfare scheme, we have not taken any pre-determined positions.
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DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): President, I support the EHCVS. However, the use of any healthcare vouchers is related to the actual circumstances.
Yesterday, the Secretary met with Mr ZHANG Dejiang, former Party Secretary of the Guangdong Province. Has the Secretary assessed whether it is necessary to increase the amount of healthcare vouchers in the event that an incident similar to SARS occurs and Hong Kong is attacked by the epidemic because someone has covered up the situation? In fact, has the Secretary taken the opportunity yesterday to ask Mr ZHANG Dejiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, to apologize to Hong Kong people for the SARS issue in 2003?
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr KWOK, your latter question has nothing to do with the main question. You have asked the Secretary your supplementary question. Secretary, please reply.
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, you have instructed me to answer the first supplementary question. In this connection, I believe we have to consider the purposes of the EHCVS. As I have said a few times, one of the purposes is to give elders in need another option in seeking primary healthcare services. As for the other purpose, it is to encourage elders to use preventive and health services of primary healthcare in private clinics more often even if they are not sick. Therefore, there is not much overlap between prevention of epidemics and the purposes of the EHCVS.
DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): President, the Secretary has not answered my supplementary question. I asked him if people on the Mainland should cover up the situation of an epidemic again, would it be necessary for us to increase the amount of healthcare vouchers to deal with the situation, so as to prevent the epidemic from affecting the entire healthcare system of Hong Kong. Can the Secretary answer the question directly? Certainly, I would welcome it more if the Secretary can answer whether he has asked ZHANG Dejiang to apologize.
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PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr KWOK, your question has nothing to do with the main question. This Council has spent more than 24 minutes on this question. Second question.
Implementation of New Nature Conservation Policy
2. MR TONY TSE (in Cantonese): President, the Government introduced a new nature conservation policy at the end of 2004 to better achieve the nature conservation objectives and, in particular, to enhance conservation of ecologically important sites which are in private ownership. Under the policy, the Government has identified 12 priority sites for enhanced conservation (priority conservation sites) and for implementation of two pilot schemes, namely the Management Agreement Scheme (MA Scheme) and the Public-private Partnership Pilot Scheme (PPP Scheme), to conserve these ecologically important sites. Under the MA Scheme, eligible non-profit making organizations will receive funding for entering into MAs with the landowners of conservation sites for enhancing the conservation of the sites concerned; whereas under the PPP Scheme, limited development by the proponents will be allowed at the ecologically less sensitive portion of the priority conservation sites, provided that the development plan and scale are agreed by the Government and the proponents undertake to conserve and manage the rest of the sites that is ecologically more sensitive on a long-term basis. However, some members of the surveying sector have relayed that it has been more than 10 years since the implementation of the aforesaid policy and, apart from setting up a small-scale conservation area of about two hectares at Wo Shang Wai, Yuen Long, the policy has not achieved any notable progress and results in other conservation sites. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of agreements entered into so far under the MA Scheme, and set out, by priority conservation site, the name of the managing organization, the amount of funding granted and the size of the conservation site under each agreement, as well as the date on which the agreement was entered into and its validity period; the number of applications rejected; and the number of applications which were approved but ended up with no agreement entered into and the reasons for that;
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9557
(2) of the number of applications received by the authorities so far under the PPP Scheme, and set out, by priority conservation site, the date of submission, the proposed scale of development, the date of completion of the vetting and approval procedure and the result of each application; the number of applications still in the process of vetting and approval; and
(3) whether it conducted a comprehensive review in the past three years of the specific implementation, the vetting and approval mechanism and the effectiveness, etc. of the aforesaid two pilot schemes; if it did, of the review outcome, follow-up work and overall effectiveness of the two schemes as well as the new nature conservation policy (including whether the intended results were achieved); if not, the reasons for that and whether it will conduct such a review?
DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): President, I request a headcount.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.
(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary for the Environment, please reply.
SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (in Cantonese): President, having taken into account social and economic considerations, the Government introduced a new nature conservation policy in 2004 to regulate, protect and manage natural resources that are of utmost importance for the conservation of the biodiversity of Hong Kong in a sustainable manner. We aim to identify practicable ways to better achieve the nature conservation objectives. In particular, we aim to enhance conservation of ecologically important sites that are under private ownership while respecting the landowners' property right. Following the assessment by experts and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the Government has identified 12 priority 9558 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 sites for enhanced conservation and launched the Public-private Partnership (PPP) Scheme and Management Agreement (MA) Scheme. Mr TSE has already stated the principle of the PPP Scheme in his question. As for the MA Scheme, funding support is provided under the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF) to competent non-profit-making organizations (NPOs) to enter into MAs with landowners of the conservation sites. By providing financial incentives, both Schemes encourage the participation of landowners, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector in nature conservation in Hong Kong.
Our replies to the questions raised by Mr TSE are as follows:
(1) Of the 12 conservation sites, those in Fung Yuen, Long Valley and Ho Sheung Heung, Ramsar Site and Deep Bay Wetland outside Ramsar Site are under MA projects whereby the NPOs and landowners co-operate to conserve. Since 2005, the funding support provided by the ECF has amounted to some $87 million (see the Annex for details). The NPOs concerned are all experienced in nature conservation.
(2) Under the PPP Scheme, limited development by the project proponents will be allowed at the ecologically less sensitive portion of the 12 conservation sites, provided that the development plan and scale are agreed by the Government and the proponents undertake to conserve and manage the rest of the sites that is ecologically more sensitive on a long-term basis. The project proponents will also be required to make an upfront lump sum donation to the ECF sufficient to support the pledged conservation programmes, and to identify competent bodies as their conservation agents. This Scheme not only encourages the participation of the private sector and NGOs in nature conservation, but also balances between development and conservation.
We have so far received a total of six applications to carry out PPP projects at the 12 conservation sites. In 2008, the Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) supported in principle the Sha Lo Tung project after deliberation.
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Since the Sha Lo Tung project is a designated project under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO), the relevant environmental impact assessment (EIA) report was exhibited for public comment in 2012. Having considered the report at the meeting on July 2012, the ACE decided that the proponent should provide further information for its re-consideration. As the proponent has yet to provide the required information, the EIA process of the project has not been completed. Furthermore, the project has to comply with all relevant legislative and policy requirements.
Meantime, the Government has received a development proposal at Fung Lok Wai. The EIA of the proposed development was endorsed in November 2009 while the planning application was approved in November 2013. At present, relevant government departments are waiting for the project proponent to finalize the details of the proposed development to ensure its compliance with the conditions imposed in the approved planning application.
(3) The Government reviewed the two schemes in 2011 and made the following enhancements. Firstly, the ECF agreed that the scope of the MA Scheme be extended to cover private land in country park enclaves and within country parks. Moreover, to ensure the sustainability of the pledged conservation programmes under the PPP scheme, the Government will require the project proponents to make an upfront lump sum donation to the ECF sufficient to support the pledged conservation programmes, and to identify competent bodies as their conservation agents, with a view to implementing the conservation arrangements set out in the approved EIA report on a long-term basis. We will review the implementation and effectiveness of relevant policies and measures from time to time and will conduct review again where necessary.
Since the implementation of the MA Scheme, the total number of bird species recorded in Long Valley increased from 221 in 2005 to over 300 in 2015, representing more than half of the bird species in Hong Kong. The new MA project on fishponds implemented in 9560 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
2012 has also benefited birds inhabiting wetlands as the water level of the fishponds at Ramsar Site and Deep Bay Wetland has been lowered since then. The fishponds have become attractive feeding sites for birds and the number of egrets may thus multiply by dozens. In addition to the benefits stated above, the MA project has also raised public and community awareness of nature conservation.
It can be seen from the above that the MA Scheme has made positive achievements since its implementation. We will continue to encourage various NGOs and community organizations to participate in the conservation of suitable sites through the MA Scheme. For the PPP Scheme, compliance with the respective requirements on conservation, planning and land development inevitably generates diverse views among the stakeholders concerned and it is not easy to strike a balance. As such, it takes longer time to implement projects under the Scheme.
Apart from the above, the Government has taken other measures to implement the conservation policy. They include managing and designating country parks, special areas, marine parks, marine reserves and conservation areas; formulating and carrying out conservation action plans for species and habitats of conservation importance; and minimizing works at sites of high ecological value by enforcing the EIAO so as to address the aspiration of our society for nature conservation.
Annex
Approved Nature Conservation Management Agreement Projects
Area for Management Amount Item Project Title Proponent Site Involved Duration (in Approved approximation) 1 Sustainable Conservation Long Valley 2 hectares 1 November $1,514,160 Habitat Association 2005 to Management in 31 March Long Valley 2008 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9561
Area for Management Amount Item Project Title Proponent Site Involved Duration (in Approved approximation) 2 A Pilot Scheme Tai Po Fung Yuen 1.6 hectares 1 November $1,743,630 of Management Environmental 2005 to Agreement on Association 31 January the Private 2008 Land with Conservation Value at Fung Yuen Valley 3 Birds and Hong Kong Long Valley 2.3 hectares 1 December $1,362,560 Humans in Bird Watching 2005 to Harmony ― A Society 15 March Sustainable 2008 Management Scheme in Long Valley 4 Management Tai Po Fung Yuen 2 hectares 1 February $2,849,990 Agreement on Environmental 2008 to the Private Association 31 January Land with 2010 High Conservation Value at Fung Yuen Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest 5 Nature Conservancy Long Valley 12.1 hectares 1 March $3,974,964 Conservation Association 2008 to Management (partnering 28 February for Long with Hong 2010 Valley Kong Bird Watching Society) 6 Management Tai Po Fung Yuen 2 hectares 1 February $5,035,876 Agreement on Environmental 2010 to the Private Association 31 January Land with 2013 High Conservation 9562 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Area for Management Amount Item Project Title Proponent Site Involved Duration (in Approved approximation) Value at Fung Yuen Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest 7 Nature Conservancy Long Valley 13 hectares 1 March $4,590,960 Conservation Association 2010 to Management (partnering 29 February for Long with Hong 2012 Valley Kong Bird 2010-2012 Watching Society) 8 Wetland Hong Kong Priority Sites 700 hectares 1 January $4,988,200 Management Bird Watching for Enhanced 2012 to Programme for Society Conservation 28 February Fishpond at Ramsar 2013 Site and Deep Bay Wetland outside Ramsar Site 9 Nature Conservancy Long Valley 15.1 hectares 1 March $9,797,050 Conservation Association and Ho 2012 to Management (partnering Sheung 28 February for Long with Hong Heung 2015 Valley Kong Bird 2012-2015 Watching Society) 10 Management Tai Po Fung Yuen 2 hectares 1 February $7,774,266 Agreement on Environmental 2013 to the Private Association 31 January Land with 2016 High Conservation Value at Fung Yuen Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest (2013-2016) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9563
Area for Management Amount Item Project Title Proponent Site Involved Duration (in Approved approximation) 11 Fishpond Hong Kong Ramsar Site 331 hectares 1 March $4,925,172 Conservation Bird Watching 2013 to Scheme in Society 28 February Ramsar Site 2015 (2013-2015) 12 Hong Kong Hong Kong Deep Bay 402 hectares 1 March $6,665,052 Got Bird Watching Wetland 2013 to Fishpond ― Society Outside 28 February Eco-fishpond Ramsar Site 2015 Management Agreement Scheme 2013-2015 13 Hong Kong Hong Kong Deep Bay 402 hectares 1 March $6,606,968 Got Bird Watching Wetland 2015 to Fishpond ― Society Outside 28 February Eco-fishpond Ramsar Site 2017 Management Agreement Scheme 2015-2017 14 Fishpond Hong Kong Ramsar Site 330 hectares 1 March $6,614,888 Conservation Bird Watching 2015 to Scheme in Society 28 February Ramsar Site 2017 2015-2017 15 Nature and Conservancy Long Valley 16.9 hectares 1 March $9,710,231 Human in Association and Ho 2015 to Harmony ― (partnering Sheung 31 August Nature with Hong Heung 2017 Conservation Kong Bird Management Watching for Long Society) Valley 2015-2017 9564 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Area for Management Amount Item Project Title Proponent Site Involved Duration (in Approved approximation) 16 Management Environmental Fung Yuen 1.9 hectares 1 February $8,920,455 Agreement on Association 2016 to the Private 31 January Land with 2019 High Conservation Value at Fung Yuen Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest (2016-2019) Total $87,074,422
Note:
No applications for Management Agreement projects made to the Environment and Conservation Fund have been rejected so far.
MR TONY TSE (in Cantonese): President, the Secretary indicated in his written reply that the MA Scheme has made "encouraging" achievements since its implementation. However, he has replaced "encouraging" with "positive" in his oral reply just now. I concur that the results of the MA Scheme are not encouraging at all because the Scheme focuses on a couple of conservation sites only. Here is the supplementary question I wish to raise. As it has frequently been pointed out in recent press reports that the ecology of conservation sites is being ruined because the Scheme may involve many property rights and developments of private land owners, may I ask the Secretary if it has been considered during the review in 2011 or at present that the progress of the MA Scheme is slow because the Development Bureau has failed to do its part? Has the Secretary considered reviewing the Scheme or simply having the Development Bureau take over the Scheme?
SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (in Cantonese): President, according to my understanding, the supplementary question raised by Mr TSE concerns our implementation of the MA Scheme at sites of relatively high LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9565 ecological value. In fact, as referred to in the main reply, the MA Scheme has made positive progress and results. In a number of conservation sites, including Fung Yuen, Long Valley and Ho Sheung Heung, Ramsar Site and Deep Bay Wetland outside Ramsar Site, we are collaborating with local people and NGOs in launching MA projects to achieve conservation results jointly.
I have cited some examples in the main reply just now, including the notable increase in the number of bird species recorded in Long Valley since the implementation of the MA Scheme. All these examples objectively reflect the positive achievements made in conservation. Regarding how to further enhance the Scheme, I think we should consider all positive proposals with an open mind. Meanwhile, as Members are aware, the Government is formulating its first Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for Hong Kong, which aims to further strengthen our work on nature conservation by gathering the views of the community on the Plan as a whole.
Hence, regarding the Member's supplementary question, my reply is that the Environmental Bureau collaborates with other departments to jointly promote Hong Kong's nature conservation. I think that the MA Scheme has in general achieved positive results.
MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): President, according to the Annex to the main reply, the sixth item of the Nature Conservation Management Agreement Projects is located in Fung Yuen, Tai Po. The project has an area for management of 2 hectares, for which about $5 million in funding has been approved. May I ask the Secretary to explain why the eighth item, a 700-hectare site located at Deep Bay Wetland, has only been approved an amount of about $4.9 million? What are the authorities' criteria for vetting and approval? Why is there such a big difference?
SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (in Cantonese): President, I thank the Member for the supplementary question. In my opinion, each conservation project has its own specifics, and I may not be able to give the details of each of them here. However, according to my understanding, regarding the input of conservation efforts to a particular site, the NPOs concerned would submit a proposal for the Government's vetting and approval based on factors such as the area of the site and the conservation work needed for the site. Hence, this is an 9566 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 interactive process. While the area for management may affect the input of work or funds, they may not be in direct proportion. As such, I hope you would understand that each conservation site, regardless of its size, has its respective demand for the conservation of species. While some sites call for more proactive input of manpower, others would require more static and passive conservation. They should not be treated in the same light.
MR MA FUNG-KWOK (in Cantonese): President, I have a question for the Government. The Annex shows that while 16 projects have been implemented in the past 10 years, only four organizations have been involved. Among them, one organization undertook a number of projects. Of the $87 million funding approved under the whole Scheme, the aforesaid organization alone has taken up more than $50 million. In this connection, does the Government consider the response to the Scheme far from satisfactory? What is the reason for that? Is it because there too few environmental groups in Hong Kong that we do not have enough organizations to participate in the projects? Why is it that an individual group has been allocated a large amount of resources? Will the Secretary please explain the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (in Cantonese): President, I thank the Member for the supplementary question. The issue raised is worthy of further exploration and discussion. The effectiveness of conservation projects hinges on these key factors: first, the co-operation with, and facilitation by, the local people; second, the availability of appropriate, keen and competent concerned NGOs which have an interest in a particular conservation site or project, as well as sufficient backing and capability to take part; and third, government support in terms of funding. The first two are key factors determined by whether there are enough local people who are willing to undertake the work in this respect.
In my opinion, the Member has mentioned another key factor in his supplementary question. At present, the organizations which actually play an active role in assisting the management of sites of high ecological value are limited both in terms of overall ability and quantity, given that relevant professionals in this area have to be gradually trained after all.
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We have noticed that the organizations which currently engage in the work in this respect are mainly a few relatively experienced groups. We certainly encourage them to proactively seek further expansion as well. In fact, in the face of their own challenges and opportunities, these organizations have to increase their manpower to deal with the work in the respect. We are also aware of other opportunities, and we are actively discussing with various organizations the feasibility of extending the MA Scheme to other sites. In addition to a few major organizations, we hope that other groups would gradually devote more resources and staff training to enhance the work in this respect.
Notwithstanding the objective constraints on the expansion of conservation work, we believe the community at large do hope that more conservation-related organizations and personnel would work together on nature conservation. Nature conservation can only achieve results with the concerted efforts of the Government, the community and local villagers.
MR TANG KA-PIU (in Cantonese): President, the 16 projects listed in the Annex to the main reply are all related to the conservation of animal species or the environment. My supplementary question concerns Tung Ping Chau, which is not only a country park, but also a marine park and a geological park. Many aspects of Tung Ping Chau are worthy of conservation, including the lifestyle of the local residents and more than 100 worn-out shale buildings. May I ask the Secretary if the Scheme would cover the conservation of rural areas and the lifestyle of local residents? Given the lack of water and power supply there, will the Secretary offer them assistance through this Scheme?
SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr TANG for his supplementary question. Since villages have great ecological, visual and traditional value, the Government adopts a positive attitude towards the conservation of rural environment.
As the Chief Executive has mentioned in his 2015 Policy Address, the Government takes a positive attitude in adopting a new, flexible approach to supporting and harnessing the effort of the community. The Government hopes to work with NGOs and local villagers to protect our rural environment. 9568 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Regarding the supplementary question of the Member, I would like to point out that we deal with our work in this respect with a positive, new and flexible attitude.
Hence, as I mentioned just now, discussion through various channels is also underway at sites not currently under the MA Scheme, with a view to exploring ways to enhance co-operation among the Government, the community and local villagers to jointly protect the ecological species, the ecological environment and the rural landscape. We also hope that we can adopt a co-operative attitude and a new mindset to better protect and conserve the rural areas through government funding support or other means, so as to benefit the whole community.
MR LEUNG CHE-CHEUNG (in Cantonese): President, the nature conservation policy is certainly a good policy, but I have also heard a lot of criticism of the Scheme, particularly about the conservation areas which cover a lot of private land. For instance, there are a lot of private fishponds in the wetland conservation area in Yuen Long. Through the Scheme, the Government has also compensated the owners of the fishponds for the loss arising from birds feeding on their fishponds. It can be said that the Scheme is beneficial to the three parties, namely the public, the owners of the fishponds and the proponents of projects under the Scheme, thus enabling them to continue with the implementation of the Scheme.
However, many criticisms are directed at insufficient government funding for the Scheme. Is it an appropriate practice for the Government to pay for compensation under the Scheme with the ECF? Is the amount of funding sufficient to sustain this Scheme? In this connection, will the Secretary please explain in detail the possibility of increasing the funding of the ECF in order to sustain the conservation work?
SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr LEUNG for his supplementary question. I cannot agree more with Mr LEUNG. We hope to achieve a win-win situation with this approach. In addition to achieving conservation, public concerns and awareness about conservation will be raised, and local villagers will also benefit from the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9569 protection of the environment. Every project of course has its own specifics, and I may not be able to elaborate on them now. That said, my main reply has set out some examples, such as the conservation sites of the Ramsar Site and Deep Bay Wetland outside Ramsar Site. For the fishponds which have aroused the concern of Mr LEUNG, we have achieved results on conservation with funding support through the MA Scheme to compensate or rent the fish ponds.
As a matter of course, I may not able to elaborate for Members on the specifics of each project now. However, in general, we strive to strike a balance among all parties to each project. In other words, the relevant committees under the ECF are responsible for vetting and approving MA Scheme proposals. The committees would strive to strike a balance during the process to ensure that public funds are properly used, conservation is achieved, and the livelihood of villagers can be sustained, so that the interests of all parties concerned can be balanced. If Members are interested in the specifics of the projects, we may discuss them later, but in general I think the Scheme has balanced the interests of all parties concerned.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): This Council has spent almost 23 minutes on this question. Third question.
Nursing Manpower in Public Hospitals
(Dr KWOK Ka-ki stood up)
DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): I request a headcount.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.
(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)
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PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Prof Joseph LEE, please raise your main question.
3. PROF JOSEPH LEE (in Cantonese): President, regarding the nursing manpower in public hospitals, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the following information in respect of each of the specialties in various public hospitals in each of the past five years: the number of nurses, the inpatient bed occupancy rate, as well as the respective nurse-to-bed ratios for the three shifts of morning, afternoon and night (set out by name of hospital and by specialty in a table);
(2) as the inpatient bed occupancy rate in various acute hospitals generally exceeded 100% during the recent influenza peak season, of the measures taken by the Hospital Authority (HA) in respect of manpower, resources deployment and operation to relieve the shortage of nursing manpower, as well as the measures in place to deal with the shortage of nursing manpower in the long run; and
(3) given that the Government has mentioned in this year's Policy Address that some 5 000 additional public hospital beds will be provided under its hospital development plan for the coming decade, of the number of beds for specialist services among these additional beds; the projected number of additional nurses to be recruited, occupancy rate of these additional beds, and respective nurse-to-bed ratios for the three shifts of morning, afternoon and night (set out such information by name of hospital); the details of HA's overall nursing manpower plan in the coming decade, and the projected annual numbers of nurses to be recruited (broken down by rank of nurses)?
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, my reply to the Member's question on the nursing manpower in public hospitals is as follows:
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(1) The Hospital Authority (HA) provides different types and levels of services for patients according to their individual conditions and needs. To meet the operational needs, the HA deploys nursing manpower flexibly, and does not set rigid nurse-to-patient ratios. Neither has the HA prescribed any nurse-to-bed ratios for the morning, afternoon and night shifts. Nevertheless, the HA has developed a workload assessment model to assess the nursing workload and staffing requirements based on factors such as patient number, patient dependency and nursing activities. The HA will take into account the manpower requirements as assessed by this model when planning new services.
Annex 1 and Annex 2 set out the number of nurses and bed occupancy rates of various HA clusters in the past five years respectively.
(2) In order to cope with the increase in service demand due to the ageing population and prevalence of seasonal influenza, the HA has included service capacity enhancement as a key element in the 2015-2016 Annual Plan. Apart from providing 250 new beds, the HA will, on top of the additional resources for the provision of these 250 new beds, provide extra doctors, nurses and other supporting staff to strengthen services. In 2016-2017, the HA will continue to augment service capacity, including providing 231 additional beds and continuing to recruit healthcare staff. It is projected that the number of full-time equivalent doctors, nurses and allied health professionals for the year will be increased by 145, 411 and 234 respectively as compared to 2015-2016.
To further cope with the increase in service demand due to the prevalence of seasonal influenza, the HA has formulated a series of step-up measures to provide support for discharged patients and emergency services, and enhance bed deployment and patient flow. Examples of such measures include enhancing support for discharged elderly patients through the Community Geriatric Assessment Service, increasing the service capacity of convalescent hospitals and further facilitating the transfer of patients in stable condition to convalescent hospitals within the cluster. Moreover, 9572 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
from mid to end March 2016, the HA has increased the weekly general out-patient clinic quota by around 2 000 to ease the burden on accident and emergency departments.
On manpower, the HA has implemented the following measures to address manpower shortage:
(i) Special Honorarium Scheme (SHS): To better utilize existing manpower to address service demand during winter surge, the HA Head Office will co-ordinate the SHS and provide funding for its implementation. Greater flexibility for participation is allowed to encourage more colleagues to join the scheme;
(ii) Continuous recruitment of full-time and part-time healthcare staff: Public hospitals will continue to recruit full-time and part-time healthcare staff. The HA Head Office will co-ordinate and provide funding for the recruitment of part-time healthcare staff to strengthen the flexibility in staff deployment, thereby easing the workload of front-line staff; and
(iii) Special Retired and Rehire Scheme (SRRS): Depending on service needs and funding availability, the HA will consider extending the existing SRRS to retired doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and supporting staff as appropriate subject to an age limit of 65.
In addition, the HA also continues to launch a series of measures to retain talents. These measures include:
(i) Enhancement of promotion opportunities: During the period from 2008-2009 to 2015-2016, the HA created 106 Nurse Consultant posts. In 2014-2015, an additional Senior Nursing Officer post was created for each of the cluster hospitals. During the past three years, a total of 1 358 nurses were promoted;
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(ii) Provision of more training opportunities: The Institute of Advanced Nursing Studies of the HA offers 26 nursing specialist training courses each year for nurses to continuously pursue further studies after graduation. The HA will also provide subsidies for over 100 senior nurses to undergo further studies and training overseas each year;
(iii) Enhancement of preceptorship support: Under HA's preceptorship program, experienced nurses are recruited through formats such as special allowance and part-time employment to serve as preceptors to provide guidance for newly recruited nurses in an actual clinical setting, thereby familiarizing them with ward procedures and environment as well as alleviating the work pressure of other experienced nursing staff in coaching new nurses. The HA will also provide simulation training for newly recruited nurses to enhance their first aid and emergency handling skills;
(iv) Improvement of work environment: The HA has installed 6 000 additional electrically-operated beds and over 500 ceiling hoist systems to facilitate the lifting and transfer of patients. This can help simplify the burdensome work processes of ward staff and improve the work environment and facilities, thereby relieving the work pressure of front-line nurses; and
(v) Recruitment of additional ward clerks and ward assistants: The HA will recruit additional ward clerks and ward assistants to assist nurses in carrying out clerical work and providing patient care to ease the workload of nurses.
With the implementation of various measures to improve manpower supply, the number of nurses in the HA has been increasing in the past few years. The number of full-time equivalent nurses increased from 22 759 on 31 March 2014 to 24 548 on 31 March 2016. In 2016-2017, the HA plans to recruit more than 1 700 nurses and it is expected that the number of nurses will be increased to 24 959 on 31 March 2017.
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(3) The HA will take forward the construction, expansion and redevelopment of various hospital projects in the coming 10 years to provide about 5 000 additional beds to meet the healthcare service needs of the public.
In enhancing the hardware and service capacity of hospitals, the HA also attaches great importance to healthcare manpower supply. Nevertheless, as mentioned in Part (1) above, the HA will deploy nursing manpower flexibly to meet the operational needs and will not set rigid nurse-to-patient or nurse-to-bed ratios. Other details such as the number of beds in different specialties, the number of additional nurses required and the expected bed occupancy rate will be worked out at a later stage.
The HA has a mechanism in place to assess manpower requirements and conduct manpower planning to ensure the sufficient provision of healthcare staff to meet the needs. Moreover, the HA has been recruiting full-time and part-time nursing staff and it will actively employ any suitable candidates who meet the job requirements.
On the training of local nurses, there are currently over 2 800 nursing training places in Hong Kong each year. The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University provide a total of 630 University Grants Committee-funded degree places annually. The HA, private hospitals and other higher education institutions also operate a variety of self-financing nursing programmes, offering 400, 310 and 1 537 places respectively each year. The Government provides subsidies for students to pursue designated self-financing undergraduate programmes in nursing discipline starting from the 2015-2016 academic year. The number of subsidized places increased from 420 in 2015-2016 academic year by 60 to 480 in 2016-2017 academic year. The HA anticipates that with the increasing number of nursing graduates in the coming years, the problem of shortage in nursing manpower will be alleviated.
On the training of non-local nurses, the Nursing Council of Hong Kong has increased the frequency of the Licensing Examination from once to twice a year since 2016 to attract more non-locally trained nurses to practise in Hong Kong, thereby alleviating the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9575
problem of the shortage in nursing manpower in the local public and private healthcare system.
In response to the challenges of an ageing population and increasing demand for healthcare services with higher expectations, the Government is conducting a strategic review on healthcare manpower planning and professional development in Hong Kong. The review aims to make recommendations that would enable our society to better meet the projected demand for healthcare professionals including nurses as well as to foster professional development. We expect that the review will be completed in mid-2016. The Government will then publish the report and consult stakeholders on how to take forward the recommendations accordingly.
The HA will continue to monitor the manpower situation and implement various measures to attract and retain staff, with a view to relieving the situation of the shortage in nursing manpower. In addition, appropriate arrangements will be made in manpower planning to ensure sufficient provision of healthcare manpower and facilities to meet service demand upon completion of various hospital development and redevelopment/expansion projects.
Annex 1
Number of nurses in each of the past five years (broken down by the HA cluster and major specialty)
Obstetrics Orthopaedics Cluster Medicine and and Paediatrics Psychiatry Surgery Gynaecology traumatology 2011-2012 (as at 31 March 2012) Hong Kong East 556 70 68 59 212 130 Hong Kong West 651 140 76 200 96 414 Kowloon Central 537 157 73 164 221 241 Kowloon East 739 128 128 149 113 162 Kowloon West 1 351 212 175 226 589 361 New Territories East 980 193 217 236 253 296 New Territories West 635 144 67 145 654 160 9576 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Obstetrics Orthopaedics Cluster Medicine and and Paediatrics Psychiatry Surgery Gynaecology traumatology 2012-2013 (as at 31 March 2013) Hong Kong East 572 70 65 61 216 127 Hong Kong West 671 140 76 197 116 472 Kowloon Central 598 161 79 188 244 251 Kowloon East 760 130 150 159 118 168 Kowloon West 1 349 210 178 226 590 350 New Territories East 1 056 205 223 249 281 305 New Territories West 592 137 128 149 674 163 2013-2014 (as at 31 March 2014) Hong Kong East 688 95 103 104 229 155 Hong Kong West 677 147 77 205 113 485 Kowloon Central 625 166 86 201 235 253 Kowloon East 879 123 156 157 131 170 Kowloon West 1 478 238 206 257 636 393 New Territories East 1 128 218 235 265 283 323 New Territories West 665 135 148 152 688 194 2014-2015 (as at 31 March 2015) Hong Kong East 740 106 106 103 229 171 Hong Kong West 700 155 84 207 112 484 Kowloon Central 686 168 88 200 242 276 Kowloon East 908 125 176 168 134 179 Kowloon West 1 523 246 212 279 674 416 New Territories East 1 185 228 240 275 286 336 New Territories West 739 133 156 160 684 200 2015-2016 (as at 31 December 2015) Hong Kong East 776 109 109 108 238 202 Hong Kong West 717 158 88 222 110 487 Kowloon Central 735 171 94 209 241 283 Kowloon East 930 121 170 168 139 180 Kowloon West 1 562 246 228 289 675 432 New Territories East 1 191 240 238 275 290 345 New Territories West 795 139 156 169 688 204
Notes:
(1) The manpower figures are calculated on the number of full-time equivalent staff (including permanent, contract and temporary staff).
(2) The specialty of medicine includes hospice, rehabilitation and infirmary. Surgery specialty includes neurosurgery and cardiothoracic surgery. Paediatrics specialty includes adolescent medicine and neonatology. Psychiatry specialty includes mentally handicapped.
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Annex 2
In-patient bed occupancy rate in each of the past five years (broken down by the HA cluster and major specialty)
2011-2012 Cluster HA Major specialty HKEC HKWC KCC KEC KWC NTEC NTWC Overall Medicine 83% 76% 95% 91% 91% 97% 98% 91% Gynaecology 89% 59% 85% 70% 82% 66% 92% 75% Obstetrics 77% 68% 69% 73% 70% 65% 93% 72% Orthopaedics and 82% 70% 91% 102% 86% 88% 97% 88% Traumatology Paediatrics 88% 69% 69% 72% 60% 87% 79% 72% Surgery 69% 83% 86% 79% 71% 86% 93% 79% Psychiatry 74% 81% 86% 76% 80% 70% 75% 77%
2012-2013 Cluster HA Major specialty HKEC HKWC KCC KEC KWC NTEC NTWC Overall Medicine 87% 82% 99% 94% 95% 101% 99% 95% Gynaecology 90% 53% 90% 70% 84% 69% 98% 76% Obstetrics 75% 65% 72% 67% 71% 62% 97% 71% Orthopaedics and 85% 68% 91% 91% 86% 90% 94% 87% Traumatology Paediatrics 87% 69% 70% 76% 63% 81% 89% 73% Surgery 76% 76% 89% 79% 72% 93% 97% 81% Psychiatry 75% 77% 85% 82% 77% 67% 73% 75%
2013-2014 Cluster HA Major specialty HKEC HKWC KCC KEC KWC NTEC NTWC Overall Medicine 91% 83% 105% 99% 99% 105% 106% 99% Gynaecology 95% 53% 85% 53% 84% 70% 99% 72% Obstetrics 71% 59% 69% 58% 63% 57% 90% 65% Orthopaedics and 91% 69% 99% 93% 92% 93% 90% 90% Traumatology Paediatrics 88% 69% 67% 78% 63% 85% 91% 74% Surgery 79% 73% 91% 81% 73% 94% 97% 82% Psychiatry 79% 72% 83% 83% 77% 71% 68% 74%
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2014-2015 Cluster HA Major specialty HKEC HKWC KCC KEC KWC NTEC NTWC Overall Medicine 90% 87% 105% 96% 98% 101% 105% 98% Gynaecology 91% 57% 96% 54% 92% 74% 110% 77% Obstetrics 84% 62% 75% 63% 69% 65% 94% 71% Orthopaedics and 94% 73% 106% 92% 90% 90% 88% 90% Traumatology Paediatrics 75% 68% 68% 71% 65% 80% 93% 72% Surgery 86% 73% 96% 86% 71% 93% 87% 82% Psychiatry 69% 74% 79% 82% 74% 74% 65% 71%
2015-2016 (Provisional figures) Cluster HA Major specialty HKEC HKWC KCC KEC KWC NTEC NTWC Overall Medicine 93% 88% 103% 99% 98% 102% 109% 99% Gynaecology 92% 59% 90% 55% 83% 75% 104% 75% Obstetrics 84% 62% 72% 62% 67% 64% 94% 70% Orthopaedics and 90% 73% 104% 100% 92% 87% 93% 91% Traumatology Paediatrics 85% 66% 70% 79% 72% 84% 100% 77% Surgery 79% 71% 95% 87% 76% 96% 96% 84% Psychiatry 66% 71% 79% 84% 73% 76% 66% 71%
Note:
(1) The HA arranges clinical services on a cluster basis. The patient journey may involve different healthcare units within the same cluster. Service indicators such as in-patient bed occupancy rate should be interpreted at cluster level.
Abbreviations HKEC ― Hong Kong East Cluster HKWC ― Hong Kong West Cluster KCC ― Kowloon Central Cluster KEC ― Kowloon East Cluster KWC ― Kowloon West Cluster NTEC ― New Territories East Cluster NTWC ― New Territories West Cluster
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PROF JOSEPH LEE (in Cantonese): President, in part (3) of the main question, I have requested the Secretary to set out the different nursing manpower requirement for each year because the manpower requirement may vary in the coming decade. However, the Secretary has made no response at all in part (3) of the main reply and merely said that "details … will be worked out at a later date." I do not know what is meant by "at a later date", but it has been reported that there will be an excess supply of psychiatric nurses in the future. And yet, throughout the entire main reply, the Secretary has made no mention of the nursing manpower situation of the various specialties, but only said that nursing manpower will be increased. At present, there are only 200 psychiatric nurses graduating from the University of Hong Kong every year, may I ask the Secretary to tell us whether this is sufficient for the coming decade?
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, as I have pointed out in the main reply just now, the HA is currently planning for the expansion of healthcare facilities and the demand for hospital services in the coming 10 years, we are still at the planning stage and thus unable to provide any future data at the moment. Once the relevant data is available, we will report to the Panel on Health Services.
MR LEE CHEUK-YAN (in Cantonese): President, I am very disappointed because it seems that the Secretary is "duping the nurses". Why would I say so? While the Secretary has mentioned in the main reply that the HA would deploy nursing manpower flexibly, he has also indicated that no nurse-to-bed or nurse-to-patient ratio would be set. Just now the Secretary stated in his reply that a study on the future staff requirements would be conducted and an additional 5 000 beds would be provided, but how can plans be formulated for the future staffing and financial requirements in the absence of the relevant ratios? Hence, I just cannot understand it. In the absence of the relevant ratios, he may play some underhand tricks and say that there is sufficient manpower.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEE, please raise your supplementary question.
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MR LEE CHEUK-YAN (in Cantonese): My supplementary question is very simple: How can the Secretary say that no manpower ratio has been set at all? How can he formulate plans without the relevant ratios? This is because the nurse-to-patient and nurse-to-bed ratios are precisely a part of the planning criteria. Therefore, I would like the Secretary to answer us whether any planning criteria have been formulated for manpower resources.
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, as I have pointed out in part (1) of the main reply, "the HA provides different types and levels of services for patients according to their individual conditions and needs. To meet the operational needs, the HA deploys nursing manpower flexibly". On the other hand, I have also pointed out that "the HA has developed a workload assessment model to assess the nursing workload and staffing requirements based on factors such as patient number, patient dependency and nursing activities. The HA will take into account the manpower requirements as assessed by this model when planning new services."
DR FERNANDO CHEUNG (in Cantonese): President, just now the Secretary said that no nurse-to-patient ratio would be prescribed. However, while each nurse is responsible for taking care of four to six patients according to international experience, the present ratio in Hong Kong stands at 1:11 and even 1:23 during nighttime. As indicated in some academic studies, patient mortality rate has fallen by more than 10% since California enacted legislation 12 years ago to provide for the manpower ratio of nurses of different specialties. I know the Secretary has made it clear in his reply that no relevant ratio would be prescribed, but given that the ratio of Hong Kong is currently two to three times higher than that of the international standard, may I ask if the Secretary has any plan to improve the situation? Particularly, with the emergence of an ageing population in the future, greater demand for healthcare services will be generated. In this connection, will a more serious shortfall of nurses be resulted when the demand from patients increases while the authorities have failed to conduct any planning for the manpower ratio?
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SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, as I have mentioned in the main reply earlier on, in order to tackle the challenges of an ageing population and the community's increasing demand and higher expectation for healthcare services, we are conducting a review on healthcare manpower planning and professional development in Hong Kong and the review has entered the final stage. As I have also pointed out just now, the review is expected to be completed in mid-2016 and a report will then be published to put forward proposals on ways to take forward the recommendations and cater for the demand for healthcare professionals in the future.
MR TONY TSE (in Cantonese): It is an indisputable fact that the shortage of nurses has led to immense work pressure. Hence, there is a need for the Government to put in harder efforts to train up more nurses. The matter that I would like to follow up is: Are the ratios of male-to-female nurses of the past five years largely in line with the Government's estimation? If not, what has the Government done to strike a balance, so as to achieve the target ratio set by the Government to provide better services?
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, as far as planning is concerned, we understand that the differences between male and female in personal professional development and family commitment may affect their long-term service plans, and it has been our established practice to formulate plans based on the total number of staff without drawing a fine distinction between the genders, be they doctors, nurses or staff of other grades. Thus, the relevant data requested by Members are indeed unavailable. However, I believe we have already taken into account the issues raised by Members, such as the different expectations for professional development between people of different genders. Consideration has been given to such aspects when formulating concrete human resources policies.
MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): President, the supplementary question that I wish to raise is related to a point made by the Secretary in the main reply earlier on, which states that instead of setting rigid nurse-to-patient ratio, the HA has developed a workload assessment model. President, it is for sure that the HA has based on objective and quantifiable data to determine its service capacity, the 9582 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 number of patients it can receive as well as the provision of hardware, beds and facilities of various hospitals, and even the recruitment of part-time staff to relieve the manpower shortage. As such, the relevant data must be available. In the international community, such as the United States and Australia, they have even legislated to rigidly set out the nurse-to-patient ratio. Even if no rigid ratios would be set, the workload assessment model developed by the HA, as referred to by the Secretary, should be able to provide some data for reference, such as each nurse has to cater for five to 50 beds. Are such data available for reference? If not, is this attributable to HA's reluctance to reveal the cruel reality to Hong Kong people, which is the continuous shortfall of healthcare resources? After all, this is a matter of the entire government, which has been spending money lavishly on infrastructure projects …
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr FAN, you have raised your supplementary question, so please let the Secretary reply.
MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): … but Hong Kong people have been suffering a longstanding shortage of healthcare resources. Has the workload assessment model provided any relevant data for reference? If it has, how do such data differ from the setting of a rigid nurse-to-patient ratio?
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, according to my understanding, the supplementary question of the Member is asking whether the workload assessment model can provide certain data. Since the ratio concerned is not a simple one, I cannot provide the relevant data for Members. However, I think we can request the HA to provide more details to explain how this workload assessment model operates and submit them to Members after the meeting. (Appendix I)
DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): President, the Secretary has refused to set the nurse-to-patient ratio but only agreed to increase 411 nurses. In the event of an epidemic ― in 2003, for example, an epidemic occurred in Hong Kong because the authorities had concealed the outbreak of SARS ― what implication will it have on nursing manpower and whether any assessment has been carried out in this regard? Last but not least, will the Secretary ask the then top official LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9583 of Guangdong Province, ZHANG Dejiang, who had concealed the epidemic and caused the outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong in 2003, to make an apology to the family of LAU Wing-kai, a nurse who died during the outbreak?
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr KWOK, perhaps you are very obsessed with a certain topic, but I must point out again that your question is irrelevant to this main question.
MR PAUL TSE (in Cantonese): President, in the last but two paragraph of the main reply concerning the training of non-local nurses, the Secretary only said that the frequency of the Licensing Examination has increased from once to twice since 2016, and I wonder if he can provide any concrete figures. If we could recruit more external helpers, especially those of relatively lower seniority, I believe it would greatly help to alleviate the shortage of nurses. Is there any resistance in this regard?
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): President, with regard to the training of non-local nurses, the Nursing Council of Hong Kong has put in place a mechanism which allows non-local nurse graduates to first pass an assessment of qualifications. In other words, all applicants are required to provide information on the courses of their training institutes. After the assessment, if the courses are considered acceptable according to the standard of local nurses, the applicants may then sit for the Licensing Examination. Of course, such an examination is not unique to nurses but also applies to other grades. In order to actively respond to this issue, we have allowed non-local nurse graduates to sit for the relevant examination.
On the question of whether we will step up our efforts in recruiting overseas nurses, we have actually done so before. If Members wish to know the problem that we have previously encountered, I would say it is the language issue. For example, in the recruitment of doctors, we will basically require the clinical doctors to be able to speak Punti, meaning Cantonese. The requirement for non-clinical specialties may be less stringent, but given the need for direct communication with patients, language can be a barrier.
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MR PAUL TSE (in Cantonese): I asked if the relevant data could be provided.
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): I must first ascertain what concrete data Members would like to have before we can provide them.
MR PAUL TSE (in Cantonese): Thank you, President.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Fourth question.
Names of Taiwanese Institutions Containing the Word "National" in Publicity Materials for Publicly Funded Events
4. MR MA FUNG-KWOK (in Cantonese): President, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department …
(Dr KWOK Ka-ki indicated his request for a headcount)
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr MA, please hold. A Member has requested a headcount.
Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.
(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr MA Fung-Kwok, please raise your main question.
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MR MA FUNG-KWOK (in Cantonese): President, the stage drama "The Third Lie", the finale to "The Book of Lies - Twins Trilogy", which was presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and produced by The Nonsensemakers (the drama group), was staged in mid-March this year at Tsuen Wan Town Hall. Subsequently, some members of the drama group revealed that, prior to the publication of the programme booklet for the stage drama, LCSD had requested that the brief biography of the drama group's arts administrator-cum-executive producer be amended by removing the word "National" from the name of her alma mater "Taipei National University of the Arts". Due to the fruitless negotiations between the drama group and LCSD, the drama group eventually removed the whole brief biography and replaced it with a photograph showing a graduation certificate awarded by the University. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has investigated if the aforesaid allegation made by members of the drama group is true; if it has investigated and the outcome is in the affirmative, why LCSD requested the removal of the word "National" from the programme booklet concerned;
(2) given that it has been reported that the names of Taiwanese academic institutions containing the word "National" have been published in the publicity materials for some events (e.g. the Hong Kong Literature Festival held in 2014) organized by LCSD in the past, whether LCSD has formulated any criteria or internal guidelines for its staff to follow regarding whether or not the names of Taiwanese institutions containing the word "National" may be published in the publicity materials for various events; if LCSD has, of the details; if not, whether LCSD will consider formulating such criteria or guidelines; and
(3) based on the authorities' assessment, whether the aforesaid incident will impact on the future cultural exchange activities between Hong Kong and Taiwan; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the impact and the remedial measures to be adopted by the authorities; if the outcome is in the negative, the reasons for that?
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SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, the Government is committed to developing Hong Kong as a cultural metropolis of Asia. In realizing this vision, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) presents diverse and quality arts and cultural programmes from both Hong Kong and overseas throughout the year to serve the plural needs and aspirations of the community and enrich their quality of life by keeping them abreast of the arts scene. The LCSD also actively supports artists and arts groups of various capacities and provides them with opportunities for sustainable development and performances. Programmes staged each year comprise different art forms such as music, theatre, Chinese opera, dance and multi-disciplinary arts.
Over the years, the LCSD has been actively supporting the local arts sector in fostering the diversified development of the arts and culture and collaborating closely with local arts groups. To ensure the smooth staging of performing arts programmes of different genres and art forms, the LCSD maintains effective communication with arts groups based on mutual trust and respect when mapping out and co-ordinating performances. The Government has all long been respecting the freedom of artistic creation, under the established mode of co-operation, the LCSD will render professional assistance to the arts groups in handling matters relating to the venue, staging, ticketing and publicity. This mode of co-operation has served well over the years for promoting the vibrant development of the arts and culture in Hong Kong.
My reply to the question raised by Mr MA Fung-kwok is as follows:
(1) and (2)
The case mentioned in Mr MA Fung-kwok's question mainly involves the production of the house programme of a performance presented by the LCSD. As pointed out above, the LCSD provides assistance in handling matters relating to the venue, staging, ticketing and publicity. As regards the production of house programmes, the texts and pictures in the house programmes were provided by the collaborating arts groups. The LCSD maintains communication with the arts groups concerned on the editing and production of house programmes from time to time to render professional advice and support.
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Having regard to this case, the Home Affairs Bureau and the LCSD have reviewed the departmental procedures on the production of house programmes. It is noted that given the different nature and scale of the programmes, there could be slight variations in the handling among different sections or staff members occasionally. Specifically, the LCSD will assign an office or section responsible for a specific programme based on its nature and scale. The officers concerned will liaise directly with the arts group on matters such as venue, staging, ticketing and publicity, including the production of house programmes. Given that the process involves various work procedures and officers, and that the activities or artistic programmes vary in their nature and scale, their house programmes also have their respective characteristics and styles.
In view of the handling of the case mentioned above and the outcome of the review, we consider that the LCSD could further enhance its communication with the arts groups. On the basis of mutual trust, both parties should accommodate each other's concerns and viewpoints on matters such as venue, staging, publicity and the production of house programmes. The issues should be dealt with in a negotiable manner, and both parties should collaborate to ensure smooth staging of the performance, whereby preventing similar occurrences in the future.
Since all programmes are distinctive in nature and within the professional realm of the performing arts, we consider it appropriate for members of the professional grades in the LCSD to continue their communication with arts groups and co-ordination of related matters, including that on the production of house programmes. Problems should be resolved according to the actual circumstances through deliberation and negotiation with the arts groups. According to this broad principle, it is not necessary for the Home Affairs Bureau to formulate policy guidelines for this matter. Looking forward, the Government will continue to enhance public engagement, and encourage artistic creation and exchanges.
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(3) Established in 2010 as the counterparts of the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council and Taiwan-Hong Kong Cultural Co-operation Committee (THKCCC) in Taiwan, the Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Cooperation and Promotion Council and the Hong Kong-Taiwan Cultural Co-operation Committee (HKTCCC) aim to foster exchanges, liaison and co-operation between the two places in the development of the arts and culture and the creative industries. The HKTCCC and the THKCCC launched the first Cultural Co-operation Forum (the Forum) in 2011 in Hong Kong and agreed to further enhance collaboration and connection between the two places through conducting visits, taking turn in hosting the Forum, fostering the organization of thematic exchange programmes and promoting youth exchange, and so on. Since then, the Forum has been organized for five times with the introduction of the youth cultural and creativity camps to the Forum since 2014 to strengthen exchanges between the young people of Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The HKTCCC has also been organizing the Hong Kong Week with the Government's funding support since 2012. By staging performances and exhibitions in different art forms and extension activities, this annual event in Taipei introduces Hong Kong's distinctive and professional artistic works to the audiences in Taiwan systematically, it also supports the staging of creative works by young local artists in Taiwan and creates collaboration opportunities for arts groups and artists from the two places. With an emphasis on artistic creation, we have brought an array of arts and cultural programmes to the audiences in Taiwan and invited collaboration among arts groups from Hong Kong and Taiwan. The operation has been very smooth. The Hong Kong Week is warmly received by the arts and cultural sectors of the two places, cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and Taiwan in recent years have been fruitful. We will continue our efforts in further promoting cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and Taiwan in the future.
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MR MA FUNG-KWOK (in Cantonese): President, the Secretary spend a good deal of time to answer my main question. As for Part (1) of my question concerning whether the alleged incident was true, with such words as "preventing similar occurrences in the future" in the reply, I presume he has answered it. However, regarding the part on "why" the LCSD requested the removal of the word "National" from the programme booklet, it seems that the Secretary has not given a specific explanation. The Secretary's answer to part (2) is that it is not necessary to formulate policy guidelines for the matter concerned. Perhaps he thinks that since no such guidelines have been formulated in the past, it is not necessary to do so in the future. Part (3) of my question asks whether the incident concerned will impact on the future cultural exchange activities between Hong Kong and Taiwan, to that the Secretary has not given any formal response.
Here I would like to raise a supplementary question. After the incident, several hundred members of the culture sector wrote a joint letter to me to express their feelings that their rights and dignity as artists had been gravely violated. They have also relayed to me the unfair and unreasonable terms in the contracts they signed with the LCSD in the past regarding the staging of their performances. They also have strong views over the LCSD's services in other aspects and hope that the authorities will review such matters and make improvements as soon as possible.
The Secretary has talked about enhancing communication in his response. He has also stressed the need to enhance communication openly on many occasions. May I ask the Secretary how the authorities will enhance their communication with the cultural sector and how he would respond to the aforementioned criticisms and aspirations?
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr MA for the supplementary question. When working with the culture sector, performing sector, artists and arts groups, the authorities fully respect their freedom of artistic creation and freedom of expression. Under these principles, members of the professional grades in the LCSD always discuss matters such as the venue, house programme, ticketing and publicity in a negotiable manner with each arts group or artist who wishes to stage their performance in government venues. As different programmes have different styles, I think rather than formulating a uniform set of policy guidelines for all, it is better to leave the 9590 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 matter to the professionals on both sides. Hence, my response is that it is not necessary to formulate a uniform set of policy guidelines for this matter.
Mr MA has mentioned that some arts groups wish to negotiate with us over issues such as the guidelines for the use of venues or even the approval of their applications. We welcome their views and hope that we can sit down with them to discuss these matters. As far as I know, Mr MA has arranged some arts groups to meet with us and we will discuss with them shortly. I hope that we can deal with these issues in a negotiable manner.
MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): President, since the new Secretary assumed the office, the netizens have been calling him the "rubbish Secretary". Indeed, his answers to our questions are all rubbish. Mr MA Fung-kwok's question clearly asked whether the allegation about the LCSD's request to have the word "National" removed was true and why such a request was made. The Secretary has not answered these questions but merely given us the runaround, and the runaround takes up three pages. He is truly a "rubbish Secretary" …
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr CHAN, please raise your supplementary question.
MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): As the Secretary does not know how to answer complicated questions, I have, upon the advice of Mr CHAN Chi-chuen, modelled my supplementary question after Dr LAM Tai-fai's design which adopts the form of a TSA question, a multiple choice question that is. I do not believe it was the LCSD who requested the removal of the word "National". The request was probably made by a new clerk or someone who had recently assumed a political post. I am 99% sure that the Home Affairs Bureau has instructed the LCSD to make the request.
I wish to ask the "rubbish Secretary" whether the Home Affairs Bureau instructed the LCSD to request for the removal of the word. There are four choices: (A) It did; (B) It did not; (C) He does not know; and (D) He declines to answer. (A), (B), (C) or (D), "rubbish Secretary", do you know how to answer?
(Mr IP Kwok-him stood up)
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MR IP KWOK-HIM (in Cantonese): President, Mr Albert CHAN used offensive expressions in his question.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Albert CHAN, the government officials attending this meeting have equal standing as Members. Hence, Members should not use offensive expressions against government officials in their speeches. I warn you to watch your language. Secretary, please answer.
MR CHAN CHI-CHUEN (in Cantonese): President, point of order. The incident about the removal of "National" happened two months ago but the Secretary still gives such a lousy answer. Mr Albert CHAN's question is very hard to understand. I request a headcount to give the Secretary sufficient time to think.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.
(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, please reply.
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, I have in fact answered the various parts of Mr MA's question directly. Part (1) is about whether an investigation has been made. I have answered that we have investigated the incident and reviewed the LCSD's approach. Part (2) is about the necessity of formulating guidelines and I have answered that it is not necessary to do so. Part (3) asks if the incident has impacted on the cultural exchange activities between Hong Kong and Taiwan. I have answered in the negative, and that we will continue to promote such activities and the development has been vibrant in recent years.
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However, having reviewed this incident, I have found certain inconsistencies and I hope that the LCSD staff will enhance their communication with artists and performers in future. As a matter of fact, each year arts groups stage in government venues some 1 000 programmes of different styles and with different characteristics. Hence, regarding whether a uniform set or standard guidelines should be formulated concerning the production of house programmes after this incident, I do not find it necessary. I hope Mr CHAN will agree with me on this point.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, please answer Mr Albert CHAN's supplementary question.
MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): Hail to our wise President!
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr CHAN, please repeat your supplementary question briefly and watch your language.
MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): The Secretary's IQ is questionable. Even Primary One pupils have higher IQ scores than his.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr CHAN, please briefly repeat your supplementary question.
MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): The TSA question is modelled after Dr LAM Tai-fai's design. My question is: Concerning the request to remove the word "National", did the Home Affairs Bureau instruct the LCSD to make the request? (A) It did; (B) It did not; (C) He does not know; and (D) He declines/refuse to answer. Choose (A), (B), (C) or (D).
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr CHAN, you have repeated your supplementary question very clearly. Please sit down. Secretary, Mr CHAN asks if the Bureau has instructed the LCSD to request for the removal of the word.
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SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, actually I have already answered this point in my main reply. Basically, this kind of production is the co-operation between the professional grade staff of the LCSD and the art groups.
MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): Is his answer (D) then?
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr CHAN, the Secretary has answered your supplementary question.
MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): President, it is pointed out in the main reply that the LCSD should continue to be in charge of the communication work. However, as there are no policy guidelines from the Home Affairs Bureau, if conflicts arise in the future, will the Bureau interfere or it will let the LCSD deal with them on its own?
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, over the years, arts and cultural performances have been staged through the negotiations between arts groups or artists and the professional grade staff of the LCSD, and I have found the results very satisfactory. I have already said that there are some 1 000 such activities each year. In the days to come, I hope that matters regarding the house programme, venue or publicity efforts will be handled by the two sides in a negotiable manner. I consider it most desirable to have the LCSD continue to take charge of them.
MS CYD HO (in Cantonese): President, the whole issue is simply about the curriculum vitae of the producer of the drama. It is common sense to correctly list out the facts. Is there a need to raise the issue to the professional level? There is not, unless political censorship has become a profession. It is exactly because the LCSD has requested the removal of the word "National" that no one believes the LCSD will respect the freedom of artistic creation.
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President, as regards the replies to parts (1) and (2) of main question raised by Mr MA Fung-kwok, it is quite worrisome to hear the Secretary say that matters should be dealt with in a negotiable manner, thereby preventing similar occurrences in the future. By a negotiable manner, does the Secretary mean that he would require the LCSD staff to respect the fact and refrain from arbitrarily altering other people's curriculum vitae, which is extremely offensive; or he would instruct the LCSD staff to negotiate with the arts groups concerned and have them self-censor their house programmes and remove the word "National" voluntarily in order not to affect the staging of their performance? Will the Secretary clearly tell us here why he cannot simply promise to stop this offensive practice of arbitrarily altering other people's education qualifications in future? If he cannot promise that, what are the reasons?
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, we have always abided by the principle of respect for the freedom of artistic creation, freedom of expression and academic freedom when negotiating with arts groups, and we will continue to do so.
Concerning the future, I do not understand why Members have such strong opinions against the concept of "in a negotiable manner". As a matter of fact, we have always negotiated with arts groups in this manner. As I have said just now, we will continue to carry out the work basing on our respect for the freedom of artistic creation, freedom of expression and academic freedom.
MS CYD HO (in Cantonese): President, it is the phrase "in a negotiable manner" that creates ambiguity …
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Please repeat the part of your supplementary question that has not been answered.
MS CYD HO (in Cantonese): … Why can the Secretary not simply promise to require the LCSD staff not to adopt this offensive practice of altering other people's curriculum vitae? What are the reasons for not making such a promise? Secretary, please do not give us the runaround.
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PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, do you have anything to add?
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, I have already said in my main reply that basically we wish to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
MR JAMES TO (in Cantonese): President, why are the officials of the LEUNG Chun-ying Government so fond of hypocritical rhetoric? The problem is concerned about the alteration of the name of the alma mater of a member of an arts group, but the Secretary has talked about different ways of handling programmes that vary in nature, scale, characteristic and style. Then, does he mean that basing on those factors, the word "National" is allowed to be kept at times but has to be removed at some other times? Are there restricted areas and taboos? President, the issue is that simple.
Besides, the Secretary has talked about communication. Does communication mean the LCSD staff telling members of arts groups not to use the word "National", or telling them in a negotiable manner to alter the name of their alma mater voluntarily? Is it so? Is this the communication in a negotiable manner that the Secretary has in mind? No communication is needed to decide whether the word "National" should appear in the name of the alma mater of the arts group members.
I would like to ask the Government whether communication means telling members of arts groups to voluntarily remove the word "National" from the name of their alma mater.
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, when we negotiate with arts groups or artists, the matters covered include not only house programmes but also the venue and publicity. That involves the work in various areas. Besides, there are various kinds of arts groups. If Mr James TO has watched any cultural or artistic performances …
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MR JAMES TO (in Cantonese): I am asking the name of the alma mater of a member of an arts group that appears on the house programme. President, please tell him to answer this question. We are not talking about the number of people, whether it is 10 or 100. That has nothing to do with the appearance of the word "National" on the programme.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr TO, you have raised your supplementary question. Please sit down. Secretary, please concentrate on the issue of the removal of the word "National" from the house programme, which is the Member's key concern.
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, what I wish to say is we will definitely continue to communicate with arts groups. Communication is most important. The mode of expression of the house programmes is also included in the communication. We will definitely maintain good communication with the concerned parties.
MR JAMES TO (in Cantonese): President, the Secretary has not answered my question. Does communication mean altering the name of other people's alma mater? Does discussion "in a negotiable manner" mean the discussion on the alteration of other people's alma mater? Is it like that?
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr TO, the Secretary has responded to your question more than once. Although nine Members are still waiting to ask questions, as we have spent almost 23 minutes on this question, this Council must proceed with the next question. Fifth question.
Measures to Attract Mainland Visitors to Hong Kong
5. MR MICHAEL TIEN (in Cantonese): President, the value of total retail sales in February this year dropped by about 20% as compared with that in the same month of last year, the biggest drop in 17 years. One of the reasons for the poor performance of the retail industry is a drop in Mainland visitor arrivals. Since April last year, Shenzhen permanent residents are no longer issued with one-year multiple-entry Individual Visit Endorsements (i.e. multiple-entry LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9597 endorsements), and they may be issued only with the "one trip per week" Individual Visit Endorsements. The rate of increase of general Mainland arrivals under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) (i.e. excluding those arriving on the multiple-entry endorsements) showed an easing trend as early as two years ago, i.e. 15% for the period from June 2013 to February 2014 down to 6% for the same period in the succeeding year. Some Mainland visitors have indicated that Hong Kong is much less attractive to them than before. Meanwhile, according to the information provided by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, both the number and per capita spending of overnight non-IVS Mainland arrivals in 2015 were higher than those of the general Mainland IVS arrivals, and the percentage of non-IVS Mainland arrivals was also the highest among those of the various types of visitor arrivals. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of a breakdown of last year's 18 million non-IVS Mainland arrivals by the cities from which the visitors came, together with their respective percentages in the total number;
(THE PRESIDENT'S DEPUTY, MR ANDREW LEUNG, took the Chair)
(2) whether the authorities concerned will focus their promotional strategies on the non-IVS Mainland visitors as the major target in promoting inbound tourism this and next year, and consider suggesting to the Mainland authorities, on the premise of introducing a quota system, the inclusion of more Mainland cities in IVS, as well as stepping up promotional efforts and offering travel concessions in those Mainland cities with potential so as to attract their people to visit Hong Kong; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) given that some of the Mainland people have a negative perception of Hong Kong, of the remedial measures to be taken by the authorities?
UNDER SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the Mainland is Hong Kong's largest travel visitor source market. According to the statistics provided by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), amongst the 59.31 million total 9598 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 arrivals in 2015, around 77%, or 45.84 million arrivals, were from the Mainland. Hong Kong's tourism industry has experienced rapid growth through the support of the Mainland's Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) in the past 10 years or so. Since 2015, the local tourism industry has been facing keen competition as a result of a weakening external economy, devaluation of currencies of neighbouring travel destinations and their relaxation of visa requirements for Mainland tourists. A few unfortunate incidents directed against Mainland visitors have also affected the latter's desire to visit Hong Kong.
Facing the above challenges, our policy objective focuses on the steady, healthy and long-term development of the tourism industry. While ensuring the stable and orderly development of the tourism industry, we also seek to minimize as far as possible the inconvenience caused by increasing visitor arrivals to local residents, with a view to striking a balance between the impact of the tourism industry on Hong Kong's economy and the livelihood of the community. As regards Mainland visitors, following our conveyance of views to the Central Government, the Mainland implemented in mid-April last year the "one trip per week" Individual Visit Endorsements measure for permanent residents of Shenzhen. The "one trip per week" measure has been implemented for more than one year. The drop in Mainland visitor arrivals, in particular the number of same-day visitors, is within expectation.
The Government has always been attaching great importance to tourism promotion in the Mainland. In 2016-2017, we will, through the HKTB, continue to promote Hong Kong's hospitable image in the Mainland. By utilizing various channels, including digital and social media marketing and public relations initiatives, we will make greater efforts to promote Hong Kong's image as a hospitable city.
My replies to the three parts of the question raised by Mr Michael TIEN are as follows:
(1) Last year, around 17.9 million Mainland arrivals travelled to Hong Kong under non-IVS endorsements (that is, visitors travelling through tour groups, endorsements for visiting relatives or endorsements for business visits, and so on). The above figure includes visitors coming from IVS and non-IVS cities.
In addition, according to the results of the departing visitor survey undertaken by the HKTB, amongst the 45.84 million total Mainland LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9599
arrivals in 2015, the HKTB estimates that about 5%, or around 2 million arrivals, were from non-IVS cities. Due to the insufficiency in sample size, it was difficult for the HKTB to accurately estimate the arrivals from individual non-IVS city.
(2) As regards tourism promotion in the Mainland, the HKTB will enhance targeted promotion to attract more overnight visitors to visit Hong Kong. According to the HKTB's estimation, about 95% of the total Mainland arrivals were from the 49 IVS cities. As such, the HKTB mainly focuses its promotion in these Mainland cities.
On promotion strategy, the HKTB will roll out promotion according to the preference of consumers in different regions of the Mainland. For example, for non-Guangdong regions, the HKTB will promote family travel during summer and winter vacations riding on the windows of summer promotion and Chinese New Year Celebrations. Leveraging on short holidays and weekend getaway opportunities, the HKTB will promote in different regions of the Mainland those exciting events that take place in Hong Kong. For instance, in the East China region, the HKTB will promote the "Hong Kong Halloween Treats" and the "Hong Kong Arts Month". Whereas in the Central, East and South China (non-Guangdong) regions, the HKTB will promote the "Wine and Dine Month" and the "Winterfest". As regards the Guangdong province, the HKTB will actively promote cruise tourism. Meanwhile, the HKTB will highlight Hong Kong's strength and appeal as a MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) destination to MICE event organizers and corporations in the East and North China regions. To attract visitors' spending in Hong Kong, the HKTB will partner with Alipay, a key online transaction platform in the Mainland and Dianping, a major consumer information website in the Mainland, to promote offers provided by the local merchants and provide downloadable coupons to facilitate visitors' spending in Hong Kong.
In response to the opinion that the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) should request the Central Government to include more Mainland cities under the IVS, as mentioned by the Chief Executive before, currently the IVS is only applicable to 49 out of more than 600 Mainland cities. On the one hand, we are supportive of studying ways to continue to explore the 9600 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Mainland market, but on the other hand, we should minimize as far as possible the inconvenience caused by increasing visitor arrivals to local residents and avoid creating conflicts. The HKSAR Government has no plan to request for the expansion of the IVS. We will continue to monitor the situation and maintain close liaison with the Central Government regarding the overall arrangement for Mainland residents travelling to Hong Kong.
(3) In 2016-2017, the HKTB will make use of the Government's additional funding to step up promotion with a view to strengthening Hong Kong's position as a premier tourist destination in the region. By utilizing digital media, the HKTB will work with personalities in different fields from Hong Kong and the Mainland to subtly promote Hong Kong's hospitable image and diverse tourism appeal through their online platforms such as blogs, Weibo and Wechat. The HKTB will also collaborate with Tencent, a portal with more than 800 million subscribers in the Mainland, to deliver positive messages about Hong Kong and latest tourism updates via its online news channel. Furthermore, the HKTB will enhance its promotion on "Quality and Honest Hong Kong Tours". In collaboration with the Quality Tourism Services Association, the HKTB will also organize road shows in Mainland cities in order to raise consumers' awareness of the Quality Tourism Services Scheme. Overall speaking, the HKTB will continue to collaborate with the Mainland's media organizations, travel websites and trade partners on public relations initiatives through various channels, with a view to rebuilding the hospitable image of Hong Kong.
(Dr KWOK Ka-ki indicated his request for a headcount)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.
(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Michael TIEN, please ask your supplementary question.
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MR MICHAEL TIEN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the Government indicates in the main reply that, "According to the HKTB's estimation, about 95% of the total Mainland arrivals were from the 49 IVS cities. As such, the HKTB mainly focuses its promotion in these Mainland cities." In other words, the Government is still being complacent and relying solely on old visitor sources.
Deputy President, amongst the IVS Mainland arrivals (other than those with multiple-entry endorsements) from 2013 to 2015, the average spending of overnight visitors has dropped from $9,300 to $7,700, while that of non-overnight visitors has dropped from $4,000 to $2,900. What are the consequences of such a trend? To begin with, the value of total retail sales in Hong Kong has declined for 13 consecutive months, and Hong Kong's overall unemployment rate in the first quarter of this year reached 3.4%, with the unemployment rates of the retail, accommodation services and food services sectors standing higher at 5.5%, 5.2% and 4.6% respectively. What measures has the Government taken to tackle the situation? Deputy President, let me read out …
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): You do not have to read it out for me. You only need to ask your supplementary question.
MR MICHAEL TIEN (in Cantonese): … "currently the IVS is only applicable to 49 out of more than 600 Mainland cities. On the one hand, we are supportive of studying ways to continue to explore the Mainland market," …
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Michael TIEN, you need not read out the relevant information any further.
MR MICHAEL TIEN (in Cantonese): But it is very important.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Please ask your supplementary question.
MR MICHAEL TIEN (in Cantonese): But this point is very important, "but on the other hand, we should minimize as far as possible the inconvenience caused by increasing visitor arrivals to local residents", and so on and so forth. Such a reply is pointless, to say the least. What is the Under Secretary talking about? 9602 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
What is left for the Government to continue monitoring? Does he want to continue monitoring until the unemployment rate hits double digits? What is left to be studied? What more is worth studying? I have suggested a win-win proposal, that is, increasing the number of IVS cities on the one hand, and imposing a monthly quota on the total number of Mainland arrivals to avoid overcrowding Hong Kong on the other. The Under Secretary has not answered my question. What is the problem with my win-win proposal? I invite him to give a response now.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Michael TIEN, you have already asked your supplementary question. Please sit down. Under Secretary, please reply.
UNDER SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): Mr TIEN, as I mentioned in the main reply a moment ago, we have no intention to request for the expansion of the IVS for the time being. Regarding Mr TIEN's proposal to impose an overall quota for Mainland arrivals as a checks and balance, I would like to point out that any proposal to impose an overall cap would involve the consideration on the ways to balance the number of visitors as well as the impact on people's daily life and the economy. Hence the SAR Government must carefully monitor the situation and conduct studies from these two perspectives. For the time being, we do not intend to take any further action at this stage.
MR MICHAEL TIEN (in Cantonese): The Under Secretary has not responded to my supplementary question. I asked him what the problem was with my proposal. Given that his concern is the arrival of excessive Mainland visitors, what is the problem with imposing a quota? Can the Under Secretary please respond?
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Michael TIEN, please sit down. Under Secretary, do you have anything to add?
UNDER SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I have already answered the question and have nothing further to add.
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MR POON SIU-PING (in Cantonese): In the main question, Mr Michael TIEN asked about the remedial measures to be taken by the authorities, given that some of the Mainland people have a negative perception of Hong Kong. In response, the Under Secretary stated that additional funding would be provided by the Government to step up promotion with a view to strengthening Hong Kong's position as a premier tourist destination in the region. He also indicated that public relations initiatives would be launched through various channels, with a view to rebuilding the hospitable image of Hong Kong.
Improving the service standard of the tourism industry is definitely a prerequisite for rebuilding the hospital image of Hong Kong. In this regard, I have asked the Government about the number of travel agents penalized in the past three years for requesting tourist guides to make advance payments for the receiving costs, which is a contravention against the receiving arrangements of Mainland inbound tour groups. According to the Government's reply, there were only five such cases in the said period, and all the cases were related to the same travel agent. I would like to ask the Under Secretary whether the number of non-compliant cases is on the low side? What measures will be taken by the Government to strengthen the monitoring of travel agents, so as to raise the service standard of the industry?
UNDER SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the SAR Government has all along maintained close communication and liaison with the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) and other provincial/municipal tourism authorities on development and regulation of the tourism markets in both places. We will also provide them with regular updates regarding the situation of the tourism industry in Hong Kong. In the event of suspected non-compliance cases in Hong Kong, the Tourism Commission and the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TICHK) will inform the CNTA accordingly for its follow-up actions. The Mainland authorities have been supportive of our regulatory work, and we will work together to combat non-compliance cases in the tourism industry.
MS CLAUDIA MO (in Cantonese): Deputy President, as you would probably ban me from displaying this banner, I have put it around my shoulder so that it now forms part of my attire. Earlier, Secretary Prof K C CHAN remarked that people who rejected economic integration with the Mainland should have their 9604 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 brains checked. But nobody would care to check his brain for he does not have the organ at all. I invite him to read the main reply carefully. Amongst the close to 60 million total arrivals in Hong Kong last year, 77% were from the Mainland. Such a phenomenon is a total departure from the element of diversity found in a free economy or free market. The Government's attitude is singularly unitary, with tourism and the retail industry solely relying on the Mainland. In future, is there any industry which does not rely on the Mainland? As a result, Hong Kong's economy has been completely distorted.
Deputy President, my supplementary question is as follows. At present, multiple-entry IVS endorsements have been replaced by "one trip per week" endorsements. But according to a report in Ming Pao Daily News, parents of doubly non-permanent resident children in Shenzhen can visit Hong Kong with 14-day multiple-entry endorsements. In other words, they can come to Hong Kong for unlimited times within two weeks. While the implementation of this arrangement has already been confirmed by the immigration control authorities in Shenzhen, the Security Bureau denied having any knowledge about it. Under Secretary, do you have any knowledge about the matter?
UNDER SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): I think this question falls within the purview of the Security Bureau. Perhaps it is more appropriate for the Security Bureau to reply. However, I would like to point out that …
MS CLAUDIA MO (in Cantonese): Under Secretary, have you given up the power of Hong Kong to vet and approve entry applications? Have you relinquished this power completely?
UNDER SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): Perhaps I can reply to Ms Claudia MO's question about our visitor sources being unitary. Regarding Hong Kong's tourism policy, as I mentioned in the main reply a moment ago, our policy objective focuses on the steady, healthy and long-term development of the tourism industry. We strive to ensure that the tourism industry can develop towards the direction of product diversification and high value-added services, rather than focusing merely on the number of arrivals. To maintain a diverse LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9605 visitor portfolio, the HKTB will continue to focus its marketing work on 20 major source markets around the world, with all resources going towards attracting overnight visitors to Hong Kong.
MR YIU SI-WING (in Cantonese): Deputy President, as we all know, the Shanghai Disneyland will open in June, while the Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai has already opened earlier on. It is expected that these two new attractions will, in addition to impacting on the number of visitors to Hong Kong's two major tourist attractions, further dampen the number of Mainland visitors to Hong Kong, especially overnight visitors.
I note from the Government's main reply that preparation is being made to promote the "Hong Kong Halloween Treats" and the "Hong Kong Arts Month" in the East China region; whereas in the Central, East and South China (non-Guangdong) regions, efforts will be made to promote the "Wine and Dine Month" and the "Winterfest". As regards the Guangdong province, efforts will be focused on promoting cruise tourism. But then, all these are actually ongoing promotions that have been launched in the past few years. Faced with the new challenges, I have yet to see any new initiatives from the authorities or the HKTB to attract more visitors, especially overnight visitors from the East China region and the Guangdong Province. Will the authorities introduce new and targeted initiatives in this regard, so as to boost the industry's confidence by letting them know that there is better development ahead?
UNDER SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): Deputy President, thanks to Mr YIU for the supplementary question. To enhance Hong Kong's attractiveness and competitiveness, the Financial Secretary announced in the 2016-2017 Budget speech that $240 million would be set aside for Government and the industry to jointly launch five measures to support tourism and increase Hong Kong's attractiveness as a tourist destination. First, the authorities will expand the scale of major events to be held this year, including the "Wine and Dine Month", and publicity will also be stepped up. Second, we will support the HKTB's initiatives to re-package Hong Kong's tourism image with new promotional videos and to launch a new round of publicity for short-haul markets in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and the Mainland. Third, we will assist the industry to open up new visitor sources through various means, including the continued implementation of the matching fund for promoting tourist attractions, promotion 9606 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 of MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) tourism and "fly-cruise" tours, and so on. Fourth, through the TICHK, we will subsidize small and medium-sized travel agents on a matching basis to make use of information technology. Fifth, we will continue to promote Hong Kong's natural scenery as well as our unique history and culture, including enriching the contents of the Dr Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr YIU Si-wing, has your supplementary question not been answered?
MR YIU SI-WING (in Cantonese): The Under Secretary has not answered my question directly. My question is that in view of the recent opening of the Ocean Kingdom in the Guangdong Province and the forthcoming opening of the Disneyland in the East China Region, have the authorities introduced any initiatives with special focus on these two regions? The measures he mentioned just now are all general ones.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Under Secretary, do you have anything to add?
UNDER SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): Thanks to Mr YIU for the follow-up question. In fact, the point raised in Mr YIU's question has already been covered by the main reply I gave a moment ago. Various initiatives relating to promotion and publicity in the East China Region have already been included in the HKTB's work plan for the coming year.
MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I would like to follow up part (3) of the main question, that is, the point about Mainland people having a negative perception of Hong Kong. A moment ago, Mr Michael TIEN criticized the Government's complacency, but in fact Mr TIEN of the New People's Party is likewise complacent because he still attaches greater importance to quantity over quality of our visitors, hoping that the problems created by the IVS policy can be addressed by including more Mainland cities under the IVS.
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I have the following question for the Government. Before the IVS policy was implemented in 2003, the tourism industry of Hong Kong was still thriving. But after 2003, unscrupulous practices in the industry started emerging, and to name a few: zero/negative tour fares, rude tourist guides, coerced shopping, refusing to let tour group members check in at hotels if they refuse to shop and the so-called "shadow tour group members". There was even an incident involving a Mainland tourist who died in Hong Kong after being hit by a Mainland tourist guide. All these incidents will cause Mainland visitors to have a negative perception of Hong Kong for sure. I would like to ask the Government what system-level measures have been taken to curb zero/negative tour fares or these deplorable "Mainlandized" practices as I call them. Are there any statistics to show that such measures taken by the Government are indeed effective?
UNDER SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): Deputy President, in fact, I have already given the answer. We have all along maintained close liaison with the CNTA and other provincial/municipal tourism authorities. With regard to the irregularities in the operation of Hong Kong's tourism industry, we have established close communication with the relevant Mainland authorities, and we will provide them with the necessary information for follow up.
Regarding the unfortunate death of the Mainland tourist, we all found it regrettable, and the Government has attached great importance to the incident. In light of the incident, the Government has announced various measures to strengthen the regulation of Mainland inbound tour groups, with a view to minimizing the problems arising from zero/negative tour fares and coerced shopping through a multi-pronged approach. Some measures have been implemented, including the requirement that travel agents must submit the relevant contracts to the TICHK within two days after a letter requesting the submission of such contracts was issued by the TICHK, the provision of regular information to the Mainland tourism authorities concerning the average costs of receiving Mainland inbound tour groups by Hong Kong travel agencies, and the strengthening of co-operation with the Mainland authorities to promote "Honest and Quality Hong Kong Tours". The Government will continue to work closely with the TICHK and the relevant law-enforcement agencies to follow up the implementation of these measures, and a review will be conducted in due course.
9608 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Separately, the Government will allocate an additional $5 million to the HKTB this year to continue stepping up publicity on the Mainland for "Honest and Quality Hong Kong Tours" as part of the initiative to promote Hong Kong's image as a hospitable city. The relevant measures include launching publicity through major tourism websites covering different regions on the Mainland, with a view to attracting Mainland consumers to choose "honest and quality" tour products, and enabling Mainland visitors to have a truly enjoyable stay in Hong Kong, instead of getting some unpleasant experience from joining "zero/negative-fare" tours.
MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, my supplementary question is not just about whether any measures have been taken, but also whether any statistics are available to quantify or prove the claim that such measures are indeed effective.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Under Secretary, do you have anything to add?
UNDER SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): Deputy President, as I have kept emphasizing just now, we will maintain close liaison with the Mainland tourism authorities, as well as the TICHK and the HKTB, in following up each and every case. We will never tolerate any non-compliant cases of travel agents, or any incident involving impolite acts or personal safety threats against tourists in Hong Kong.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Last oral question.
Impacts of Filibusters on Government's Implementation of Policies and Hong Kong Society
6. MR WONG TING-KWONG (in Cantonese): At the Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting on 19 February this year, the Chief Secretary for Administration (CS) criticized some Members of this Council for pursuing resistance by means of filibustering in this Council (e.g. deliberately creating situations of meetings being adjourned due to a lack of quorum and proposing motions to adjourn LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9609 proceedings), thereby deliberately impeding the Government's implementation of policies and causing the operation of this Council to lose its balance. In addition, at the LegCo meeting on 20 April this year, the Secretary for Development pointed out that filibusters had resulted in extremely slow progress in the vetting and approval of the funding applications of works projects, which had not only adversely affected the construction industry, but also hindered economic development and weakened Hong Kong's competitiveness. Moreover, a number of chambers of commerce in Hong Kong have jointly pointed out that the growth in Gross Domestic Product is declining year by year, and the retail and tourism industries have found themselves in the midst of a harsh winter. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has studied the impacts of filibusters on the executive-led system, which has all along been implemented in Hong Kong; if it has studied, of the outcome; given that there are views that filibusters have led to a waste of public money in the amount of $2.55 million daily, whether the authorities have calculated the amount of public expenditure incurred by filibusters since the 2014-2015 financial year;
(2) given that the CS pointed out at the LegCo meeting on 19 February this year that within the remainder of the current session, the Finance Committee of this Council needed to vet and approve nearly 50 funding proposals, and the Public Works Subcommittee and the Establishment Subcommittee needed to discuss 60 and 30 funding proposals respectively (quite a number of which are pertinent to economic development and improvement of people's livelihood), whether the authorities have studied the impacts of persistent filibusters on aspects such as economic development, infrastructure projects and people's livelihood; if they have studied, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) whether it has studied the impacts of the Finance Committee not being able to timely vet and approve the relevant funding applications of public works projects on contractors, engineers, architects and workers; if it has studied, of the outcome?
(Mr CHAN Chi-chuen stood up)
9610 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr CHAN Chi-chuen, what is your point?
MR CHAN CHI-CHUEN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I request a headcount.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.
(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, please reply to the main question.
UNDER SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, my consolidated reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:
The Legislative Council has the responsibility to enact, amend and repeal laws in accordance with legal procedures and to examine and approve budgets introduced by the Government. The Government always pays due regard to the functions and powers of the Legislative Council and attaches great importance to the relationship between the executive authorities and the legislature.
Over the past few years, some Members have impeded the normal operations of the Legislative Council by filibustering, in an attempt to force the Government to accede to their demands. The Appropriation Bill 2016 was passed by the Legislative Council last week. Thanks to the filibustering, it took the Legislative Council three more rounds of meetings to scrutinize the Bill when compared with the usual completion of the process by around the end of April in the past. Besides, meetings were adjourned three times due to a lack of quorum. In fact, this is already the fourth year in which Members put forward loads of amendments to the Appropriation Bills and made incessant quorum calls for the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9611 purpose of filibustering. Scrutiny work often lasted until the end of May or even June in these years, driving the Government to the verge of a "fiscal cliff" and affecting government payment cycles for the Hospital Authority, the Legislative Council Commission, the University Grants Committee and trading funds, and so on.
Filibusters have not only been staged during the Legislative Council's scrutiny of the Appropriation Bills and other bills at Council meetings. The meetings of the Finance Committee (FC) and its Public Works Subcommittee (PWSC) and Establishment Subcommittee (ESC) have also been affected by individual Members' filibusters from time to time. The objective result is a serious congestion of agenda items. In terms of time spent, it took an average of 1.12 hours for the FC to vet and approve an item in the 2012-2013 Legislative Session. However, as of 13 May 2016, the average time required for vetting and approving an item has multiplied to 3.21 hours. For some controversial items, the time required was often as long as tens of hours. As to project items, proposals of works projects will in general be put forward to the relevant Legislative Council panels to seek their support before being submitted to the PWSC for deliberation and finally to the FC for approval. On average, it takes about nine months for a works project to go through the process of obtaining the support of the relevant Legislative Council panel(s) and until the approval of the FC, while it took only about seven months in the 2014-2015 Legislative Session and about three months in the 2005-2006 Legislative Session, representing a two-fold increase.
Although we have not conducted any quantitative assessment on the implications of Members' filibusters on public funds, the considerable extension of time required for the Legislative Council to scrutinize various issues and frequent adjournment of the Legislative Council meetings due to a lack of quorum have incurred additional public expenditure.
It is indeed worrying especially given the present economic situation of Hong Kong. As an externally oriented, small and open economy, Hong Kong is susceptible to changes in the external environment. Infrastructure developments are important long-term investments that help strengthen our competitiveness. Continuous and steady investment in capital works projects can also contribute in no small measure to promoting economic growth and maintaining overall 9612 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 employment, creating a buffer against economic downturn. Moreover, public works projects are closely related to people's livelihood. The project items pending FC's scrutiny include schools, sports centres, community halls, cycle tracks and infrastructural facilities related to land and public housing developments, many of which are long awaited by the communities.
At present, the annual expenditure on capital works projects accounts for about one third of the overall expenditure for public and private works projects in Hong Kong. There are over 0.3 million practitioners, including workers, professionals and other related personnel, in the local construction industry, accounting for about 10% of our total labour force. In the middle to long term, if the Legislative Council's approval cannot be obtained for public works items, there will be a fall in the works expenditure, thus dealing a blow to the industry and causing hindrance to the enhancement of community facilities and the sustainable development of Hong Kong. From 2010-2011 to 2014-2015, the costs of works projects approved by the FC totalled a yearly average of about $91 billion, of which new projects accounted for some $74 billion. In the current Legislative Session, works projects costing only about $46 billion in total have so far been approved by the FC, of which new projects account for only about $11.2 billion. The impact on the construction sector as well as the whole economy is imaginable.
While there are only two months left before the end of the current Legislative Session, items on 22 bills and seven subsidiary legislations are outstanding, and a number of funding proposals and public works projects are pending approval. As at 13 May, over 20 non-works funding proposals are still pending approval by the FC. Besides, around 40 works projects are yet to be approved by the FC or the PWSC, with their costs totalling some $47 billion. In respect of the ESC, about 20 proposals are also still pending. Upon discussion with the Legislative Council Members, the Government decided to reschedule the remaining agenda items on the principle of "dealing with livelihood-related and straightforward issues first". The Government will also actively request the Legislative Council and its committee/subcommittees to arrange additional meeting sessions, with the aim of completing the scrutiny of all the outstanding bills and funding proposals in the remaining time of this Legislative Session as far as possible.
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Deputy President, this is the last year of the current Legislative Council term and the Legislative Council will go into prorogue on 16 July. The Government sincerely hopes that Members would make effective use of the limited meeting time and endeavour to complete the outstanding business of the Legislative Council, and we will certainly make every effort to facilitate the Legislative Council's work.
MR WONG TING-KWONG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, many government departments are worried that the bills scrutinized by the relevant Bills committees will be busted by the opposition camp's filibustering activities. For example, the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 which had been under deliberation for two years was busted by filibustering. While a filibustering stalemate continues, I would like to ask about its pressure and influence on the various Policy Bureaux of the Government of the Special Administrative Region.
(Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung stood up)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung, what is your point?
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I think a quorum is not present in the Chamber.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.
(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, please reply.
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UNDER SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the Member has asked about the impact of filibusters on the progress in the deliberation of bills. I have mentioned a moment ago that more than 20 government bills are outstanding; among which 13 bills are already on the agenda of a Legislative Council meeting, pending resumption of Second Reading debate; besides, the Bills committee concerned have concluded deliberations on two bills and these bills are pending resumption of Second Reading debate. In addition, seven bills are under scrutiny by the relevant Bills committees. Earlier on, we reached a consensus with Legislative Council Members regarding the order of arrangement of various bills on the legislative agenda, hoping that Members would strive for the passage of the bills on the agenda before the current Legislative Session ends.
The government bills pending resumption of Second Reading debate includes bills relating to people's livelihood. For example, the Hong Kong Institute of Education (Amendment) Bill 2016 seeks to change the title of The Hong Kong Institute of Education to The Education University of Hong Kong; the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2016 seeks to implement a number of tax relief measures that will affect personal and corporate incomes; and the Property Management Services Bill seeks to implement the mandatory licensing regime to regulate the property management industry and raise the professional standard of the industry. The Government is looking forward to the early passage of these bills by the Legislative Council to improve people's livelihood.
I would like to mention in passing that we are currently drafting bills on some international standards and international obligations, one example is a bill related to with the resolution of financial institutions. The content of the bill is about how very large financial institutions which cannot close down should be dealt with when they have problems. The Financial Stability Board has reached a consensus on this subject matter and identified some major methods to deal with the issues concerned. We are urging the Government to complete the drafting of the bill as soon as possible.
We hope that these 20-odd bills can be considered and approved by the Legislative Council within the current Legislative Session. As the current term of the Legislative Council will expire on 16 July, if these bills are not passed by then, the Government may have to draft the relevant bills anew in the next LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9615
Session, and there will be considerable impacts on various fronts, including people's livelihood.
MR ABRAHAM SHEK (in Cantonese): Deputy President, filibusters affect not only this Council, but more so those outside this Council. The construction industry is currently hiring more than 400 000 workers who bear responsibilities for taking care of 1.2 million family members. It is learnt that the construction industry currently has an unemployment rate of 5.4%, may I know what the unemployment rate of the construction industry will be like in the next two years as estimated by the authorities? Do the authorities have any solutions to these problems?
UNDER SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the Government agrees that filibusters have huge impacts on the construction industry. According to our understanding, since the progress in the vetting and approval of the funding applications of works projects has become unpredictable in recent years, it is difficult for the Government to estimate the numbers and amounts of new works contracts to be awarded, and this has left the industry in grave worry. Since there are delays in taking forward some works projects, in the following years a large number of projects may invite tenders and commence implementation at the same time, thereby aggravating the manpower shortage situation and pushing up tender prices.
Currently, the annual expenditures on capital works projects accounted for about one third of the overall expenditures on public and private projects in Hong Kong, including the expenditures on hiring 300 000 to 400 000 workers and professionals. We understand that these workers and professionals account for over 10% of the working population and, as I have just mentioned, over 1 million family members are thus affected by the delay in vetting and approval of public works projects resulted from filibusters; besides, the market outlook is also highly uncertain. We also know that some consultants and contractors have begun to freeze recruitment and some companies have already dismissed some staff members. This situation will significantly affect students who are going to graduate this year and have the intention of joining engineering-related industries.
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Therefore, in addition to impacting on the construction industry, filibusters can also lead to momentary soaring of the unemployment rate. The related industries such as material supply, procurement and logistics industries are also affected. As I have mentioned a while ago, we have discussed with Members about the agenda items of at the meetings of the PWSC and the FC, stating that the Government will follow the principle of "dealing with livelihood-related and straightforward issues first", in the hope that the relevant projects could be vetted and approved as soon as possible.
MR CHAN CHI-CHUEN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, in fact, there is no filibusters at the meetings of the Council, the FC, the PWSC or the ESC, and making requests for headcount should not be considered as filibustering. As the Under Secretary has stated in the main reply, upon discussion with Legislative Council Members, the Government decided to reschedule the remaining agenda items on the principle of "dealing with livelihood-related and straightforward issues first". In other words, the principle adopted in the past was "dealing with white elephants and difficult issues first", thus causing such a result. Why did the Government not arrange agenda items on the principle of "dealing with livelihood-related and straightforward issues first" in the past three year, but only decided to propose this approach within the last four months of the Legislative Council Session?
UNDER SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the Member has raised two questions; the first question is about whether there are filibusters at the meetings of the Council and various committees and whether delays have been caused; another question is about the principle of "dealing with straightforward issues first". I will begin with the first question.
Let us compare the items vetted and approved by the FC, the PWSC and the ESC in the year 2012-2013 and the year 2015-2016. The FC vetted and approved 57 items in the year 2012-2013 and 38 items this year; the PWSC vetted and approved 48 items that year and 24 items this year; the ESC vetted and approved 20 items that year and 12 items this year. Let me give a clearer explanation with reference to the average discussion time of each item. While it LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9617 took the FC 1.12 hours to vet and approve each item in 2012, the time required this year is 3.2 hours, meaning that the time taken is almost twice as long. Besides, the number of PWSC items for separate voting has increased from nine items (20% of the total) in 2012 to 50% in 2015, which means that one out of every two items is for separate voting. The percentage of items requested for separate voting in the ESC has also increased from 20% to 75%, meaning that three fourths of the items handled by the ESC are for separate voting.
MR CHAN CHI-CHUEN (in Cantonese): Should Members not do so? There are cost overruns … Is it wrong for Members to do so?
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr CHAN, this Council is not having a debate, please sit down. Under Secretary, please continue to reply.
UNDER SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, on the second supplementary question, just now the Member asked why we had previously dealt with difficult issues first. The Government does not agree to this argument. When we submit funding proposals to the FC and work out the priorities, we definitely have considered comprehensively the importance, urgency and progress of implementation of the various proposals. At the time in question, we took into account the Government's comprehensive review of the relative urgency of items pending vetting and approval by the FC, the progress of consideration by the FC, as well as the progress of the projects. For example, the funding application for the Kwu Tung North New development area and the application for supplementary provision for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities project were the most urgent items for vetting and approval. Indeed, we have taken into account the importance of the related items before making arrangements.
MR NG LEUNG-SING (in Cantonese): Deputy President, as stated in the main reply, the Government has not conducted any quantitative assessment on the implications of Members' filibusters on public funds. If the annual estimated expenditures of the Legislative Council last year are divided by the number of 9618 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 meeting days in the year, the result derived will be that the expenditure on the meeting of the Legislative Council on a single day exceeds $2.5 million. If the Council meets for a day but gets nothing done or even leaves a backlog of more bills pending consideration, I believe this will bring about economic losses. Even though we have attended a meeting, no substantive progress has been made in our deliberation work. A more serious problem is that, if our work is not effective, damages to society will be caused. Conversely, if we can handle some items well, economic and social benefits will be brought. Given that filibustering has stalled the progress of the Legislative Council's deliberation work, hindered social development and even impacted on the vulnerable groups in society, I would like to ask the authorities whether consideration would be given to conducting more specific quantitative assessment of the social benefits involved, so as to help the community realize how much taxpayers' money is spent on the work of the Legislative Council every day.
UNDER SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, we have considered using more scientific or comprehensive quantitative assessment but we think the situation at the Legislative Council is more complicated, and different motions or proposals will have different impacts on different industries. So, we believe it would be difficult to carry out a more comprehensive quantitative assessment. For instance, we have tried to assess the impacts of filibusters on the daily operation of the Government. During the two and a half months from mid-November 2015 to the end of January 2016, the FC considered the funding application for the Innovation and Technology Bureau and the application for supplementary provision for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities project. Around 168 officials were standing by to attend meetings, a total of 520 hours were spent that way and the total salaries thus involved were about $400,000. Furthermore, if the bill about reducing the fees and charges of the Mandatory Provident Fund schemes is passed, it will be beneficial to people's livelihood. Yet, we can hardly estimate the substantive impacts of each item.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Oral questions end here.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9619
WRITTEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
Arrangement for Surrender of Fugitive Offenders Between Hong Kong and the Mainland
7. MR ALAN LEONG (in Chinese): President, at present, the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 503) stipulates the requirements and procedures for the surrender of fugitive offenders (SOF) between Hong Kong and specified jurisdictions, but Mainland China is not among those jurisdictions. The authorities of Hong Kong and Mainland China are now discussing the formulation of an SOF arrangement between the two sides. On the other hand, in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 3 February this year, the Secretary for Security indicated that in the past, following discussion between the Hong Kong Police Force and the Mainland authorities, the Mainland law enforcement authorities had exercised discretion to return to Hong Kong for investigation or trials certain Hong Kong residents suspected of having committed crimes in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the latest progress regarding the discussion on the SOF arrangement between the authorities of both sides; the number of meetings held for this purpose by the authorities of both sides in the past three years, the government departments respectively from which the representatives of both sides attending the meetings came, and the discussion directions;
(2) whether the Mainland authorities discussed with the Hong Kong authorities in the past three years to seek the Hong Kong authorities' return to the Mainland those Mainland residents in Hong Kong who were suspected of having committed crimes on the Mainland; if so, of the number of such cases;
(3) of the number of cases in the past three years in which the Hong Kong authorities discussed with the Mainland authorities to seek the Mainland authorities' return to Hong Kong those Hong Kong residents on the Mainland who were suspected of having committed crimes in Hong Kong;
9620 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
(4) of the Hong Kong authorities' criteria and legal basis for requesting the Mainland authorities to conduct the discussion mentioned in (3);
(5) whether it knows the Mainland authorities' legal basis for exercising discretion to return to Hong Kong for investigation or trials certain Hong Kong residents suspected of having committed crimes in Hong Kong;
(6) whether the Mainland authorities refused, in the past three years, any request made by the Hong Kong Government for returning Hong Kong residents to Hong Kong; if so, of the number of such cases, and whether it knows the respective reasons for those refusals; and
(7) whether the two principles of "non-extradition for political offences" and "non-extradition for death penalty", which are recognized and highly valued by the international community, (i) are applicable to the existing practice of exercising discretion in SOF between the two sides, and (ii) will be applicable to the SOF arrangement currently under discussion between the two sides?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Chinese): President, our consolidated reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
Currently there is no surrender of fugitive offenders (SFO) arrangement between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Mainland. Such an arrangement is still under discussion between the HKSAR Government and the Mainland authority. Given the differences in the legal systems between the two places and the complexity of issues involved in the SFO arrangement, the discussion must be proceeded with care, and the details must also be placed under close scrutiny.
The Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 503) (the Ordinance), currently the legal basis for SFO in the HKSAR, is not applicable to the Mainland. For SFO to be conducted between the HKSAR and any other jurisdiction, it is necessary either for the HKSAR Government to enter into a bilateral SFO agreement with that jurisdiction, or for a relevant multilateral agreement to be made applicable to Hong Kong, and for subsidiary legislation to be made under the Ordinance. Only on such a basis may a SFO request be processed. If a LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9621
SFO arrangement is made between Hong Kong and the Mainland in the future, enactment of local legislation is necessary before it can take legal effect.
In the absence of a SFO arrangement between HKSAR and the Mainland or relevant legislation conferring the necessary power, the HKSAR Government has never surrendered fugitives to the Mainland, and would not do so before such arrangement takes effect after legislation.
Regarding the return of Hong Kong residents suspected of having committed crimes to HKSAR by the Mainland authorities, there were occasions in the past where, following discussion between the Hong Kong Police Force and the Mainland, the Mainland law-enforcement authorities exercised discretion to return to Hong Kong certain Hong Kong residents suspected of having committed crimes in Hong Kong for investigation or trials, depending on the actual situation of individual cases. Two persons had been returned from the Mainland to Hong Kong in previous three years. The Hong Kong Police Force does not maintain the other statistics as mentioned in the question.
Urban Renewal Project in Eight "Wan" Streets and Vicinity
8. MS CLAUDIA MO (in Chinese): President, according to the information on the website of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), the acquisition price which URA offers to an owner-occupier affected by its urban renewal project for purchase of his domestic property is calculated by adding a Home Purchase Allowance (HPA) on top of the market value (valued on vacant possession basis) of the property concerned. HPA is equivalent to the difference between the market value of the property being acquired and the value of a notional replacement flat, which is a seven-year-old flat of similar size and in similar locality to the property being acquired and located at the middle floor with average orientation (seven-year-old flat). In calculating the HPA rate, URA appoints, through open lot-drawing, seven surveyor firms to conduct valuations. The highest and the lowest figures of the seven valuations will then be disregarded and a simple arithmetic average of the remaining five valuations will be calculated to form the HPA rate for the seven-year-old flat (the calculation mechanism). On the other hand, URA initiated in March this year the statutory planning procedure of a renewal project at Eight "Wan" Streets in the Kowloon City District (Eight "Wan" Streets project). The affected owner-occupiers may choose, apart from the option of cash compensation, also the flat-for-flat 9622 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 arrangement under which they may use the cash compensation to buy a new flat in-situ in the new development or in the Kai Tak development. Some affected residents have relayed to me that URA has not provided them with the details of the renewal project, thus making it difficult for them to determine whether they should accept the compensation packages offered by URA in the future and support the renewal project. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows if URA has reviewed the effectiveness of and made improvements to the calculation mechanism since the mechanism came into operation;
(2) whether it knows if URA will, when undertaking major renewal projects, consider including more data on property valuations for use as reference, with a view to arriving at more accurate compensation amounts;
(3) whether it knows the residential development projects the flats of which have been reserved by URA for application for purchase under the flat-for-flat arrangement by residents affected by the Eight "Wan" Streets project, and the relevant details; and
(4) as it has been reported that URA will turn the redeveloped area covering the former Eight "Wan" Streets into a small community to enable former shop operators to return and operate in that district, whether it knows what measures, in addition to specifying in the tender document of the renewal project that URA has the control of the shops in the district concerned for nine years after redevelopment, URA has put in place to facilitate former shop operators to return to the same district to operate?
SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, on 4 March 2016, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) announced in a gazette notice in accordance with the Urban Renewal Authority Ordinance (the Ordinance) (Cap. 563) the commencement of a redevelopment project in Bailey Street/Wing Kwong Street, To Kwa Wan, Kowloon City (the Project). Based on the URA's preliminary proposal, the Project will provide about 1 150 small to medium-sized residential units with commercial/retail facilities at the lower floors.
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For redevelopment projects implemented under the Ordinance, the URA has formulated acquisition criteria for the properties affected and uploaded the relevant information onto the URA's website. The said acquisition criteria also apply to the Project.
My reply to the four-part question is as follows:
(1) and (2)
According to the acquisition criteria, the acquisition price offered by the URA to an owner-occupier of a domestic property is the market value (valued on vacant possession basis) of the property plus an ex-gratia allowance (that is, Home Purchase Allowance (HPA)). For the owner-occupier of a domestic unit, the assessment of HPA is based on the difference between the market value of the property being acquired and the value of a notional replacement flat, which is a seven-year-old flat of similar size and in similar locality to the property being acquired and located at the middle floor with average orientation (that is, commonly known as the "seven-year-old flat").
The URA will appoint seven valuation consultancies to provide independent advice regarding the valuation of the notional seven-year-old replacement flat as the basis for calculating the HPA of various residential properties. Regardless of the scale of the redevelopment project, the valuation consultancies will take into account the features of the project and acquire adequate transaction data of comparable properties to assess the market value of the notional replacement flat. These valuation consultancies are selected from among those on the URA's list of registered consultants by independent external parties through open lot-drawing. Any consultancy in the trade can apply for registration on the list.
After the seven valuation consultancies have individually and independently assessed the price per square foot of the notional seven-year-old replacement flat, the URA will disregard the highest and the lowest figures of the seven valuations and adopt a simple arithmetic average of the remaining five valuations to arrive at the 9624 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
price per square foot of the seven-year-old flat, which will then become the basis of HPA calculation (the calculation mechanism).
The calculation mechanism is an open, fair and impartial operation, which has been widely accepted and has all along been running effectively. The URA will continue to adopt the mechanism and review it from time to time to ensure its effectiveness.
(3) Pursuant to the Urban Renewal Strategy (URS) promulgated in 2011, the URA will offer under the Project a flat-for-flat (FFF) option, either in-situ or in URA's development in Kai Tak, as an alternative to cash compensation to eligible owner-occupiers of domestic units. The URA will provide eligible owner-occupiers of domestic units with details of the flats reserved under the FFF Scheme when the initial acquisition offer is made.
(4) According to the URS promulgated in 2011, the URA will help identify suitable premises in the district of the redevelopment projects to enable the affected shop operators to relocate and continue operation in the same district as far as practicable. The URA will also assist affected shop operators to lease and shop owners to purchase shop premises in the redeveloped projects upon completion. That said, most of the existing ground floor shops in the project area are operating as vehicle repair workshops. According to the relevant outline zoning plan, vehicle repair workshop is not a permitted use after redevelopment under the Project. Therefore, it is anticipated that the relevant use will not be allowed in the project area under the future land lease and deed of mutual covenant.
Mainland Residents Acquiring Right of Abode in Hong Kong Through Various Means
9. MR GARY FAN (in Chinese): President, recently, the media have uncovered that some Mainland officials have long been selling quotas on Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao (commonly known as "One-way Permits")(OWPs), and an OWP may fetch as much as HK$2 million. The Director of Audit's Report No. 66 has recommended that the Immigration LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9625
Department needs to issue guidelines to set out clearly the procedures required for considering the supply of local manpower as well as the market levels of salaries and benefits in processing the applications under the General Employment Policy and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP). On the other hand, all public hospitals have stopped accepting delivery bookings from non-local pregnant women since 1 January 2013, and private hospitals have also unanimously agreed not to accept any delivery bookings, since 2013, made by doubly non-permanent resident (DNR) pregnant women (i.e. Mainland pregnant women whose spouses are not Hong Kong permanent residents) (commonly known as "zero-quota policy"). Regarding Mainland residents' acquisition of the right of abode (ROA) in Hong Kong through various means, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of Mainland residents who came to settle in Hong Kong on OWPs in each year since 2003, and among such residents, the number of those who were subsequently repatriated after being ruled by the court that their OWPs were obtained by illegal means;
(2) whether it has approached the Mainland authorities to gain an understanding about the situation where Mainland officials have long been selling OWP quotas; as the processing, vetting and approval of applications for OWPs fall within the remit of the Mainland authorities, whether the Government has taken the initiative to investigate if any OWPs held by Mainland residents who came to settle in Hong Kong have been obtained by illegal means;
(3) of the respective numbers of people who (i) applied to stay in Hong Kong, (ii) were allowed to stay in Hong Kong and (iii) eventually acquired ROA in Hong Kong, under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, ASMTP and Immigration Arrangement for Non-local Graduates in each year since 2003, and among such people, the number and percentage of those who were Mainland residents;
(4) whether it has formulated measures to improve the vetting and approval procedures in respect of various admission schemes so as to ensure that foreign workers will not affect the employment and wage levels of local workers;
9626 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
(5) of the respective numbers of live births born to DNR pregnant women (DNR babies) in public and private hospitals in Hong Kong in each year since the implementation of the zero-quota policy; and
(6) as it is learnt that albeit the zero-quota policy, there still have been cases of Mainland pregnant women crossing the boundary shortly before labour to give birth in Hong Kong, thereby using local healthcare resources, whether the authorities will examine the causes of such a situation and consider amending Article 24 of the Basic Law so that DNR babies to be born in the future will not have ROA in Hong Kong?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Chinese): President, the reply to Mr FAN's questions, in consultation with the Food and Health Bureau, is as follows:
(1) Since 2003, the number of persons who have come to settle in Hong Kong for family reunion on Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao (commonly known as "One-way Permits") (OWPs) by year is as follows:
The number of persons entering Year Hong Kong on OWPs 2003 53 507 2004 38 072 2005 55 106 2006 54 170 2007 33 865 2008 41 610 2009 48 587 2010 42 624 2011 43 379 2012 54 646 2013 45 031 2014 40 496 2015 38 338
The Immigration Department (ImmD) does not maintain the other statistics mentioned in the question.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9627
(2) OWPs are documents issued by relevant authorities in the Mainland. The application, approval and issuance of OWPs fall within the remit of the Mainland authorities. The ImmD facilitates at case level in the processing of applications, and when necessary, renders assistance in individual cases in verifying the supporting documents submitted by the applicants and their claimed relationship with relatives in Hong Kong. If any person is suspected of furnishing false information or making false statement, the ImmD will conduct investigation. The ImmD shall invalidate the residence status of persons whose applications are found to be fraudulent and shall remove them from Hong Kong, regardless of their years of residence in Hong Kong.
(3) The statistics mentioned in the question are at Annex 1.
(4) At present, the General Employment Policy (GEP) and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP) administered by the ImmD are applicable to professionals from outside for applying to work in Hong Kong. GEP is applicable to professionals from overseas, Taiwan and Macao, while ASMTP is for professionals from the Mainland. The objective of the two immigration arrangements is to allow local employers to recruit professionals not readily available in Hong Kong to meet their manpower needs.
Professionals seeking to work in Hong Kong have to meet three main criteria:
(i) having a good education background, normally a first degree in the relevant field;
(ii) having a confirmed offer of employment and are employed in a job relevant to their academic qualifications or work experience that cannot be readily taken up by local professionals; and
(iii) the remuneration package being broadly commensurate with and not inferior to the local prevailing market level.
9628 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
In processing applications under the two immigration arrangements above, the ImmD will strike an appropriate balance between upholding priority employment of the local workforce as an important policy measure and admitting needed professionals to Hong Kong.
Since industries vary in business needs and require different kinds of professionals, the ImmD, in determining whether certain positions cannot be readily taken up by local employees, requires employers to provide justifications for employing the applicants concerned and reasons for failing to hire local professionals. If the ImmD needs further market information on the manpower situation of the relevant positions, employers will be required to provide recruitment details and documentary proofs, including recruitment advertisements published, number of local applicants, record of recruitment interviews and results, and so on.
In assessing whether an applicant's remuneration package is broadly commensurate with the prevailing market level, the ImmD shall take into account a series of relevant factors in a holistic manner, including his/her length of service and experience, prevailing market situation for the stream concerned, and so on, while making reference to market information of various sources, as well as seeking advice from relevant professional bodies as necessary. In addition, where circumstances of individual cases warrant, the ImmD shall request the employing company to provide evidence to show that the remuneration package offered is commensurate with an applicant's situation, such as his/her length of service and market situation for the stream concerned.
The ImmD shall make reference to the information provided by relevant government departments or professional bodies on individual cases as necessary to ensure that the applications are in compliance with the objectives of the two immigration arrangements.
(5) and (6)
To ensure that local pregnant women are accorded priority for quality obstetric services, the Government has implemented a series LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9629
of policy measures to limit the use of obstetric services by non-local pregnant women to a level that can be handled by the healthcare system in Hong Kong. Since the implementation of the "zero-quota policy" on 1 January 2013, all public hospitals have not accepted any delivery bookings by non-local pregnant women, and private hospitals have also unanimously agreed to stop accepting delivery bookings from non-local pregnant women whose husbands are not Hong Kong residents (also known as "doubly non-permanent resident (DNR) pregnant women) since 2013.
The number of local live births born to Mainland pregnant women whose spouses are not Hong Kong permanent residents (including DNR pregnant women) between 2011 and 2015 is at Annex 2. The Government does not maintain the other statistics mentioned in the questions.
Since the implementation of the "zero-quota policy" in January 2013, the number of local live births born to Mainland pregnant women whose spouses are not Hong Kong permanent residents has significantly decreased from the highest of 35 736 babies in 2011 to 775 in 2015.
The Government will continue to closely monitor the utilization of local obstetric services by non-local pregnant women, and will take actions to tackle the situation as appropriate.
Annex 1
Statistics of applications received and approved under various admission schemes/arrangements(1)
Admission Year scheme/ 2016
arrange- 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (January ment to April） Quality Applica- 587 627 1 358 1 296 1 177 1 674 1 965 1 787 2 341 1 829 503 Migrant tions N/A N/A N/A (472) (436) (978) (864) (773) (878) (987) (957) (1 013) (1 069) (278) Admission received [80.4%] [69.5%] [72%] [66.7%] [65.7%] [52.4%] [50.2%] [53.6%] [43.3%] [58.4%] [55.3%] Scheme(2) Quotas 83 239 564 593 329 286 298 332 373 208 32 allotted N/A N/A N/A (65) (191) (424) (439) (273) (221) (244) (279) (333) (186) (29) [78.3%] [79.9%] [75.2%] [74.0%] [83%] [77.3%] [81.9%] [84%] [89.3%] [89.4%] [90.6%] 9630 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Admission Year scheme/ 2016
arrange- 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (January ment to April） Capital Applica- 150 465 495 800 1 795 2 798 3 391 6 706 3 384 6 508 9 227 6 083 2 851 0 Investment tions (74) (207) (280) (503) (1 328) (2 254) (2 864) (6 019) (3 165) (6 239) (8 908) (5 862) (2 775) (0) Entrant received [49.3%] [44.5%] [56.6%] [62.9%] [74%] [80.6%] [84.5%] [89.8%] [93.5%] [95.9%] [96.5%] [96.4%] [97.3%] Scheme(3) Applica- 19 272 307 380 822 1 547 2 606 2 971 4 187 3 804 3 734 4 855 2 739 683 tions (10) (123) (165) (255) (561) (1 204) (2 282) (2 643) (3 779) (3 546) (3 561) (4 684) (2 662) (663) approved [52.6%] [45.2%] [53.7%] [67.1%] [68.2%] [77.8%] [87.6%] [89%] [90.3%] [93.2%] [95.4%] [96.5%] [97.2%] [97.1%] ASMTP(4) Applica- tions (1 762) (4 470) (4 659) (5 709) (6 698) (7 722) (8 055) (8 396) (9 591) (10 461) (10 185) (10 983) (11 034) (3 719) received Applica- tions (1 350) (3 745) (4 029) (5 031) (6 075) (6 744) (6 514) (7 445) (8 088) (8 105) (8 017) (9 313) (9 229) (3 147) approved Immigra- Applica- 4 033 5 313 6 803 8 750 10 444 10 337 1 010 tion tions N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2 917 3 315 (3 800) (5 015) (6 466) (8 220) (9 767) (9 599) (881) Arrange- received [94.2%] [94.4%] [95%] [93.9%] [93.5%] [92.9%] [87.2%] ments for Applica- 3 976 5 258 6 756 8 704 10 375 10 269 987 Non-local tions N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2 758 3 367 (3 755) (4 971) (6 428) (8 187) (9 714) (9 541) (865) Graduates(5) approved [94.4%] [94.5%] [95.1%] [94.1%] [93.6%] [92.9%] [87.6%]
Notes:
Figures in ( ) denote Mainland applicants. As for the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, such figures include applicants who are Chinese nationals having acquired the status of permanent residents overseas.
Figures in [ ] denote the percentage of Mainland applicants in the total number of applications.
(1) The number of cases approved generally does not fully correspond to the number of applications received in a particular year since the receipt and completion of a case may not fall in the same year.
(2) The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme was launched on 28 June 2006.
(3) The Capital Investment Entrant Scheme was launched in October 2003 and has been suspended with effect from 15 January 2015. However, the ImmD will continue to process the applications received before the suspension in accordance with the rules of the Scheme.
(4) The ASMTP, launched on 15 July 2003, is only applicable to Mainland residents and thus all applicants are Mainland residents.
(5) The Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates was launched on 19 May 2008. Statistical breakdowns by region of applicants have been maintained since 2010.
Statistics of entrants who acquired right of abode under various admission schemes/arrangements
Year Admission 2016 scheme/arrangement 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (January to April) Quality Migrant 6 6 11 24 50 118 186 75 Admission Scheme LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9631
Year Admission 2016 scheme/arrangement 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (January to April) Capital Investment 10 9 71 103 113 171 404 203 Entrant Scheme ASMTP 130 179 406 440 647 693 905 219 Immigration Arrangements for 137 313 827 983 1 360 1 643 1 742 295 Non-local Graduates
Note:
The breakdown is maintained in accordance with applicants' status in Hong Kong at the time of application for right of abode. The ImmD does not maintain statistical breakdowns by region of applicants who acquired right of abode.
Annex 2
The number of live births born in Hong Kong to Mainland pregnant women whose spouses are not Hong Kong Permanent Residents(1)
Year Total 2011 35 736 2012 26 715 2013(2) 790 2014 823 2015 775
Notes:
(1) Including Hong Kong non-permanent residents (persons from the Mainland having resided in Hong Kong for less than seven years being grouped in this category) and non-Hong Kong residents.
(2) The "zero-quota policy" has been implemented since 1 January 2013.
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Possession of Offensive Weapons
10. MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Chinese): President, under sections 17C and 33 of the Public Order Ordinance (Cap. 245), any person who, while present at any public meeting or on the occasion of any public possession, or in any public place, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, has with him any offensive weapon shall be guilty of an offence. In recent months, some members of the public were assaulted with knives on the street for no reason, and a convenience store owner was even stabbed to death by a thief with a knife. Besides, two protesters taking part in a demonstration were recently prosecuted for possession of offensive weapons of chili oil liquid containing capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin and isopropyl alcohol. The aforesaid incidents have aroused public concerns about personal safety in public places. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) (i) of the number of cases involving possession of offensive weapons in public places handled by the Police, broken down by type of offensive weapons (e.g. arms, sharps, corrosive fluid, etc.), and (ii) among such cases, the number of cases resulting in injuries or deaths, and the total casualties, in the past three years; whether it has assessed if such kind of crimes has showed a worsening trend; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the details;
(2) whether the Police have devised uniform criteria for defining "offensive weapon" for frontline police officers' reference in determining whether the articles seized from suspected persons are offensive weapons;
(3) whether the authorities will put in place special measures to combat crimes involving possession of offensive weapons, e.g. deploying more police officers to perform patrol duties and conduct searches on the belongings of suspected persons in districts with relatively poor law and order situation, low pedestrian flow and a relatively large number of round-the-clock shops; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) whether it has considered adopting special measures for enhancing the protection for the personal safety of pedestrians on streets with low pedestrian flow and that of staff of round-the-clock shops, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9633
e.g. installing sufficient number of closed-circuit television cameras on such streets, as well as encouraging all round-the-clock shops to install alarm systems connected to police stations; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Chinese): President, the Government's reply to Mr CHAN Kin-por's question is as follows:
(1) To safeguard public safety, a number of ordinances are in place in Hong Kong to regulate the possession of offensive or lethal weapons or articles.
Amongst such legislation, sections 17C and 33 of the Public Order Ordinance (Cap. 245) stipulate that any person who, while present at any public meeting or on the occasion of any public procession, or while present in any public place, has with him any offensive weapon, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine at level 2 (that is, $5,000) and to imprisonment for two years under section 17C or to imprisonment for not more than three years under section 33. It is also provided under section 17 of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228) that any person who has in his possession any wrist restraint or other instrument or article manufactured for the purpose of physically restraining a person, any handcuffs or thumbcuffs, any offensive weapon, or any crowbar, picklock, skeleton-key or other instrument fit for unlawful purposes, with intent to use the same for any unlawful purpose, shall be liable to a fine of $5,000 or to imprisonment for two years.
With regard to possession of offensive weapons in public place, the Police may initiate arrest and prosecution in accordance with the above three provisions. There were 433, 448 and 490 cases relating to such provisions in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. The Police do not maintain statistical breakdowns regarding the type of offensive weapons, whether injuries or deaths are involved in the cases and the casualties. In addition, the Police will determine the appropriate charges to be laid taking into account the specific circumstances of each case. If the offender is suspected of having 9634 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
committed other offences such as wounding, homicide or robbery, and so on, while possessing offensive weapons, the Police may initiate arrest and prosecution for the other offences.
In addition to the above legislation, other ordinances including the Firearms and Ammunition Ordinance (Cap. 238), the Offences Against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212) and the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200), and so on, have provided for regulation or prohibition over the possession of offensive or lethal weapons or articles, such as arms, corrosive fluid and explosive substance, and so on.
(2) Under section 2 of the Public Order Ordinance, offensive weapon means "any article made, or adapted for use, or suitable, for causing injury to the person, or intended by the person having it in his possession or under his control for such use by him or by some other person". The Police will judge whether an article is an offensive weapon based on the definition stated in relevant ordinances as well as the actual situation. If necessary, the Police will seek advice from the Department of Justice with regard to the specific circumstances of the case before initiating prosecution.
(3) and (4)
The Police are very concerned about criminal offences involving offensive weapons. To protect the safety of the lives and property of the public, "combating violent crimes" and "enhancing public safety" have been identified as Commissioner of Police's Operational Priorities 2016. Strong front-line police presence will be maintained in order to deter violent crimes. Each police district will devise action plans in accordance with its crime trends and individual circumstances. For instance, additional police officers will be deployed to conduct high-profile anti-crime patrols at high-risk locations. The Police will apprehend any person who is reasonably suspected of having committed an offence. Furthermore, the Police will strengthen crime prevention publicity, including briefing retail traders and other shop operators on ways to enhance security systems, such as installation of closed-circuit television systems and intruder alarms linked to security companies, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9635
and providing them with security awareness training that meets their needs, and so on.
The Police will continue to make all efforts in combating violent crimes, possession of offensive weapons and other crimes, and will definitely not tolerate any illegal act by law-breakers.
Effective and Sustainable Measures to Prevent Birds from Foraging for Cultured Fish Products and Crops
11. MR STEVEN HO (in Chinese): President, at present, quite a number of wild birds often forage in fish ponds and agricultural fields in the New Territories. However, the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170) provides that no person shall, except in accordance with a special permit, hunt or wilfully disturb any protected wild animal. Some fish farmers and farmers have repeatedly relayed to me that under the policy for the protection of birds formulated in compliance with that Ordinance, the bird-proof measures which they may take are ineffective and their setting up is cumbersome. Moreover, even if the bird-proof measures taken by them are lawful, some radical environmentalists still often interfere and complain against them, thus making it difficult for fish farmers and farmers to protect their private properties, and causing heavy losses to them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective expenditures incurred by the authorities in each of the past three years on (i) the protection of birds, (ii) promoting the development of fish cultivation and agriculture, and (iii) assisting such industries in preventing birds from foraging cultured fish products and crops, together with the details and effectiveness of such efforts;
(2) of the following in the past three years: (i) the number of complaints received by the authorities about alleged unlawful bird-proof measures taken by fish farmers and farmers, (ii) the average and longest periods of time taken by them to handle those cases, (iii) the number of prosecutions instituted by them for violation of Cap. 170, and (iv) the number of convictions thereof;
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(3) whether it has assessed in the past three years (i) the expenditures incurred by fish farmers and farmers on taking bird-proof measures, and (ii) their financial losses due to birds foraging their cultured fish products and crops; if it has, of the details; if not, whether it will make such an assessment;
(4) how the authorities compensated, in the past three years, fish farmers and farmers for their expenditures and financial losses as mentioned in (3); of the measures the authorities have put in place to assist them in reducing such expenditures and financial losses; and
(5) whether it will review the policy for the protection of birds and implement effective measures so that fish farmers and farmers will not have to bear the expenditures and financial losses arising from their compliance with such a policy, with a view to enabling the sustainable development of fish cultivation and agriculture; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (in Chinese): President, our response to Mr Steven HO's questions is consolidated as follows:
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) supports the agriculture and fisheries industries by providing numerous services to promote the development of agriculture and aquaculture, such as promotion of organic farming; development of new farming techniques and introduction of new and improved crop varieties to raise productivity; implementation of the Accredited Fish Farm Scheme and promotion of good aquaculture practice to enhance fish farm management and competitiveness of the local aquaculture industry; identifying suitable new culture species with good market potential; and organizing training workshops for local fish farmers.
On the other hand, the AFCD also actively works to protect wild animals by different means, including conservation management of habitats in the Ramsar Site and other areas, territory-wide law enforcement, public education, as well as animal rescue, studies and research, and so on, while bird conservation is also included in all these aspects of work. In Hong Kong, all wild birds are protected under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170). According to this ordinance, no person shall, except in accordance with a special permit, wilfully LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9637 disturb or hunt any protected wild animal, including all wild birds. Over the past three years, the AFCD has prosecuted over 400 cases under Cap. 170, and a total of 361 cases were convicted, including two cases involving use of illegal bird prevention measures in farmland or fishponds, subjected to a fine of $1,500 and $2,500. During the same period, the AFCD received a total of 36 complaints about suspected illegal use of bird prevention measures by farmers or fishpond operators. It usually took three to six months to process these cases.
The AFCD understands the concern of farmers and fishpond operators over their loss due to bird predation in farmland and fishponds. It aims to strike a balance between supporting the agriculture and fisheries industries as well as bird conservation. It assists farmers and fishpond operators in taking appropriate measures to reduce bird predation in farmland and fishponds without causing harm to birds. The AFCD provides technical advice to farmers on bird prevention, while farmers who are interested in installing bird preventive netting or other measures can apply for low-interest loans. The AFCD also regularly organizes talks and workshops on good aquaculture practice and general fish farming guidelines, where methods on prevention of bird predation would be introduced, for example, pond wiring, hanging of reflective materials, and so on, to reduce loss of fish produce.
The AFCD has published two pamphlets namely "Prevention of bird predation in fishponds" and "Methods of preventing birds in farmland" for reference by fishpond operators and farmers respectively. The AFCD will further study other measures of reducing bird predation in fishponds and farmland, and will communicate with fishpond operators and farmers on the pilot project accordingly.
According to the AFCD's observations, many fishpond operators and farmers have adopted the AFCD's recommendations to reduce risk of bird predation in fishponds and farmland. Nonetheless, the AFCD does not have the information about the cost of bird prevention measures used by the fishpond operators and farmers. On the other hand, the loss due to bird predation is subject to many factors, including species of fish/crops farmed, locality of the fishpond/farmland, and the bird prevention measures implemented on the site, and hence cannot be deduced conclusively. The AFCD will continue to implement the above work to facilitate farmers and fishpond operators to reduce their loss due to bird predation in fishponds and farmland.
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In the financial years 2013-2014, 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, the AFCD's expenditure on promoting the sustainable development of agriculture and aquaculture was about $48 million, $53 million and $56 million respectively. Meanwhile, the AFCD's works on bird protection cover a wide spectrum of services, from habitat conservation, law enforcement, public education, to bird rescue, study and research. The AFCD also assists farmers and fishpond operators with respect to bird predation issues. Since all the above works are related to wild animal protection under the AFCD, there is no separate breakdown of the expenditure in this regard.
Visit of Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to Hong Kong
12. DR LAM TAI-FAI (in Chinese): President, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (the Chairman) is visiting Hong Kong at present. The three-day itinerary includes attending the "Belt and Road Summit" as well as a welcome dinner hosted by the Chief Executive. This is another visit to Hong Kong by a state leader after the visit of the former State President to Hong Kong three-odd years ago in July 2012. Some information sources have pointed out that in this visit to Hong Kong, the Chairman will focus on economic issues and national development, commenting mainly on how Hong Kong can capitalize on the opportunities arising from national development, including the need for Hong Kong to consider how its strengths can contribute to the country. Some market practitioners hope that the Central Authorities will announce further details on the implementation of a stock connect for cross-boundary trading of stocks listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (the Sz-HK Stock Connect). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(1) it knows if there is any other purpose, in addition to attending the said forum, of the Chairman's present visit to Hong Kong; if there is, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) it knows if the Chairman will, representing the Central Authorities, announce or take forward some new policies concerning Hong Kong during this visit; if he will, of the contents of the policies; if not, the reasons for that;
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(3) it has recommended the Chairman to conduct visits to various districts to meet with members of the public, so as to understand the various livelihood issues facing the grassroots and the middle class; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) it has recommended the Chairman to visit tertiary institutions and meet with their teaching staff and students; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(5) it has recommended the Chairman to meet with various industrial and commercial organizations to get an update on Hong Kong's economy; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(6) it has recommended the Chairman to meet with Members of this Council from various political parties and factions, including Members with no affiliation; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(7) it has reviewed the past experience in receiving state leaders during their visits to Hong Kong; if it has, of the details, and whether it has, in light of the experience gained, stepped up the security measures for the Chairman's visit (e.g. deploying additional number of police officers to maintain order); if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(8) it has assessed if incidents similar to the riot in Mong Kok will occur during the Chairman's visit; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(9) it has truthfully reported to the Chairman on the recent public sentiments and opinions in Hong Kong, as well as those recent incidents that were more conspicuous (including views advocating the independence of Hong Kong, the Causeway Bay Books incident and the riot in Mong Kok); if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will make such a report;
(10) it has taken this opportunity to seek to understand from the Chairman whether the Central Authorities have changed the policy on governing Hong Kong; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will seek such an understanding;
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(11) it has given an account to the Chairman of the preparatory work of the Sz-HK Stock Connect on the part of Hong Kong, and whether it has sought to understand from the Chairman the timetable for announcing the implementation of the Sz-HK Stock Connect; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will give such as account and seek such an understanding; and
(12) it has recommended the Chairman to express the Central Authorities' views and stance on the views advocating the independence of Hong Kong; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Chinese): President, during his visit to Hong Kong on 17 to 19 May, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Mr ZHANG Dejiang, will attend the Belt and Road Summit organized by the Government and inspect the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
In consultation with the Chief Executive's Office and relevant bureaux, our consolidated reply to Dr LAM Tai-fai's question is as follows:
Whenever national leaders and foreign dignitaries visit Hong Kong, the Government will take into account the actual circumstances and security requirements and announce information relevant to the visit programme at a suitable juncture. According to the press release issued by the Information Services Department on 14 April, Chairman ZHANG will deliver a keynote speech at the Belt and Road Summit on 18 May. The Chief Executive will also host a welcome dinner for Chairman ZHANG at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre that evening. The Home Affairs Department has sent invitation letters to representatives from various sectors of the community to attend the dinner. Chairman ZHANG will also meet some Members of the Legislative Council before dinner. The Government will announce information relevant to the Chairman's inspection on Hong Kong as appropriate.
As far as the security arrangement is concerned, the Police will consolidate experience after each major operation. Whenever national leaders and foreign dignitaries visit Hong Kong, the Police will take appropriate and tight security measures to ensure the safety of national leaders or foreign dignitaries and that LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9641 the related activities will be conducted in a safe and orderly manner. The Police will make professional risk assessment and appropriate arrangements on the basis of the latest international situation, past experience of similar operations and other relevant factors. As the security arrangement of the Police involves operational details, it is not appropriate to disclose such information. The security measures arranged by the Police may cause inconvenience to the general public but they are nonetheless essential to ensure the safety of the participants of the related activities.
Life Planning Education
13. DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Chinese): President, some secondary teachers have pointed out that effective life planning education can help secondary students make wise decisions in choosing subjects for further studies or their career paths upon graduation. They have also pointed out that well-qualified teachers are the foundation of effective life planning education. Besides, starting from the 2014-2015 school year, the Education Bureau has been providing public sector schools and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools operating classes at senior secondary levels with an annual recurrent grant of about $500,000 to support the schools in implementing life planning education and providing counselling services on further studies and employment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the teachers presently responsible for coordinating and implementing life planning education in secondary schools need to attain any special qualifications or academic achievements; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will consider requiring that such teachers must attain specified qualifications or have received relevant training;
(2) whether it has put in place measures to enhance the quality of teacher training on life planning education, with a view to making the training professional; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) whether it has devised quantitative indicators, such as objectives, criteria and time limits, for assessing the effectiveness of life 9642 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
planning education, so as to prevent the relevant grant from being used for irrelevant purposes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION (in Chinese): President, from the 2014-2015 school year, the Education Bureau has provided each public sector school and Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) school operating classes at senior secondary levels with an annual recurrent cash grant of about $500,000 (provision will be revised annually in line with the adjustment to the mid-point salary of Graduate Master) to enhance the capacity of the responsible teaching team with a view to strengthening the co-ordination and promotion of life planning at schools. Schools are required to devise a work plan having regard to the objectives of the Career and Life Planning Grant (CLP Grant), school-based context and students' needs and upload it onto the school's homepage upon endorsement by respective Incorporated Management Committee (IMC)/School Management Committee (SMC). Our reply to the questions raised by Dr CHIANG Lai-wan is set out below:
(1) Building on the career guidance service provided by schools, life planning education (LPE) takes a step forward by increasing the breadth and depth of such service. Promoting LPE and enhancing career guidance service are not the responsibility of just one or two teachers. Instead, a team is needed for the planning, together with extensive participation and support from other teachers. The main purpose for the provision of additional cash grant to schools is to empower and enhance the ability and capacity of the teaching teams responsible for career guidance and LPE. Schools should strengthen the element of LPE in a more co-ordinated and systematic manner and adopt a whole-school approach in implementing such service.
At present, almost all teaching teams responsible for LPE in schools have members who are well experienced in providing career guidance or have completed relevant structured training. According to our records, about 80% of all public sector and DSS schools (including special schools) operating classes at senior secondary levels already have at least two teachers trained.
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The Education Bureau attaches great importance to the professional knowledge and capabilities of the teachers concerned, and has made continuous efforts to strengthen the structured training courses for LPE teachers to enhance the professional standard of the dedicated teaching teams, thereby enabling them to plan and implement LPE in a more co-ordinated and systematic manner. Starting from the 2014-2015 school year, we have substantially increased the number of structured training places by threefold from 80 to 240 per year. Our target is to equip the career guidance team of each school with at least two trained teachers by the 2016-2017 school year.
(2) The Education Bureau has all along invited tertiary institutions and professional bodies to provide training courses to career guidance teachers. Apart from liaising closely with the related organizations to provide updated information on LPE, we also keep the training courses under constant review to ensure that the quality and content of such courses meet the needs for LPE implementation and the changes of society.
In addition to the provision of structured training courses through tertiary institutions, the Education Bureau is committed to strengthening professional support for schools and teachers concerned, which includes issuance of the "Guide on Life Planning Education and Career Guidance for Secondary Schools" for schools in their delivery of LPE. To encourage schools to adopt a whole-school approach to LPE, we organize the "Go forward together ― Life Planning Education Sharing Series" regularly to enhance teachers' professional capability through experience sharing, run teacher networks to facilitate professional sharing, conduct advisory visits to provide professional advice to schools, and develop a dedicated webpage to disseminate updated information on further studies, employment and other related teaching and learning resources.
To cater for the needs of teachers in different positions to implement LPE, the Education Bureau also organizes thematic seminars, talks and workshops. Examples include thematic seminars on career guidance service for teachers who have to take care of "academically low achievers", "students with special educational needs", "students 9644 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
with specific learning difficulties" and "non-Chinese speaking students", and seminars on "Roles of Class Teachers in Supporting Students for Life Planning". Since September 2014, a number of district-based networking activities have been organized for schools in different districts to promote professional exchange. Since the 2014-2015 school year, over 1 600 teachers have participated in the above professional exchange activities.
We will continue to review the professional support and training programmes provided for schools to ensure that the programme contents are in tandem with the needs of schools and social development.
(3) The Education Bureau has issued a circular on the use of the CLP Grant, clearly setting out the intended objectives of the grant. In planning for career guidance service, schools are required to formulate strategies and establish monitoring/evaluation mechanism for continuous development. Under the spirit of school-based management, the IMC/SMC of a school is accountable for the proper use of the cash grant for its intended objectives. The Education Bureau strongly recommends that the IMC/SMC consider including LPE as one of the major concerns in the School Development Plan, as well as monitoring and evaluating its implementation through the school annual plan and school report. To enhance transparency, the work plan and details on the use of the CLP Grant should be approved by the IMC/SMC and uploaded onto the school's homepage by December each year.
To understand the implementation of LPE at schools, the Education Bureau has visited about 380 schools (accounting for about 75% of all secondary schools in the territory) since the 2014-2015 school year and up to end March 2016. We are pleased to learn that the majority of schools have included LPE as a major concern of their schools, with clearly defined objectives, implementation strategies and monitoring/evaluation mechanism. Besides, it is understood that the majority of the schools have put the CLP Grant to proper use, deploying the grant appropriately in such areas as employing additional teachers to take up the teaching duties of career teachers LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9645
so as to enhance their capacity in LPE, procuring LPE-related teaching materials or assessment services for students and financing students to participate in career exploration activities. About 80% of the schools spent most of the CLP Grant on employment of additional staff (such as teachers and teaching assistants). We are glad to note the good implementation progress of LPE at schools. Taking into account students' needs and school-specific circumstances, most schools have implemented LPE in a more co-ordinated and systematic manner through a holistic approach, and have put in place an effective evaluation mechanism, thus laying a solid foundation for LPE. During the school visits, the Education Bureau inspectors would engage in professional dialogue with the school guidance teams and render advice on improvement to the work plans and deployment of resources. The Education Bureau will complete visits to all eligible secondary schools by the end of the 2016-2017 school year. Information collected will serve as useful feedback to inform the future planning of LPE. Since the introduction of LPE in the 2014-2015 school year, we have been keeping in view the implementation situation in schools. We would assess the overall effectiveness of LPE after more experience has been generated by schools, with a view to further enhancing the quality of LPE.
Registration of Societies
14. MR JAMES TO (in Chinese): President, at present, the information to be submitted with an application for registration of a society to the Societies Office under the Societies Ordinance (Cap. 151) include the address(es) of the principal place of business of the society and its branch(es) and of the place(s) or premises owned or occupied by the society (registered addresses). It has been reported earlier that the registered addresses of more than 1 000 societies are school addresses. However, the principals of a certain number of the schools concerned have indicated that they have no knowledge about it and worry that some people may be mistaken that the operation of such societies has been approved of by the schools. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
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(1) of the current number of societies registered under the Societies Ordinance, with a tabulated breakdown by type to which the premises of the registered address belongs (e.g. residential property, commercial building and school);
(2) of the number of notifications received by the Societies Officer in the past five years on registered societies having dissolved themselves;
(3) whether the Societies Officer has conducted sampling checks to verify the authenticity of the information pertaining to the application for registration of a society; if so, of the number of applications verified in the past five years; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) of the number of societies whose registrations were cancelled under the Societies Ordinance by the Societies Officer in the past five years;
(5) whether the Societies Office discovered, in the past five years, any case of the provision of false registered addresses in the applications for registration of society; if so, of the number of people involved and whether those people were prosecuted; if so, the punishments imposed on those convicted in general; and
(6) given that at present, the Societies Office makes public only the names and registered addresses of the societies and their branches which have been registered or exempted from registration, whether the Societies Office will consider making public more information about the registration of those societies, such as the dates of registration, the names of the office-bearers?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Chinese): President, the Government's reply to Mr James TO's question is as follows:
(1) As at 30 April 2016, there were a total of 37 318 societies in Hong Kong which have registered or have been exempted from registration under the Societies Ordinance (Cap. 151). The Societies Office does not maintain statistical breakdowns regarding the type of premises of societies' addresses.
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(2) and (4)
Section 14(1) of the Societies Ordinance provides that "if a registered society or an exempted society has subsequently dissolved itself, the persons who were the office-bearers of the society before such dissolution shall, not later than the expiration of one month after the dissolution takes effect, notify the Societies Officer of such dissolution in writing signed by one or more of the persons who were the office-bearers of the society immediately before the dissolution." Between 2011 and 2015, a total of 575 societies have dissolved themselves and notifications have been given to the Societies Officers under section 14(1).
Separately, section 5D(1) of the Societies Ordinance provides that "the Societies Officer may, after consultation with the Secretary for Security, cancel the registration or exemption from registration of a society or a branch ―
(a) if he reasonably believes that the cancellation is necessary in the interests of national security or public safety, public order or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others; or
(b) if the society or the branch is a political body that has a connection with a foreign political organization or a political organization of Taiwan."
Between 2011 and 2015, no registration or exemption from registration of a society or a branch was cancelled by the Societies Officer under section 5D(1).
(3) and (5)
According to section 5 of the Societies Ordinance, a local society shall apply to the Societies Officer for registration or exemption from registration within one month of its establishment or deemed establishment. The application must be signed by three office-bearers and include details of the name, objects and 9648 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
particulars of the office-bearers of the society, as well as the address of the principal place of business of the society and of every place or premises owned or occupied by the society.
In addition, under section 15 of the Societies Ordinance, the Societies Officer may, at any time, by notice in writing served on any society require the society to furnish him in writing with such information as he may reasonably require for the performance of his functions under the Ordinance. In accordance with section 10 of the Societies Ordinance, where a society or its branch which has been registered or exempted from registration changes its name, objects, office-bearers or principal place of business or closes a branch which is registered or exempted from registration, the society shall within one month from such change, inform the Societies Officer in writing of such change.
The Societies Office has formulated relevant guidelines for its officers to handle the above-mentioned applications. Accordingly, officers will require an applicant to submit a copy of utility bill, a bank statement or a letter from the HKSAR Government to prove that the society's address is genuine. If the society uses the address of another person or organization (such as a school), the applicant is required to additionally submit a letter of consent from the owner or the person-in-charge of the premises concerned, which must contain the name of the owner or the person-in-charge, and shall be dated and signed. The Societies Office will ask the applicant for explanation or clarification if there is any doubt about the information submitted by the applicant. If an owner or person-in-charge does not agree for his address to be used as the principal place of business of a society, he may raise objection to the Societies Office. Moreover, the Societies Office will take follow-up actions upon receipt of a report or complaint about a society's address or other matters.
Section 16(3) of the Societies Ordinance provides that "if any information supplied to the Societies Officer in compliance with a notice served under section 15 is false, incorrect, or incomplete in any material particular, the person who has supplied such information shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9649
$20,000 unless he establishes to the satisfaction of the court that he had good reason to believe that the information was true, correct and complete." Between 2011 and 2015, no case of provision of false addresses in applications for registration of society was found by the Societies Office.
(6) Under section 11 of the Societies Ordinance, the Societies Officer shall keep a list of all societies and branches which have been registered or exempted from registration setting out the names of the societies and the branches, as well as the respective addresses of the principal places of business of the societies and the branches and the places or premises owned or occupied by the societies. Such list shall also be open to inspection by any person free of charge during office hours at the Societies Office. To facilitate public inspection, the Societies Office has already uploaded the above-mentioned list onto the website of the Hong Kong Police Force. Anyone who wishes to obtain other information about the societies may, under section 12 of the Societies Ordinance, make a request in writing to the Societies Officer, who shall consider the request in accordance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) and other relevant guidelines.
Medical Laboratory Technologists
15. PROF JOSEPH LEE (in Chinese): President, Hong Kong has experienced several major outbreaks of infectious diseases in recent years. Some healthcare professionals have pointed out that medical laboratory tests can assist them in expeditiously identifying the infectious agents, which facilitates their formulation of measures to combat the epidemics and delivery of effective treatment to patients. They have also pointed out that in recent years, the workloads of both public and private medical laboratories have increased substantially. Regarding the manpower situation of medical laboratory work, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number and the scope of duties of registered medical laboratory technologists at present, with a breakdown by rank;
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(2) whether it knows the respective numbers of medical laboratory technologists of various ranks working in the Department of Health (DH), public hospitals, private hospitals and private laboratories at present;
(3) whether it knows the total number of medical laboratory tests conducted by public hospitals and DH, and the average daily number of laboratory tests handled by each laboratory technologist, in each of the past three years; and
(4) apart from the increase of 54 places in the degree programmes in medical laboratory science in the 2016-2017 to 2018-2019 triennium, whether the authorities have plans to further increase the number of relevant training places, so as to meet the increasing demand for medical laboratory services; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Chinese): President,
(1) Pursuant to section 3 of the Medical Laboratory Technologists (Registration and Disciplinary Procedure) Regulations (Regulations) (Cap. 359A), the register of medical laboratory technologists in Hong Kong shall be divided into three parts, namely Part I (holders of the qualifications as prescribed in section 5 of the Regulations with not less than three years of post-qualification recognized experience (two years of which should be gained in Hong Kong)), Part II (holders of the qualifications as prescribed in section 5 of the Regulations) and Part III (holders of a certificate of provisional registration). A registered medical laboratory technologist shall be entered in any one part of the register according to the qualifications and experience stipulated in section 5 of the Regulations. As at 1 May 2016, the number of registered medical laboratory technologists in different parts of the register is as follows:
Part I 2 379 Part II 808 Part III 86 Total 3 273
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In accordance with the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance (Cap. 359), a registered medical laboratory technologist in Hong Kong is a person trained in the practice of processing clinical, medical, legal, public health or veterinary specimens for the sole purpose of making and reporting on analysis or examination in vitro and the processing of all matters for human and animal consumption for the sole purpose of making and reporting on analysis or examination in vitro.
(2) We do not have information on medical laboratory technologists working in private hospitals and private laboratories by ranks. The number of medical laboratory technologists working in the Department of Health (DH) and the Hospital Authority (HA) are set out in the following tables:
DH
The table below sets out the number of medical laboratory technician grade officers in the DH, with breakdown by rank, as at 1 May 2016:
Strength Rank (as at 1 May 2016) Chief Medical Technologist 1 Senior Medical Technologist 10 Medical Technologist 90 Medical Laboratory Technician I 23 Medical Laboratory Technician II 129 Total 253
HA
The table below sets out the number of medical laboratory technologists in the HA, with breakdown by rank, as at February 2016:
Strength Rank (as at February 2016) Senior Medical Laboratory Technologist 69 Medical Laboratory Technologist 572 9652 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Strength Rank (as at February 2016) Associate Medical Laboratory Technologist/ 764 Medical Laboratory Technician Total 1 405
Note:
Manpower on full-time equivalent includes permanent, contract and temporary staff in the HA's workforce.
(3) In the past three years, the number of medical laboratory tests performed by the DH was about 6.1 million a year.
The medical laboratory service workload data in the HA in the past three years is set out in the following table:
2013 2014 2015 Pathology workload data 263 150 000 280 130 000 289 880 000
Note:
The above workload data includes specimen types of different varieties and complexities. Moreover, the equipment used, technology and operation model are also different across different laboratory specialties. The workload of Medical Laboratory Technologists in the HA therefore cannot be assessed simply based on the workload data.
The HA regularly assesses its manpower requirements and flexibly deploys its staff having regard to the service and operational needs. To address the surge in medical laboratory service demand attributed to the infectious disease outbreak or unforeseen incident, the HA would deploy additional manpower to meet the service needs. For the increase in service growth and launching of new service initiatives, the HA would allocate additional resources through the annual planning and resource allocation process.
(4) The Government has increased the number of University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded degree places in medical laboratory science from 32 to 44 for the 2012-2013 triennium. To meet the anticipated demand, the Government has further increased the number of UGC-funded degree places in medical laboratory science by 10 to 54 for the 2016-2017 to 2018-2019 triennium.
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The Government and UGC conduct academic planning for UGC-funded institutions on a triennial basis. In the long run, the Food and Health Bureau will, with due regard to the prevailing manpower situation of medical laboratory technologists, continue to liaise with the Education Bureau and UGC in order to set manpower requirement targets for each academic planning cycle according to actual demand and availability of resources.
In response to the challenges of an ageing population and increasing demand for healthcare services with higher expectations, the Government has set up a steering committee to conduct a strategic review on healthcare manpower planning and professional development in Hong Kong. The Review aims to make recommendations that would better enable us to meet the projected demand for healthcare professionals (including medical laboratory technologists) as well as foster professional development with a view to ensuring the healthy and sustainable development of our healthcare system. We expect that the Review will be completed in mid-2016. The Government will publish the report and take forward the recommendations as appropriate upon completion of the Review.
Utilization of Surpluses of University Grants Committee-funded Institutions
16. MR IP KIN-YUEN (in Chinese): President, the 2015 Policy Address pointed out that the community colleges of University Grants Committee-funded institutions (funded institutions) "have experienced rapid growth and some have accumulated large surpluses. We will ask the institutions to critically review their financial position and consider ways to use their surpluses to benefit their students, such as lowering tuition fees and offering scholarships or bursaries for underprivileged students." In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows, in respect of each funded institution in each of the past five years, (i) the surplus accumulated from the operation of self-financing programmes by its community college, (ii) the total amount of students' tuition fees reduced or waived and (iii) the total amount of scholarships or bursaries offered for underprivileged students (set out in a table); and
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(2) of the latest progress and effectiveness of the aforesaid request raised in the Policy Address?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION (in Chinese): President, at present, seven out of the eight tertiary institutions funded by the University Grants Committee (except The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) have established self-financing community colleges or other similar self-financing arms offering sub-degree programmes. A total of nine organizations are relevant, namely the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the University of Hong Kong (HKU SPACE), School of Continuing and Professional Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Community College of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU HKCC), Community College of City University (CCCU), School of Continuing Education of Hong Kong Baptist University, Academy of Film under Hong Kong Baptist University's School of Communication, Lingnan Institute of Further Education of Lingnan University, Community College at Lingnan University, and Unit of Associate Degree Studies of the Hong Kong Institute of Education.
In response to the recommendation put forth in the 2015 Policy Address, the Education Bureau issued letters to the institutions concerned to request their review of the financial position of their self-financing community colleges or other similar self-financing arms (that is, self-financing arms or affiliates offering sub-degree programmes) as well as the use of their surpluses (if any) for the benefits of students.
Based on the information provided by the institutions, the surplus or deficit recorded by each institution for the 2014-2015 financial year and the amount of their accumulated surpluses or deficits are set out in Annex. The Education Bureau does not possess information concerning the total amounts of students' tuition fees reduced or waived and scholarships or bursaries offered for underprivileged students by these institutions in the past five years.
The above institutions are all non-profit-making organizations. Although some of them have accumulated surpluses, they point out that the financial surpluses need to be (or will be) used for improving campus facilities, developing new school premises, repaying loans under the Government's Start-up Loan Scheme, enhancing teaching and learning (including the provision of support for students with different financial needs in various aspects, for example, e-learning, internship/student exchange programmes, and so on), and/or offering scholarships LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9655 or bursaries, and so on. For example, CCCU will move out of the campus of the City University of Hong Kong in a few years and will need to make use of its financial reserve mainly for new campus development and the provision of teaching support systems and facilities required. PolyU HKCC has earmarked about $100 million in the 2015-2016 academic year for scholarships, bursaries, overseas exchange programmes for students, enhancement of campus facilities, and so on. Related expenditures from the 2012-2013 to 2014-2015 academic years amounted to a total of about $270 million. It also needed to repay outstanding Government loans of about $641 million. HKU SPACE provides $1 million annually to its Community College for scholarships and bursaries. Its financial reserve was accumulated for many years and was required for repaying outstanding Government loans of about $205 million; investing in new programmes; enhancing campus facilities; and for contingencies, and so on.
At the same time, the institutions also point out that they need to keep sufficient reserves to maintain their operation in view of volatilities and uncertainties that may arise each year, and given the decline in the number of secondary school leavers in the coming few years.
Annex
Financial Position of Self-financing Community Colleges or Other Similar Self-financing Arms of University Grants Committee-funded Institutions
Surplus (or Deficit) ($ million) Accumulated Self-financing community colleges or other amount similar self-financing arms offering sub-degree 2014-2015 (as at programmes financial year 2014-2015 financial year) Community College of City University 11.4 937.3(3) (CCCU)(1) School of Continuing Education, Hong Kong 2.912 (38.33) Baptist University(1) Academy of Film of Hong Kong Baptist 1.563 3.049 University's School of Communication(1) Lingnan Institute of Further Education, (32.983) (10.607) Lingnan University(2) 9656 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Surplus (or Deficit) ($ million) Accumulated Self-financing community colleges or other amount similar self-financing arms offering sub-degree 2014-2015 (as at programmes financial year 2014-2015 financial year) Community College at Lingnan University(2) (14.333) 137.238(4) School of Continuing and Professional Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong 1.8 288 (CUSCS)(5) The Hong Kong Institute of Education ― Unit 4.4 of Associate Degree Studies(1) (operation to (Estimate for the 1.8 cease in the 2016-2017 academic year) 2016-2017 academic year) Hong Kong Community College of the Hong (68.004) 501.719(6) Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU HKCC(1) School of Professional and Continuing (26.033) 827 Education of the University of Hong Kong(7)
Notes:
(1) Covering the operation of self-financing sub-degree programmes only.
(2) Overall financial position of the institutions (including the operation of programmes other than sub-degree programmes).
(3) CCCU will move out of the campus of the City University of Hong Kong in a few years and will need to make use of its financial reserve mainly for new campus development and the provision of teaching support systems and facilities required.
(4) The accumulated surplus mainly comprises fixed assets (such as teaching building).
(5) According to CUSCS, the sub-degree programmes it offers include Higher Diploma (HD) programmes only. Under the existing financial system, the financial position of HD programmes cannot be separately identifiable. According to the internal cost allocation, HD programmes have in fact been operating with a deficit in the 2014-2015 financial year because it is the intention of CUSCS to keep the tuition fees at an affordable level. The accumulated surplus provided above is the overall surplus accumulated over the past 51 years including both HD (launched since 2001) and non-HD programmes (launched since 1965).
(6) PolyU HKCC has earmarked about $100 million in the 2015-2016 academic year for scholarships, bursaries, overseas exchange programmes for students, enhancement of campus facilities, and so on. Related expenditures from the 2012-2013 to 2014-2015 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9657
academic years amounted to a total of about $270 million. It also needed to repay outstanding Government loans of about $641 million.
(7) Overall financial position of the institution (including the operation of programmes other than sub-degree programmes). The financial reserve was accumulated for many years and was required for repaying outstanding Government loans of about $205 million; investing in new programmes; enhancing campus facilities; and for contingencies, and so on.
Paid Maternity Leave
17. MISS ALICE MAK (in Chinese): President, under the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57), a female employee who has been employed under a continuous contract for not less than 40 weeks immediately before taking maternity leave is entitled to 10 weeks of paid maternity leave, and the daily rate of maternity leave pay for that period is a sum equivalent to four-fifths of the average daily wages earned by the employee in the 12-month period preceding the first day of the maternity leave. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the fertility rate of Hong Kong female residents and the number of them giving birth, in each of the past three years, with a breakdown of the latter by age, employment status (i.e. full-time/part-time/not in employment/others) and occupation of the women giving birth as well as the type of their employers (i.e. public/private);
(2) whether it knows the details of the current stipulations in neighbouring jurisdictions in respect of the number of days of statutory maturity leave and maternity leave pay; and
(3) given that civil servants are currently entitled to 10 weeks of full-pay maternity leave, for how long such provision has been implemented, and the number of civil servants who took maternity leave in each of the past three years and the payroll expenses incurred during the relevant periods; whether it will make reference to such provision and enact legislation to stipulate that all employers in the territory must provide their female employees with full-pay maternity leave; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE (in Chinese): President, my reply to the three parts of the question raised by Miss Alice MAK is as follows:
(1) Information supplied by the Census and Statistics Department on the fertility rate of Hong Kong and the number of women giving birth in Hong Kong by age and by occupation in the past three years is at Annex A. The Census and Statistics Department does not keep information on the number of Hong Kong female residents giving birth by employment status and by the type of their employers. For the breakdowns on the number of women giving birth in Hong Kong by age and by occupation, information is only available up to 2014 as the data of 2015 are still being compiled; and for the fertility rate, the 2015 figures are only provisional figures.
(2) Information on the number of days of statutory maternity leave and maternity leave pay in neighbouring places, based on information collected from the Internet by the Labour Department, is at Annex B.
(3) The Government has been providing 10 weeks' full-pay maternity leave to civil servants since 1981. In the past three financial years, an average of around 1 200 maternity leave applications from civil servants were approved each year. Under the existing arrangements, all bureaux/departments have to absorb the staffing implications arising from maternity leave through redeployment of existing resources, and therefore no additional salary expenditure has been incurred in general.
The Government as an employer provides full-pay maternity leave to its pregnant employees after careful consideration of its affordability and other relevant factors. On the other hand, the maternity leave pay provisions under the Employment Ordinance (EO) prescribe the basic employment benefits that all employers, irrespective of their sizes, are required to provide to their employees. As small and medium enterprises, including also many micro enterprises, constitute over 98% of business establishments in Hong Kong, and their affordability varies, it is not appropriate to make a direct comparison with the Government or certain enterprises which, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9659
having regard to their affordability and operational situations, find it affordable to grant full-pay maternity leave for their pregnant employees.
The existing provisions on maternity leave under EO have accorded appropriate protection to pregnant employees and have struck a reasonable balance between the interests of employers and employees. In assessing whether to further improve maternity benefits for pregnant employees, we have to take into consideration Hong Kong's socio-economic situation and whether there is broad consensus in the community.
Annex A
Table 1: Age specific fertility rates and total fertility rate of Hong Kong, 2012-2015
(Number of live births per 1 000 women) Year 2012 2013 2014 2015(1) Age specific fertility rate 15-19 2.8 2.8 3.1 2.9 20-24 21.1 18.3 19.6 19.1 25-29 64.5 54.9 60.9 59.3 30-34 99.7 85.2 94.8 91.4 35-39 57.5 52.4 56.9 55.4 40-44 10.8 10.7 11.3 11.0 45-49 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.6 Total fertility rate(2) 1 285 1 124 1 234 1 195
Notes:
(1) Provisional figures.
(2) Total fertility rate refers to the average number of children that would be born alive to 1 000 women during their lifetime if they were to pass through their childbearing ages 15-49 experiencing the age specific fertility rates prevailing in a given year.
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Table 2: Number of women with live births born in Hong Kong by age, 2012-2014
Year Age 2012 2013 2014 <20 658 524 556 20-24 7 312 3 987 4 170 25-29 23 604 13 142 14 547 30-34 34 158 22 014 24 484 35-39 20 274 13 326 14 242 40-44 4 125 2 971 3 137 45-49 148 132 144 50+ 9 8 10 Unknown 68 39 36 Total 90 356 56 143 61 326
Note:
Figures cover local women as well as women from the Mainland and other places.
Table 3: Number of women with live births born in Hong Kong by occupation, 2012-2014
Year Occupation 2012 2013 2014 Managers and administrators 15 525 4 647 5 706 Professionals 12 678 7 573 9 177 Associate professionals 1 856 1 502 1 310 Clerks 11 408 8 292 8 401 Service workers and shop sales workers 9 101 6 707 7 383 Skilled agricultural and fishery workers 97 50 36 Craft and related workers 910 283 399 Plant and machine operators and assemblers 25 28 25 Elementary occupations 1 047 688 636 Armed forces and other occupations 377 325 327 Others (including those who are economically inactive 37 332 26 048 27 926 and do not provide the information of occupation) Total 90 356 56 143 61 326
Note:
Figures cover local women as well as women from the Mainland and other places.
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Annex B
Maternity leave and maternity leave pay in neighbouring places
Number of days of Place Maternity leave pay maternity leave Singapore 16 weeks For the first and second children: full (if the employee's child pay by the employer for the first eight is a Singapore citizen weeks, and reimbursement from the and she is legally Government for pay for the subsequent married to the child's eight weeks up to a ceiling. father) For the third and subsequent children: reimbursement from the Government for pay for the whole period up to a ceiling. 12 weeks For the first and second children: full (other employees) pay by the employer for the first eight weeks, not required by law to pay for the subsequent four weeks.
For the third and subsequent children: not required by law to pay for the leave. The Mainland 98 days Full pay (to be paid by maternity insurance) Japan 14 weeks 2/3 of employee's wages (to be paid by social insurance) Indonesia 13 weeks Full pay (to be paid by employer) Korea 90 days Full pay by the employer for the first 60 days, not required by law to pay for the subsequent 30 days
For eligible enterprises, pay for the whole period of 90 days' leave is to be paid by social insurance up to a ceiling 9662 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Number of days of Place Maternity leave pay maternity leave Malaysia 60 days Full pay (to be paid by employer) Macao 56 days Full pay (to be paid by employer)
Note:
The above information is collected from the Internet by the Labour Department in May 2016. The number of days of statutory leave and maternity leave pay of individual places may depend on their practices change from time to time.
Safety of Public Entertainment Events
18. MR IP KWOK-HIM (in Chinese): President, a local singer held the territory's first ever 4D concert with a series of nine shows at the Central promenade from the 28th of last month to the 7th of this month. However, as the marquee materials used for the temporary structure erected for the concert had failed to meet the relevant fire prevention standards, the Fire Services Department (FSD) did not issue a fire service certificate and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department therefore refused to issue a Temporary Places of Public Entertainment Licence (temporary licence) for the concert. As a result, the premiere show was cancelled just two hours before it was due to start. Subsequently, the organizer concerned was issued with the temporary licence after removing the marquee, enabling the remaining shows of the concert to be held as scheduled. It is learnt that FSD had, during the vetting and approval process of the temporary licence, followed up on the fire safety of the relevant venue on 10 occasions and reminded the organizer of the fire safety requirements to be met. Furthermore, it is learnt that there were a number of past cases in which organizers of major events held in open area were issued with the temporary licence only at the very last moment due to issues concerning venue or other factors. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities will consider making available, for reference by event organizers and the public, a "condensed info-pack" on application for temporary licences, with contents on the requirements in respect of fire safety (e.g. the fire prevention LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9663
standards required of decorative materials used in venues), structural safety of structures, electrical installation, environmental protection legislation, crowd management, etc.; if they will, of the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) given that a number of visitors coming from afar for the premiere show ended up leaving in disappointment, whether the authorities have assessed the impact of the incident on Hong Kong's tourism industry; if they have, of the assessment outcome, and whether they have taken remedial measures; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) given the occurrence of a dust deflagration incident at the Formosa Water Park in New Taipei City of Taiwan in June last year which caused 15 deaths and 484 injuries, whether the authorities have learnt any lesson from that incident and introduced more stringent fire safety requirements for major public entertainment events; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Chinese): President, any person who intends to keep or use places of public entertainment (PPE) shall apply to the licensing authority for a licence under the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance (Cap. 172). As the licensing authority, the Secretary for Home Affairs authorizes the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene to handle related licence applications. The requirement for a licence application serves the primary purpose of ensuring public safety and order at places of entertainment where members of the public congregate. The licensing requirements covers a number of aspects such as fire safety, building safety, electrical and mechanical equipment, ventilation, crowd management, hygiene and so forth. In this connection, all PPE shall comply with the requirements set by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and other departments concerned (for example, Fire Services Department (FSD), Buildings Department, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and Hong Kong Police Force).
Our consolidated reply to Mr IP Kwok-him's question is as follows:
(1) Upon receipt of an application for a PPE licence, the FEHD shall in the first place consider the nature of the activity, and, in the light of the category and venue of the activity in question, seek the views of 9664 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
the departments concerned. The FEHD, together with relevant departments, will issue a Letter of Requirements indicating the requirements for the applicant's compliance in respect of his application. Upon confirmation of the applicants' compliance of such requirements during site inspections by the departments concerned, and, subsequent to the issuance of relevant certificates to the applicant, the FEHD will inform the applicant of the approval of his application.
A guide to application for a PPE licence has been issued by the FEHD with information on the application processes and relevant licensing conditions (for example, fire safety and building safety). Relevant details have been uploaded onto the FEHD's website.
In terms of fire safety requirements, the FSD has also uploaded typical fire safety requirements in respect of an application for a temporary PPE licence onto its website for public reference. Furthermore, in the letter issued to the applicant on relevant fire safety requirements, the FSD will notify the applicant that any queries about fire safety in the course of licence application may be directly addressed to the FSD's case officers.
(2) The event organizer was fully in charge of the planning of the music activity concerned, which included making appropriate arrangements for local audience and incoming visitors affected by the cancellation of the premiere show on 28 April 2016. Given that the music activity was not a tourist project, and that the cancellation of the premiere show was considered a single incident, no assessment has been made by relevant bureau/department on the impact of this incident on Hong Kong's tourist industry.
(3) The FSD, all along assigns officers to conduct site inspections in respect of each application for a temporary PPE licence and to get hold of information such as the nature of the activity, mode of performance, props and materials to be used and so forth, upon which fire safety risk assessments will be carried out and appropriate fire safety requirements shall be laid down for the applicant's compliance to ensure public safety.
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In view of the dust deflagration incident in New Taipei City of Taiwan last year, the FSD has reviewed the procedures for handling applications for temporary PPE licences where fire safety requirements are involved, so as to explore any room for enhancement. After the review, the FSD has put in place new measures whereby case officers shall, in addition to basic procedures like detailed examination of the information on the application form and site inspections, take the initiative to require the applicant to confirm whether any special effects (including pyrotechnics, fireworks and dust) will be used during the activity, so as to facilitate the conduct of fire safety risk assessments and the formulation of appropriate fire safety requirements.
Monitoring of Use of Public Funds and Conduct of Commercial Activities by Funded Institutions
19. MR KENNETH LEUNG (in Chinese): President, recently, the media have made known to the public a huge number of confidential documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm, and some of such documents show that currently three Hong Kong institutions funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC) (funded institutions) have set up offshore companies to conduct commercial activities. Given that the extent of information about offshore companies disclosed by such institutions in their financial statements is different, there are queries that those institutions have concealed some information. Regarding the monitoring of use of public funds and conduct of commercial activities by funded institutions, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(1) the respective numbers of locally and non-locally registered companies with shares held by each funded institution in the past five years; the information about each company (including the name, date of incorporation, place of registration, list of directors, major business and principal shareholders of the company, as well as the purpose of setting up the company), and whether the institutions have disclosed key information about such companies in their annual reports and financial statements; if it knows, of the details;
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(2) if UGC has, apart from examining the financial statements submitted regularly by various funded institutions, monitored through other channels the use of public funds by various funded institutions; if UGC has, of the channels concerned; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) if UGC has currently put in place a mechanism and formulated guidelines for regulating matters relating to the ways in which funded institutions use public funds on investment activities and set up companies to conduct commercial activities; if UGC has, of the relevant mechanism and guidelines; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) given that some funded institutions have not provided detailed information about their non-locally registered companies in their financial statements, whether UGC has plans to require those institutions to make public such information to facilitate monitoring by the public; if UGC does, of the details of such plans; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) if UGC has plans to review and standardize the mechanism for declaration of engagement in commercial activities by various funded institutions, so as to enhance the transparency of institutional governance; if UGC does, of the details of such plans; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION (in Chinese): President,
(1) According to the information provided by the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded institutions, the details of the subsidiaries set up by them in the past five years are at Annex. Lingnan University has not set up any subsidiaries.
(2) and (3)
The eight UGC-funded institutions are independent statutory bodies, each with its own ordinance and governing council. Each institution has its own objectives, functions and governance structure in accordance with its own governing ordinance and statutes. In addition, the governing council is the supreme governing body over LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9667 all institutional matters, having powers to acquire, hold and dispose of interests in other corporate bodies and take part in forming corporate bodies, and to invest its funds in such manner and to such extent as it thinks necessary or expedient, and so on.
That notwithstanding, in view of the significant funding the institutions receive in the form of government subvention and private contributions, as well as the importance of higher education to the development of the society, institutions should ensure that their funding is put to appropriate use and serve the best interests of the community and students. While safeguarding academic freedom and institutional autonomy, institutions should endeavour to maintain transparency and accountability in their operations.
The UGC Notes on Procedures (NoP) clearly set out the principle of no cross-subsidization of UGC resources to non-UGC-funded activities. As a general principle, costs that can be directly attributed to the UGC-funded activities or the non-UGC-funded activities should be charged directly to the respective activity. To avoid hidden subsidy to non-UGC-funded activities, institutions should also levy overhead charges on such activities, including projects/programmes conducted by the self-financing subsidiaries or associates of the institutions.
The NoP also clearly set out the requirements on institutions' financial reporting, audit and assurance. In preparing their financial statements, institutions should follow the prevailing Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards (HKFRS) issued by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Statement of Recommended Practice for the UGC-funded Institutions (the SORP). As far as audit and assurance are concerned, in addition to the annual audit of the financial statements, institutions are required to engage independent external auditors to provide an assurance as to whether an institution has accounted for the income and expenditure in respect of the funds received from the UGC in accordance with the relevant provisions of the NoP and the grant allocation letters issued by the UGC. Moreover, to provide further assurance of the proper use and application of public funds as represented in the audited financial statements and the annual return, Heads of Institutions are requested to provide a Certificate of Accountability to the UGC 9668 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
annually, after the close of each financial year, to confirm that public funds allocated via the UGC and matched donations under the Matching Grant Schemes had been spent in accordance with the NoP, allocation letter and other guidelines and approved government policies, including the guidelines on no cross-subsidization.
The UGC established the Financial Affairs Working Group (FAWG) in 2011 to review institutions' finances, covering amongst others the cost allocation of UGC-funded and non-UGC-funded activities. The FAWG pointed out in its report issued in 2013 (the report is accessible on UGC's website) that though the exercise was not an audit, it was noted in the report that during the course of the review, nothing had come to the FAWG's attention that would suggest that there are glaring irregularities in the financial governance of the institutions. The FAWG considered that there was room for improvement in the cost allocation practices and the level of financial transparency in institutions, and put forward nine recommendations which covered these two areas. As a result, an updated version of the SORP and a new set of Cost Allocation Guidelines for the UGC-funded and the Non-UGC-funded Activities (the Guidelines) were promulgated to institutions in 2015. Institutions are expected to implement the different requirements by phases. The UGC believes that through the provisions in the SORP and the Guidelines, institutions could provide greater assurance to the public that the use and application of public funds is appropriate.
(4) and (5)
According to the HKFRS, entities that have an interest in a subsidiary, a joint arrangement, an associate or an unconsolidated structured entity should observe the requirements on the "Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities". Among others, it sets out the details that an entity shall disclose for each of its subsidiaries that is material to the reporting entity such details, including (i) the name of the subsidiary, (ii) the principal place of business (and country of incorporation if different from the principal place of business) of the subsidiary, (iii) the proportion of ownership interests held by non-controlling interests, and so on.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9669
Whilst some institutions chose to disclose all subsidiaries, others only disclosed principal subsidiaries. According to the institutions, in deciding whether information on individual subsidiaries (local/offshore) should be disclosed in the financial statements, they generally would consider the materiality of the investments in subsidiaries (such as the amount of investment involved, the level of business activities, and so on). The external auditors of the institutions are of the opinion that the institutions' consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the institutions and of the consolidated entities in accordance with the HKFRS.
The Government and UGC understand the public's wish for the institutions to enhance transparency and public accountability. In the spirit of institutional autonomy balanced with the need for public accountability, the UGC will shortly consider reviewing the reporting mechanism for investments and business activities conducted by institutions with a view to addressing the public's concerns as soon as practicable.
Annex
Details of the subsidiaries set up by UGC-funded institutions in the past five years (Source: Information provided by institutions)
Institution Number of subsidiaries Page(s) City University of Hong Kong 6 2 to 3 Hong Kong Baptist University 11 4 to 5 Lingnan University - - The Chinese University of Hong Kong 17 6 to 11 The Hong Kong Institute of Education 2 12 The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 30 13 to 35 The Hong Kong University of Science and 7 36 to 38 Technology The University of Hong Kong 20 39 to 43
9670 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Institution: City University of Hong Kong Number of subsidiaries: 6
Have the information relevant to Percentage of subsidiary(ies) been Share/Equity Proportion disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial Name of Purpose of setting up Principal Place of List of Directors Equity statements Company the Company Activity Incorporation held No Yes
(%) (Please (Please provide provide (%) (%) details of the
By institutionBy disclosure) By a subsidiary By reasons) 1. CityU Promoting, Investment Hong Kong At 30 June 2015: 100% 100% - Name of Enterprises encouraging and holding and LO Wai Kwok company, Limited supporting staff of provision of AI Chuan, David place of City University of management CHAN Ka Kui incorporation/ Hong Kong to services to HUI Ching Yu establishment commercialize their group KUO Way and operations, research, companies LEE Wai Kwong, particulars of technologies, and Sunny issued capital/ innovations into NG Cheung Shing registered viable businesses WONG Kwong Chi capital, percentage of issued and paid up capital/registered capital held by the University and principal activities 2. CityU Provision of Provision of Hong Kong At 30 June 2015: 100% 100% - Same as above Professional consultancy services consultancy KUO Way Services services LEE Wai Kwong, Limited Sunny 3. Community Provision of training Provision of Hong Kong At 30 June 2015: 100% 100% - Same as above College of and education training and CHOW Wing Shing, City programmes education Vincent University programmes NG Glok Hong, Jennifer IP Ho Shing, Horace ELLIS Arthur Baron LAM Kwan Sing, Paul TAO Lai Po Wah, Julia TANG Siu Kee, Simon 4. CityU Development and Research and Mainland At 30 June 2015: 100% 100% - Same as above Research transformation of Development China LU Jian Institute technologies, AI Chuan, David (Shenzhen) technologies LEE Wai Kwong, Company services, Sunny Limited international TANG Siu Kee, innovation and Simon technologies SHI Ming Zheng collaboration and exchange, information consultancies services LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9671
Have the information relevant to Percentage of subsidiary(ies) been Share/Equity Proportion disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial Name of Purpose of setting up Principal Place of List of Directors Equity statements Company the Company Activity Incorporation held No Yes
(%) (Please (Please provide provide (%) (%) details of the
By institutionBy disclosure) By a subsidiary By reasons) 5. CityU Technology Technology Hong Kong At 30 June 2015: 100% 100% - Same as above Research licensing licensing LU Jian Limited AI Chuan, David LEE Kwok On, Matthew TANG Siu Kee, Simon HO Ka Nam, Peter LEUNG Siu Hong, Raymond 6. CityU Provision of Inactive Hong Kong Before 30 June 2015: 100% - 100% Same as above Consultants consultancy services LEE Wai Kwong, Limited (The Sunny company has MAK Pui Lan completed the winding up procedure on 30 June 2015 and is deregistered)
Institution: Hong Kong Baptist University Number of subsidiaries: 11
Have the information relevant to Percentage of subsidiary(ies) been Share/Equity Proportion disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity statements Company up the Company Activity Incorporation held Yes No
(%) (Please (Please provide provide (%) (%) details of the By institutionBy
By a subsidiary By disclosure) reasons) 1. Changshu Research and Research and Mainland Prof WONG Wai 50% - 50% Disclosed the HKBU Consultancy Service Consultancy China Kwok name of Technology Service Prof HUANG Yu company, Company Dr ZHU Xunjun place of Limited Mr LEE Man Yan incorporation Ms WAI Siu Kee and operation, particulars of issued and paid-up capital, the university's effective interest, and principal activities in accordance with the accounting standards 9672 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information relevant to Percentage of subsidiary(ies) been Share/Equity Proportion disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity statements Company up the Company Activity Incorporation held Yes No
(%) (Please (Please provide provide (%) (%) details of the By institutionBy
By a subsidiary By disclosure) reasons) 2. BU Consultancy Service Consultancy Mainland Prof WONG Wai 100% - 100% Same as Consultancy Service China Kwok above (Shenzhen) Ms YAO Nan Limited Prof HUANG Yu 3. Institute for Training and Training and Mainland Prof HUANG Wai 100% 100% - Same as Research and Research Research China Kwok above Continuing Prof HUANG Yu Education Ms YAO Nan Ms TSE Man Yee Ms CHEN Qunying 4. Hong Kong Holding Company Holding Hong Kong Prof CHIN Tai Hong, 50% 50% - Same as Baptist Company Roland above University Mr LEE Shiu Chuen Investment Prof WONG Wai Limited Kwok Ms WAI Siu Kee Mr LEE Man Yan 5. Institute for Chinese Medicine Chinese Hong Kong Prof CHIN Tai Hong, 100% - 100% Same as the Research and Medicine Roland above Advancement Development Research and Prof WONG Wai of Chinese Development Kwok Medicine Prof LU Aiping (IACM) Dr ZHANG Ge Limited Mr LI Tak Man 6. BUCM Chinese Medicine Chinese Hong Kong Mr LEE Shiu Chuen 100% - 100% Same as Limited Research Medicine Prof LU Aiping above Research Prof BIAN Zhao Xiang Mr LI Tak Man 7. HKBU R&D Intellectual Intellectual Hong Kong Prof WONG Wai 100% 100% - Same as Licensing Properties Properties Kwok above Limited Commercialization Commercial- Dr TAN Keng Tiong and Trading ization and Prof CHAN Kit Trading Kwong, Allan Prof HSIAO Wen-luan, Wendy Mr HUANG Erwin Steve Mr TANG Kwai Chang Mr LI Tak Man Prof FU Hoo Kin Frank 8. HKBU Holding company Holding Hong Kong Prof CHIN Tai Hong 100% 100% - Same as Holdings company Roland above Limited Mr CHENG Yan Kee Mrs CHAN HUI Dor Lam Doreen Prof WONG Wai Kwok Mr LI Tak Man LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9673
Have the information relevant to Percentage of subsidiary(ies) been Share/Equity Proportion disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity statements Company up the Company Activity Incorporation held Yes No
(%) (Please (Please provide provide (%) (%) details of the By institutionBy
By a subsidiary By disclosure) reasons) 9. HKBU Scientific research Scientific Hong Kong Prof WONG Wai 100% 100% - Same as Science and consultancy research and Kwok above Consultancy services consultancy Mr LI Tak Man Company services Prof LIU Jiming Limited Prof TANG Tao 10. Smartlife Property holding Property Hong Kong Mr LI Tak Man 100% - 100% Same as Limited holding Dr WONG Chi Hon, above Simon 11. Hong Kong Promotion and Promotion Hong Kong Mr LEUNG Wing 100% 100% - Same as Creative Arts development of and Cheung William above Centre creative arts development Mr LEE Shiu Chuen Limited of creative Mr CHIU Ping Kwan arts Mr CHOW Ming Joe, Raymond Ms CHOW Winsome Ms LAM Suk Yee, Connie Prof YEUNG KAO May Ching, Margaret Prof John Clifford Aiken
Institution: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Number of subsidiaries: 17
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual of Share/ Held Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity report/financial statements
Company up the Company Activity Incorporation held Yes No
(%) (Please (Please provide (%) (%) provide the details of
By institutionBy reasons) By a subsidiary By disclosure) 1. The Chinese To establish, To raise funds Hong Kong Prof SUNG Jao 100% 100% - Disclosed in University of develop, sponsor, for research and Yiu, Joseph the footnote Hong Kong promote, finance development; to Dr KWOK Ping of the Foundation and conduct establish/spin Luen, Raymond University's Limited educational and off companies Mr LUK Koon Financial cultural and provide a Hoo, Roger Statements programmes, corporate Prof CHEUNG with scientific and structure and Mui Ching, details on the technological mode of Fanny company 9674 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual of Share/ Held Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity report/financial statements
Company up the Company Activity Incorporation held Yes No
(%) (Please (Please provide (%) (%) provide the details of
By institutionBy reasons) By a subsidiary By disclosure) research, hospital operation that Prof WONG name, place and related health will facilitate Ching Ping of care services and enhance incorporation, related to CUHK co-operation percentage of with the holding industrial and equity and business sector; principal to encourage the activities transfer of technologies and research output that are mature to the spin-off companies for mid- to down-stream development; and in general to promote the research, development and technology transfer programmes of CUHK 2. Asia To organize Mainly to run Hong Kong Prof FOK Tai Fai 100% - 100% Same as Diabetes activities and the Joint Asia Prof CHAN above Foundation research regarding Diabetes Chung Ngor, Limited diabetes on a Evaluation Juliana non-profit making Program and Prof CHAN Ka basis Diabetes Leung, Francis Monitoring Prof Hong FUNG Database Prof CHOW Chun Programs in Chung, Francis Type 2 Diabetic Mr LUK King patients as well Kwong as other Dr Troels programs WOLTHERS including a Dr Pierre telephone-based MAHEUX structured education system to support patients with diabetes LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9675
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual of Share/ Held Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity report/financial statements
Company up the Company Activity Incorporation held Yes No
(%) (Please (Please provide (%) (%) provide the details of
By institutionBy reasons) By a subsidiary By disclosure) 3. CUCAMed To serve as a To Hong Kong Prof LEUNG Ping 100% - 100% Same as Company commercialization commercialize Chung (held by above Limited arm for the Chinese medical Prof CHEUNG CUHKF Institute of formula Mui Ching, and PVC Chinese Medicine developed by Fanny on trust) of CUHK in CUHK via Prof WONG Chun developing licensing or Kwok products derived collaboration Prof HSU Ning, from researches so with the industry Vernon as to extend our knowledge and expertise to industry, and to benefit the community 4. PA To provide To provide day Hong Kong Prof KWOK Chi 100% - 100% Same as Company multiservice to care/residential Yui, Timothy (held by above Limited dementia patients services in the Prof Jean WOO CUHKF and training for the centres as well Ms WONG Chak and PVC carers as home-based Hung, Nowell on trust) training and Ms CHAN Choi caregivers Ying, Imelda support; there are also memory clinic and hotline which provide memory and cognitive assessment and general information 5. HKIX Hong As the holding No substantive British Prof WONG 100% - 100% Same as Kong company of The business Virgin Ching Ping above Limited Hong Kong operation Islands Prof CHEUNG Internet eXchange Mui Ching, Limited; to attract Fanny international Prof CHING Pak investors by Chung providing flexibility in shares transfer in case of technology transfer and spin-off 9676 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual of Share/ Held Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity report/financial statements
Company up the Company Activity Incorporation held Yes No
(%) (Please (Please provide (%) (%) provide the details of
By institutionBy reasons) By a subsidiary By disclosure) 6. The Hong To segregate the To provide Hong Kong Prof WONG 100% - 100% Same as Kong business Internet Ching Ping (held by above Internet operations from exchange Prof CHEUNG HKIX eXchange CUHK to avoid services to local Mui Ching, and PVC Limited cross-subsidization or international Fanny on trust) Internet Access Prof CHING Pak Providers Chung Prof Michael CHANG 7. Information To hold shares of No substantive Hong Kong Prof CHEUNG 100% - 100% Same as Networking spin-offs for the business Mui Ching, (held by above Laboratories Faculty of operation Fanny CUHKF Limited Engineering in Prof WONG Kam and PVC order to facilitate Fai on trust) technology Prof WONG transfer between Ching Ping the academia and Prof WONG the industry Wing Shing Prof Leslie YEUNG 8. The Hong To provide R&D To produce Hong Kong Prof WAH Wan 100% 100% - Same as Kong support and an product for the Sang, Benjamin above Institute of incubator facility company and Prof CHENG Biotechnology for local the industry as Hong Ki, Limited entrepreneurs to well as Christopher develop providing Ms LAM Yuet biotechnology consultation Ping, Salome products service and training in "Good Manufacturing Practice" 9. IBSOmed Wholly-owned by To distribute Hong Kong Prof CHENG 100% - 100% Same as Bioscience HKIB, focus on and promote an Hong Ki, (held by above Limited Chinese Medicine herbal product Christopher HKIB related business for the Ms LAM Yuet and Prof prevention of Ping, Salome CHENG bone loss and Hong Ki the maintenance on trust) of healthy bones 10. The Hong To provide the Operated IT Hong Kong Prof CHEUNG 100% - 100% Same as Kong School education industry related business Mui Ching, (held by above Net Limited with information for schools in Fanny CUHKF (Deregistered technology Hong Kong Prof HAU Kit Tai and PVC in March solutions and Prof WONG Kam on trust) 2016) support schools in Fai the development Prof WONG of quality IT Ching Ping teaching and Prof CHING Pak learning programs Chung LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9677
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual of Share/ Held Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity report/financial statements
Company up the Company Activity Incorporation held Yes No
(%) (Please (Please provide (%) (%) provide the details of
By institutionBy reasons) By a subsidiary By disclosure) 11. CUGEN To provide reagent Produced and Hong Kong Prof CHEUNG 100% - 100% Same as Limited to secondary sold reagent kits Mui Ching, (held by above (Shares schools for for secondary Fanny CUHKF transferred in biological schools to run Prof FOK Tai Fai and PVC February experiments biological Prof KONG Siu on trust) 2015) experiments Kai Prof KWAN Hoi Shan Prof SHAW Pang Chui Prof TSUI Kwok Wing, Stephen 12. CU Business To provide No substantive Hong Kong Prof CHEUNG 100% - 100% Same as Administration business business Mui Ching, (held by above Holdings consultancy operation Fanny CUHKF Limited services Prof CHAN Chi and PVC (Deregistered Fai, Andrew on trust) in March Prof LYU Rung 2014) Tsong, Michael 13. 港中大研 To carry out To provide an Mainland Prof WAH Wan 100% 100% - Same as 究院( 深 research, effective China Sang Benjamin above 圳)有限公 technology platform for PIs Prof CHEUNG 司 transfer and to apply for Mui Ching related technical research funds Fanny services on from local Prof FUNG Tung advanced funding technology, agencies provide consulting service on international technology development, and manage owned properties 14. The Chinese To sponsor, To receive Hong Kong Dr CHENG Hoi 100% 100% - Same as University of develop, promote donations for Chuen above Hong Kong and encourage CUHK, Prof XU Yang (Shenzhen) public Shenzhen to Sheng Foundation participation in financially Mr LAU Sai Limited public services support students Yung with excellent Prof SUNG Jao academic Yiu Joseph results, and Prof YOUNG promote Kenneth teaching Ms LAM Yuet development Ping Salome and research activities 9678 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual of Share/ Held Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity report/financial statements
Company up the Company Activity Incorporation held Yes No
(%) (Please (Please provide (%) (%) provide the details of
By institutionBy reasons) By a subsidiary By disclosure) 15. The Chinese To provide No business Hong Kong Prof SUNG Jao 100% - 100% Same as University healthcare and activity Yiu Joseph above Medical related services Prof FOK Tai Fai Centre and Prof CHAN Kai Hospital Ming Limited Prof LUI Siu Fai (Deregistered Prof LAI Bo San in December Paul 2014) Dr WONG Kwai Lam 16. CUHK To provide high The Hong Kong Prof SUNG Jao 100% - 100% Same as Medical quality private development of Yiu Joseph above Centre healthcare services private teaching Prof FOK Tai Fai Limited at transparent and hospital is still Prof CHAN Ka affordable prices under Leung Francis and to strengthen planning stage, Mr LEE Chien the training of business activity Dr CHENG Hoi healthcare has not yet Chuen professionals and commenced Dr NEOH facilitate Anthony application of Francis research results Dr CHENG Wai and clinical Kin Edgar service Dr HO Tzu Leung innovations Mr LUK Koon through the Hoo Roger operation of a Dr WONG Kwai private teaching Lam hospital Dr YEOH Eng Kiong Mr AUYANG Pak Hong Bernard Mr CHAN Chun Wing Terence Dr FUNG Hong Mr NG Shu Pui Eric Ms LAM Yuet Ping Salome 17. CUHK Holding company No business Hong Kong Prof SUNG Jao 100% 100% - Incorporated Health activity Yiu Joseph on Limited Dr CHENG Hoi 12 November Chuen 2015. Will Dr NEOH be disclosed Anthony in the Francis 2015-2016 financial statements
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9679
Institution: The Hong Kong Institute of Education Number of subsidiaries: 2
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity been disclosed in annual Proportion Held report/financial of Share/ Name of Purpose of setting up Principal Place of statements List of Directors Equity Company the Company Activity Incorporation No held Yes (Please
(%) (Please (%) (%) provide provide details the By institutionBy
By a subsidiary By of disclosure) reasons) 1. The HKIEd To plan, establish Same as on the Hong Kong Prof CHENG Yin 100% 100% - The name, Schools and manage schools left Cheong purpose, Limited Sister WONG Kam principal Lin, Margaret activities, Annie place of Ms SHEK Yuk Yu incorporation Mrs MA LI Mun and percentage Wai, Julie of equity held Ms MOK Fung by the Yee, Emily institution Ms LAM Wai Ling Prof SO Wing Mui Prof Allan David Walker Ms WONG Man Yee, Sarah Ms LING Kit Sum, Imma 2. HKIEd For the promotion Same as on the Hong Kong Prof CHEUNG 100% 100% - Same as above School of and advancement of left Yan Leung, Continuing professional, Stephen and technical and Ms WONG Man Professional continuing Yee, Sarah Education education, foster and Prof CHUNG Limited provide courses Wai-yee, Joanne leading to awards as Mr LEE King well as courses of Ting, Frank general interest, and Dr CHIU Cheung where appropriate, Ki provide learning opportunities in or outside Hong Kong
9680 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Institution: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Number of subsidiaries: 30
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By 1. Advance New 2012-2013 2012-2013 Hong Kong HEUNG Sai Kit 100% - 100% 2010-2011 to Technology Dissolved Dissolved (From 1 May 2008 2011-2012 Limited until the date of - Name of (Dissolved by 2011-2012 2011-2012 dissolution) Subsidiary members' Inactive Inactive - Place of voluntary CHEUNG Chun Incorporation winding up on 2010-2011 2010-2011 Shun and 28 March Investment Investment (From 4 June 2008 Operation 2013) Holding Holding until the date of - Particulars dissolution) of Issued and Paid Up Capital - Proportion of Ownership Interest - Principal Activity
2012-2013 The dissolution of the Company was disclosed in the note of the Financial Report 2012-2013 2. Campus 2010-2011 to 2010-2011 Hong Kong WONG Sau Wan 100% 100% - 2010-2011 to Facilities 2014-2015 to Leslie 2014-2015 Management Facility 2014-2015 (Appointed on - Name of Company Management Facility 23 May 2015) Subsidiary Limited Services Management - Place of Services CHIK Tze Cheung Incorporation (Appointed on and 1 June 2008) Operation - Particulars CHAN Kang Por of Issued (Appointed on and Paid Up 15 December 2006 Capital and resigned on - Proportion 23 May 2015) of Ownership LUK Wing Chun Interest Vincent - Principal (Appointed on Activity 4 June 2004) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9681
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By 3. College of 2010-2011 to 2010-2011 Hong Kong LOU Lai Wah 100% 100% - 2010-2011 to Professional 2014-2015 to Miranda 2014-2015 and Education 2014-2015 (Appointed on - Name of Continuing Education 21 September 2015) Subsidiary Education - Place of Limited BENZIE Iris Incorporation Frances Forster and (Appointed on Operation 1 July 2015) - Particulars
of Issued WONG Soo Kam and Paid Up (Appointed on Capital 1 July 2014) - Proportion DE BONT Cornelis of Joachim Petrus Ownership Maria Interest (Appointed on - Principal 1 July 2014) Activity
TSE Chi Kong (Appointed on 1 March 2013 and resigned on 1 July 2015)
FAN Siu Kay (Appointed on 1 March 2013)
PANG Tsan Wing (Appointed on 1 July 2012)
YAP Keng Hung Maurice (Appointed on 1 July 2012)
NG Tat Lun (Appointed on 1 July 2011 and deceased on 14 January 2013)
CHENG Tsz Wan (Appointed on 1 July 2011 and resigned on 1 January 2013)
YANG Wei Hsiung Nicholas (Appointed on 1 June 2010 and resigned on 1 March 2015)
9682 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By CHAN Philip Ching Ho (Appointed on 1 June 2010)
YUEN Walter Wah (Appointed on 10 May 2010 and resigned on 2 November 2012)
MAN Hau Chung (Appointed on 1 July 2009 and resigned on 1 July 2011)
TONG Wai Cheung Timothy (Appointed on 3 February 2009)
YUNG Wing Ki Samuel (Appointed on 25 August 2008)
TAO Xiaoming (Appointed on 15 August 2008 and resigned on 1 July 2012)
CHON Kaye Kye Sung (Appointed on 15 August 2008 and resigned on 1 July 2014)
HEUNG Sai Kit (Appointed on 1 March 2008 and resigned on 1 July 2014)
NGAN Chung Wai Timothy (Appointed on 13 August 2007 and resigned on 1 January 2012)
LO Wing Yan William (Appointed on 1 July 2009 and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9683
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By resigned on 1 July 2011)
YUEN Pok Man Peter (Appointed on 1 July 2007)
LO Man Keung (Appointed on 1 November 2006 and resigned on 2 January 2015)
WONG Shiu Hoi Peter (Appointed on 14 July 2003 and resigned on 1 July 2012)
LEUNG Tak Wing Simon (Appointed on 14 July 2003 and resigned on 2 January 2015) 4. Confucius 2014-2015 2014-2015 Hong Kong YUEN TSANG 100% 100% - 2010-2011 to Institute of Dissolved Dissolved Woon Ki 2012-2013 Hong Kong Angelina - Name of (formerly 2013-2014 2013-2014 (From 3 April 2012 Subsidiary known as Inactive Inactive - Place of until the date of Confucius Incorporation dissolution) Institute of 2010-2011 to 2010-2011 and
Hong Kong 2012-2013 to Operation Limited) Education 2012-2013 YUEN Walter Wah - Particulars (Dissolved by Education (Appointed on of Issued members' 15 July 2010 and and Paid Up voluntary resigned on Capital winding up on 2 November 2012) - Proportion 2 March of 2015) CHU Hung Lam Ownership (From Interest - Principal 16 September 2009 Activity until the date of - The power dissolution) to govern the financial TONG Wai Cheung and Timothy operating (Appointed on policies of 20 March 2009 and the resigned on Company 20 March 2012) was disclosed in 9684 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By YU Tao the note of (Appointed on the 28 September 2006 Financial and resigned on Reports 28 September 2012) 2013-2014 CHAN Man Hung - Name of (From 2 May 2006 Subsidiary until the date of - Place of dissolution) Incorporation and LEE Chack Fan Operation (From 2 May 2006 - Particulars until the date of of Issued dissolution) and Paid Up
Capital CHAN Shui Duen - Proportion (From 27 October of 2005 until the date Ownership of dissolution) Interest - Principal Activity - Disclosed in the notes of Financial Report that the University has rights to variable returns from its involvement with the Company and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the Company
2014-2015 The dissolution of the Company was disclosed in the note of the Financial Report 2014-2015 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9685
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By
5. CyberU.com 2010-2011 2010-2011 Hong Kong YUEN Pok Man 100% 100% - 2010-2011 Limited Dissolved Dissolved Peter The (Dissolved by (From 1 August Company deregistration 2008 until the date was dissolved on 27 August of deregistration) by 2010) deregistration CHAN Kang Por on 27 August (From 22 December 2010 2006 until the date of deregistration) 6. Hong Kong 2010-2011 to 2010-2011 Hong Kong WONG Soo Kam 100% 100% - 2010-2011 to Community 2014-2015 to (Appointed on 2014-2015 College Post-secondary 2014-2015 1 July 2014) - Name of Education Post- Subsidiary secondary CHAN Philip - Place of Education Ching Ho Incorporation (Appointed on and 4 January 2013) Operation - Particulars HO Shuk Ying of Issued Cathy and Paid Up (Appointed on Capital 1 July 2012 and - Proportion resigned on of 1 November 2012) Ownership Interest YUEN Walter Wah - Principal (Appointed on Activity 3 August 2010 and resigned on 2 November 2012)
LEUNG Tak Wing Simon (Appointed on 31 March 2009 and resigned on 1 July 2012)
HEUNG Sai Kit (Appointed on 1 May 2008 and resigned on 1 July 2014)
YUEN Pok Man Peter (Appointed on 11 July 2007) 9686 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By 7. Hong Kong 2010-2011 2010-2011 Hong Kong CHAN Kang Por 100% 100% - 2004-2005 and CommunityU Dissolved Dissolved (From 1 April 2009 2005-2006 Limited until the date of - Name of (Dissolved by dissolution) Subsidiary members' - Place of voluntary YUEN Pok Man Incorporation winding up on Peter and 6 December (From 11 July 2007 Operation 2010) until the date of - Particulars dissolution) of Issued and Paid Up Capital - Proportion of Ownership Interest - Principal Activity 8. Hotel ICON 2011-2012 to 2011-2012 Hong Kong LAM Tai Fai 100% 100% - 2010-2011 to Limited 2014-2015 to (Appointed on 2014-2015 (formerly Operation of 2014-2015 1 February 2016) - Name of known as Teaching and Operation of Subsidiary Hotel ICON Research Hotel Teaching LOU Lai Wah - Place of Limited) and Miranda Incorporation 2010-2011 Research (Appointed on and Teaching and Hotel 21 September 2015) Operation Research Hotel - Particulars Operation 2010-2011 WONG Soo Kam of Issued Teaching (Appointed on and Paid Up and 1 July 2014) Capital Research - Proportion Hotel LUI Alex Chun of Operation Wan Ownership (Appointed on Interest 15 April 2013 and - Principal resigned on 1 June Activity 2015)
YANG Wei Hsiung Nicholas (Appointed on 16 April 2010 and resigned on 1 March 2015)
Giovanni ANGELINI (Appointed on 10 February 2010)
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9687
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By WONG Kwok Shing Thomas (Appointed on 1 February 2010 and resigned on 1 January 2011)
NG Tat Lun (Appointed on 1 February 2010 and deceased on 14 January 2013)
CHUNG Chi Ping Roy (Appointed on 2 November 2009)
NGAN NG Yu Ying (Appointed on 20 October 2009)
LO Kin Ching Joseph (Appointed on 20 October 2009)
CHON Kaye Kye Sung (Appointed on 1 January 2009)
LO Chung Wing Victor (Appointed on 1 January 2009)
TONG Wai Cheung Timothy (Appointed on 1 January 2009)
HEUNG Sai Kit (Appointed on 24 October 2008 and resigned on 1 July 2014) 9688 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By 9. PearL 2013-2014 2013-2014 Hong Kong YUEN TSANG 100% - 100% 2010-2011 to Innovation Dissolved Dissolved Woon Ki 2012-2013 Limited Angelina - Name of (Dissolved by 2011-2012 to 2011-2012 (From 9 April 2010 Subsidiary members' 2012-2013 to until the date of - Place of voluntary Inactive 2012-2013 dissolution) Incorporation winding up on Inactive and 13 November 2010-2011 HEUNG Sai Kit Operation 2013) Investment 2010-2011 (From 1 May 2008 - Particulars Holding Investment until the date of of Issued Holding dissolution) and Paid Up Capital - Proportion of Ownership Interest - Principal Activity
2013-2014 The dissolution of the Company was disclosed in the note of the Financial Report 2013-2014 10. PearL 2010-2011 to 2010-2011 Hong Kong WONG Sau Wan 100% - 100% 2010-2011 to Modern TCM 2014-2015 to Leslie 2014-2015 Research Research and 2014-2015 (Appointed on - Name of Limited Development Research 23 May 2015) Subsidiary and - Place of Development WONG Wing Tak Incorporation (Appointed on and 1 October 2010) Operation - Particulars WAI Ping Kong of Issued Alexander and Paid Up (Appointed on Capital 1 July 2010) - Proportion of YUEN TSANG Ownership Woon Ki Interest Angelina - Principal (Appointed on Activity 9 April 2010 and resigned on 1 October 2010)
CHAN Kang Por (Appointed on 29 December 2006 and resigned on 23 May 2015)
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9689
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By YOUNG Andrew Meng Cheung (Appointed on 13 July 2001 and resigned on 1 October 2010)
CHAN Albert Sun-chi (Appointed on 13 July 2001 and resigned on 1 July 2010) 11. PearL 2011-2012 2011-2012 Hong Kong YUEN TSANG 100% - 100% 2010-2011 Systems Dissolved Dissolved Woon Ki - Name of Technologies Angelina Subsidiary Limited 2010-2011 2010-2011 (From 9 April 2010 - Place of (Dissolved by Investment Investment until the date of Incorporation members' Holding Holding dissolution) and voluntary Operation winding up on HEUNG Sai Kit - Particulars 19 January (From 1 May 2008 of Issued 2012) until the date of and Paid Up dissolution) Capital - Proportion LEE Wing Bun of (From 10 July 2001 Ownership until the date of Interest dissolution) - Principal Activity YOUNG Andrew Meng Cheung 2011-2012 (From 10 July 2001 The dissolution until the date of of the dissolution) Company was disclosed in the note of the Financial Report 2011-2012 12. PearL 2011-2012 2011-2012 Hong Kong YUEN TSANG 100% - 100% 2010-2011 Technology Dissolved Dissolved Woon Ki The Partnership Angelina Company Limited 2010-2011 2010-2011 (From 9 April 2010 commenced (Dissolved by Dormant Dormant until the date of dormancy on deregistration deregistration) 1 April 2004 on 9 December HEUNG Sai Kit 2011-2012 2011) (From 1 May 2008 The until the date of Company deregistration) was dissolved by deregistration on 9 December 2011 9690 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By 13. PearL 2010-2011 to 2010-2011 Hong Kong WONG Soo Kam 100% - 100% 2010-2011 to Western 2014-2015 to (Appointed on 2014-2015 Development Investment 2014-2015 1 July 2014) - Name of Company Holding Investment Subsidiary Limited Holding HUANG Chu-ren - Place of (Appointed on Incorporation 20 October 2011) and Operation YUEN TSANG - Particulars Woon Ki of Issued Angelina and Paid Up (Appointed on Capital 9 April 2010) - Proportion of HEUNG Sai Kit Ownership (Appointed on Interest 1 May 2008 and - Principal resigned on 1 July Activity 2014)
LO Shuen (Appointed on 21 July 2003)
WONG Leung Alwin (Appointed on 9 November 2001)
YOUNG Andrew Meng Cheung (Appointed on 24 October 2001 and resigned on 24 August 2011) 14. PearL- 2012-2013 to 2012-2013 British Virgin WONG Soo Kam 100% - 100% 2012-2013 to DigiPower 2014-2015 to Islands (Appointed on 2014-2015 (Offshore) Investment 2014-2015 1 July 2014) The Company Holding Investment Company Limited Holding HEUNG Sai Kit had no (Incorporated (Appointed on significant on 28 May 17 June 2013 and value to 2013) resigned on 1 July PolyU 2014) 15. PearL-Sun 2012-2013 to 2012-2013 British Virgin WONG Soo Kam 100% - 100% 2012-2013 to Wah 2014-2015 to Islands (Appointed on 2014-2015 (Offshore) Investment 2014-2015 1 July 2014) The Company Holding Investment Company Limited Holding HEUNG Sai Kit had no (Incorporated (Appointed on significant on 29 October 6 November 2012 value to 2012) and resigned on PolyU 1 July 2014) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9691
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By 16. PolyU 2010-2011 to 2010-2011 Hong Kong LOU Lai Wah 100% - 100% 2010-2011 to Enterprises 2014-2015 to Miranda 2014-2015 Limited Investment 2014-2015 (Appointed on - Name of Holding Investment 21 September 2015) Subsidiary Holding - Place of Daniel LAI Incorporation (Appointed on and 19 March 2015 and Operation resigned on - Particulars 19 September 2015) of Issued and Paid Up WONG Soo Kam Capital (Appointed on - Proportion 1 July 2014) of Ownership LEUNG Siu Hong Interest (Appointed on - Principal 1 July 2013) Activity
YANG Wei Hsiung Nicholas (Appointed on 9 April 2010 and resigned on 1 March 2015)
HEUNG Sai Kit (Appointed on 1 May 2008 and resigned on 1 July 2014)
NG Tat Lun (Appointed on 15 May 2007 and deceased on 14 January 2013) 17. PolyU 2013-2014 to 2013-2014 Hong Kong LOU Lai Wah 100% 100% - 2013-2014 to Enterprise 2014-2015 to Miranda 2014-2015 Plus Limited Investment 2014-2015 (Appointed on - Name of (Incorporated Holding Investment 21 September 2015) Subsidiary on 24 April Holding - Place of 2014) Daniel LAI Incorporation (Appointed on and 19 March 2015 and Operation resigned on - Particulars 19 September 2015) of Issued and Paid Up WONG Soo Kam Capital (Appointed on - Proportion 1 July 2014) of Ownership 9692 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By LEUNG Siu Hong Interest (Appointed on - Principal 24 April 2014) Activity
YANG Wei Hsiung Nicholas (Appointed on 24 April 2014 and resigned on 1 March 2015)
HEUNG Sai Kit (Appointed on 24 April 2014 and resigned on 1 July 2014) 18. PolyU 2010-2011 to 2010-2011 Hong Kong LOU Lai Wah 100% 100% - 2010-2011 to Research 2014-2015 to Miranda 2014-2015 Limited Investment 2014-2015 (Appointed on - Name of Holding Investment 21 September 2015) Subsidiary Holding - Place of WONG Sau Wan Incorporation Leslie and (Appointed on Operation 23 May 2015) - Particulars of Issued Daniel LAI and Paid Up (Appointed on Capital 19 March 2015 and - Proportion resigned on of 19 September 2015) Ownership Interest WAI Ping Kong - Principal Alexander Activity (Appointed on 1 July 2010)
YUEN TSANG Woon Ki Angelina (Appointed on 9 April 2010)
YANG Wei Hsiung Nicholas (Appointed on 9 April 2010 and resigned on 1 March 2015)
CHAN Kang Por (Appointed on 29 December 2006 and resigned on 23 May 2015) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9693
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By 19. PolyU TCM 2012-2013 2012-2013 Hong Kong YAP Keng Hung 100% 100% - 2010-2011 to Clinic Dissolved Dissolved Maurice 2011-2012 Company (From 1 April 2011 - Name of Limited 2011-2012 2011-2012 until the date of Subsidiary (Dissolved by Inactive Inactive dissolution) - Place of members' Incorporation voluntary 2010-2011 2010-2011 George WOO and winding up on Clinic Operation Clinic (Appointed on Operation 25 January and Training Operation 1 January 2011 and - Particulars 2013) and Training resigned on 1 April of Issued 2011) and Paid Up Capital WONG Kwok - Proportion Shing Thomas of (Appointed on Ownership 12 May 2009 and Interest resigned on - Principal 1 January 2011) Activity
CHAN Kang Por 2012-2013 (From 22 December The dissolution 2006 until the date of the of dissolution) Company was disclosed in the note of the Financial Report 2012-2013 20. PolyU 2010-2011 to 2010-2011 Hong Kong LOU Lai Wah 100% 100% - 2010-2011 to Technology 2014-2015 to Miranda 2014-2015 and Consultancy 2014-2015 (Appointed on - Name of Consultancy Services Consultancy 21 September 2015) Subsidiary Co Limited Services - Place of Daniel LAI Incorporation (Appointed on and 19 March 2015 and Operation resigned on - Particulars 19 September 2015) of Issued and Paid Up XU You Lin Capital (Appointed on - Proportion 1 July 2014) of Ownership WONG Soo Kam Interest (Appointed on - Principal 1 July 2014) Activity
HUANG Chu-ren (Appointed on 20 October 2011)
9694 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By YAP Keng Hung Maurice (Appointed on 1 April 2011)
TENG Jinguang (Appointed on 1 July 2010 and resigned on 1 July 2014)
YUEN TSANG Woon Ki Angelina (Appointed on 9 April 2010)
YANG Wei Hsiung Nicholas (Appointed on 9 April 2010 and resigned on 1 March 2015)
WOO George (Appointed on 1 September 2008 and resigned on 1 April 2011)
HEUNG Sai Kit (Appointed on 1 May 2008 and resigned on 1 July 2014)
WAI Ping Kong Alexander (Appointed on 20 September 2003)
WONG Leung Alwin (Appointed on 15 March 2003)
YOUNG Andrew Meng Cheung (Appointed on 15 March 2003 and resigned on 24 August 2011) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9695
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By 21. PTeC 2014-2015 2014-2015 Hong Kong YUEN TSANG 100% - 100% 2010-2011 to Information Dissolved Dissolved Woon Ki 2013-2014 Technology Angelina - Name of Limited 2013-2014 2013-2014 (From 9 April 2010 Subsidiary (Dissolved by Inactive Inactive until the date of - Place of members' dissolution) Incorporation voluntary 2010-2011 to 2010-2011 and winding up on 2012-2013 to HEUNG Sai Kit Operation 3 May 2015) Investment 2012-2013 (Appointed on - Particulars Holding Investment 1 May 2008 and of Issued Holding resigned on 1 July and Paid Up 2014) Capital - Proportion WONG Leung of Alwin Ownership (From Interest 12 November 2002 - Principal until the date of Activity dissolution) 2014-2015 The dissolution of the Company was disclosed in the note of the Financial Report 2014-2015 22. SMILE 2011-2012 2011-2012 Hong Kong YANG Wei Hsiung 100% - 100% 2010-2011 Technologies Dissolved Dissolved Nicholas - Name of Limited (From 9 April 2010 Subsidiary (Dissolved by 2010-2011 2010-2011 until the date of - Place of members' Software Software dissolution) Incorporation voluntary Development Development and winding up on HEUNG Sai Kit Operation 21 March (From 1 May 2008 - Particulars 2012) until the date of of Issued dissolution) and Paid Up Capital YOUNG Andrew - Proportion Meng Cheung of (From 20 April Ownership 2001 until the date Interest of dissolution) - Principal Activity CHOY Hung Tat (From 13 June 2000 2011-2012 until the date of The dissolution dissolution) of the Company was MAK Wing Kai disclosed in Stephen the note of the (From 13 June 2000 Financial until the date of Report dissolution) 2011-2012 9696 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By 23. The 2010-2011 2010-2011 Hong Kong YUEN Pok Man 100% 100% - 2004-2005 and Community Dissolved Dissolved Peter 2005-2006 College of (From 11 July 2007 - Name of Hong Kong until the date of Subsidiary Limited dissolution) - Place of (Dissolved by Incorporation members' HEUNG Sai Kit and voluntary (From 8 May 2008 Operation winding up on until the date of - Particulars 6 December dissolution) of Issued 2010) and Paid Up Capital - Proportion of Ownership Interest - Principal Activity 24. The Hong 2011-2012 to 2011-2012 Hong Kong WONG Soo Kam 100% 100% - 2010-2011 to Kong CyberU 2014-2015 to (Appointed on 2011-2012 Limited Dormant 2014-2015 1 July 2014) - Name of (Commenced Dormant Subsidiary dormancy on 2010-2011 LAM Sin Lai Judy - Place of 16 May 2012) Education 2010-2011 (Appointed on Incorporation through the Education 1 January 2011 and and Internet through the resigned on Operation Internet 11 February 2014) - Particulars of Issued YUEN Walter Wah and Paid Up (Appointed on Capital 3 August 2010 and - Proportion resigned on of 2 November 2012) Ownership Interest WONG Kwok - Principal Shing Thomas Activity (Appointed on 16 September 2009 Principal and resigned on Activity was 1 January 2011) dormant as disclosed in HEUNG Sai Kit the Financial (Appointed on Report 1 May 2008 and 2011-2012 resigned on 1 July 2014)
YUEN Pok Man Peter (Appointed on 11 July 2007) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9697
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By
25. The Hong 2010-2011 2010-2011 Hong Kong YUEN Pok Man 100% 100% - 2010-2011 Kong Dissolved Dissolved Peter The dissolution I-Education (From 1 August of the Limited 2008 until the date Company was (Dissolved by of dissolution) disclosed in members' the note of the voluntary CHAN Kang Por Financial winding up on (From 22 December Report 6 December 2006 until the date 2010-2011 2010) of dissolution) 26. PolyVision 2011-2012 2011-2012 Hong Kong YANG Wei Hsiung 100% - 100% 2010-2011 Limited Dissolved Dissolved Nicholas The (Dissolved by (From 1 January Company deregistration 2010-2011 2010-2011 2011 until the date commenced on Dormant Dormant of deregistration) dormancy on 9 December 1 April 2004 2011) WONG Kwok Shing Thomas 2011-2012 (Appointed on The 9 April 2010 and Company resigned on was dissolved 1 January 2011) by deregistration HEUNG Sai Kit on (From 1 May 2008 9 December until the date of 2011 deregistration) 27. PolyVision 2010-2011 2010-2011 Hong Kong YAP Keng Hung 100% - 100% 2010-2011 Eyecare Eye Care Services Eye Care Maurice - Name of Limited Services (Appointed on Subsidiary (Disposed on 1 April 2011 and - Place of 1 March resigned on Incorporation 2012) 1 March 2012) and Operation YANG Wei Hsiung - Particulars Nicholas of Issued (Appointed on and Paid Up 1 January 2011 and Capital resigned on - Proportion 1 March 2012) of Ownership WONG Kwok Interest Shing Thomas - Principal (Appointed on Activity 9 April 2010 and resigned on 2011-2012 1 January 2011) The disposal of 100% shares of 9698 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By
HEUNG Sai Kit PolyVision (Appointed on Eyecare 1 May 2008 and Limited from resigned on PolyU 1 March 2012) Enterprises Limited was LAM Siu Yin disclosed in (Appointed on the note of the 9 July 2007 and Financial resigned on Report 1 March 2012) 2011-2012
WOO George (Appointed on 19 October 2004 and resigned on 1 April 2011) 28. 普爾藥物2012-2013 to 2012-2013 Mainland LOU Lai Wah 100% - 100% 2010-2011 to 科技開發2014-2015 to China Miranda 2014-2015 ( 深 圳) 有限 Inactive 2014-2015 (Appointed on - Name of 公司(In the Inactive 21 September 2015) Subsidiary process of 2011-2012 - Place of winding up) In the process of 2011-2012 Daniel LAI Incorporation winding up In the (Appointed on and process of 3 June 2015 and Operation 2010-2011 winding up resigned on - Particulars Research and 19 September 2015) of Issued Development 2010-2011 and Paid Up Research LING Yiu Wan Capital and Hilda - Proportion Development (Appointed on of 23 May 2015) Ownership Interest CHAN Kang Por - Principal (Appointed on Activity 28 December 2006 and resigned on 23 May 2015)
YUEN TSANG Woon Ki Angelina (Appointed on 1 January 2011)
WONG Wing Tak (Appointed on 1 October 2010)
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9699
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By WAI Ping Kong Alexander (Appointed on 1 July 2010)
WONG Kwok Shing Thomas (Appointed on 1 April 2010 and resigned on 1 January 2011)
YOUNG Andrew Meng Cheung (Appointed on 31 July 2001 and resigned on 1 October 2010) 29. 理大產學2010-2011 to 2010-2011 Mainland LOU Lai Wah 100% - 100% 2010-2011 to 研基地( 深 2014-2015 to China Miranda 2014-2015 圳 ) 有限公 Research and 2014-2015 (Appointed on - Name of 司 Development Research 21 September 2015) Subsidiary Support and - Place of Development Daniel LAI Incorporation Support (Appointed on and 3 June 2015 and Operation resigned on - Particulars 19 September 2015) of Issued and Paid Up LING Yiu Wan Capital Hilda - Proportion (Appointed on of 23 May 2015) Ownership Interest YUEN TSANG - Principal Woon Ki Activity Angelina (Appointed on 1 January 2011)
WAI Ping Kong Alexander (Appointed on 1 July 2010)
WONG Kwok Shing Thomas (Appointed on 1 April 2010 and 9700 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Purpose of setting Principal Place of List of Directors Equity Company up the Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
held (Please provide (Please (%) (%) (%) details of provide the
By institutionBy disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By resigned on 1 January 2011)
CHAN Kang Por (Appointed on 28 December 2006 and resigned on 23 May 2015) 30. 理大科技2010-2011 to 2010-2011 Mainland LOU Lai Wah 100% - 100% 2010-2011 to 顧問( 深 圳) 2014-2015 to China Miranda 2014-2015 有限公司 Consultancy 2014-2015 (Appointed on - Name of Services Consultancy 21 September 2015) Subsidiary Services - Place of Daniel LAI Incorporation (Appointed on and 3 June 2015 and Operation resigned on - Particulars 19 September 2015) of Issued and Paid Up WONG Soo Kam Capital (Appointed on - Proportion 1 July 2014) of Ownership YUEN TSANG Interest Woon Ki - Principal Angelina Activity (Appointed on 1 January 2011)
WONG Kwok Shing Thomas (Appointed on 1 April 2010 and resigned on 1 January 2011)
HEUNG Sai Kit (Appointed on 31 October 2008 and resigned on 1 July 2014)
WONG Leung Alwin (Appointed on 31 October 2008)
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9701
Institution: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Number of subsidiaries: 7
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held Purpose of of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Principal Place of setting up the List of Directors Equity Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
Company held (Please (Please (%) (%) (%) provide details provide the
By institutionBy of disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary a subsidiary By 1. HKUST R As the To engage in Hong Kong Prof Joseph 100% 100% - Disclosed in and D platform of technology Hun-weiLEE the notes to Corporation the University commercialization Prof Enboa WU financial Limited in Hong Kong including industrial Prof Ross statement (RDCHK) to collaborate contracting, MURCH under with industry licensing, Mr Michael WU "Subsidiaries": on activities, incubation of Ms Gabriela - Name of for example, start-up companies KENNE-DY subsidiary R&D and and research and Mr Oscar - Place of knowledge technical services CHOW incorporation transfer, and in the Pearl River - Proportion so on. Also Delta Area of nominal used as value of holding issued/ company for registered some PRC capital held entities by the university - Principal activity 2. HKUST R As the To engage in Mainland Prof Joseph 100% - 100% Same as above and D platform of technology China Hun-weiLEE held Corporation the University commercialization Prof Enboa WU by (Guangzhou) in Guangzhou including industrial Ms Alice WONG RDC Limited to collaborate contracting, HK (RDCGZ) with industry licensing, on activities, incubation of for example, start-up companies R&D and and research and knowledge technical services transfer, and in the Pearl River so on Delta Area 3. HKUST R As vehicle to To engage in Mainland Prof Enboa WU 100% - 100% Same as above and D construct the technology China Prof Joseph held Corporation IER (Industry, commercialization Hun-wei LEE by (Shenzhen) Education and including industrial Prof Charles NG RDC Limited Research) contracting, Ms Alice WONG HK collaboration licensing, in Shenzhen incubation of start-up companies and research and technical services in the Pearl River Delta Area 4. Guangzhou As platform of To engage in basic Mainland Prof Joseph 100% - 100% Same as above HKUST Fok the University scientific research, China Hun-wei LEE held Ying Yung in Nansha to technology Mr Mark by Research perform R&D innovation and HODGS-ON RDC Institute and associated research Prof Enboa WU GZ educational and development Ms Alice WONG training activities, as well activities as training of management and advanced technology personnel 9702 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity Proportion been disclosed in annual Held Purpose of of Share/ report/financial statements Name of Principal Place of setting up the List of Directors Equity Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
Company held (Please (Please (%) (%) (%) provide details provide the
By institutionBy of disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary a subsidiary By 5. The HKUST As platform of Facilitation of the Mainland Prof Joseph 100% 100% - Same as above Shenzhen the University University's China Hun-wei LEE Research in Shenzhen education, training, Prof Wei SHYY Institute to perform research and Mr Edward R&D and incubation WONG educational activities in the Ms Alice WONG training People's Republic Dr Claudia XU activities of China 6. HKUST To offer Dormant Hong Kong Prof Francis LUI 100% 100% - Same as above College of continued Lifelong education Learning programs to Limited the public 7. HKUST Not carry on Dormant Hong Kong Mr Paul 100% 100% - Same as above Properties business since BOLTON Limited establishment Mr Michael HUDSON Mr Gordon Menzies MACWHINNIE
Institution: The University of Hong Kong Number of subsidiaries: 20
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity been disclosed in annual Proportion Held report/financial statements Purpose of of Share/ Name of Principal Place of setting up the List of Directors Equity Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
Company held (Please (Please
(%) (%) (%) provide details provide the
By institutionBy of disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By
1. HKU School To provide Same as on Hong Kong Edward CHEN 100% 100% - Notes to the of quality the left Peter William Consolidated Professional professional and Mathieson Financial and continuing Ian Holliday Statements ― Continuing education LO Sau Mui Subsidiaries: Education William LEE - Name of Christopher CHENG subsidiary Wendy GAN - Place of Andrew K K WU incorporation Terry K F AU - Principal Lesley Y C WONG activity Ricky Y K KWOK Vincent C H CHAN Paul W Y POON Mona C F TAM YEUNG Kwong, Sunny LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9703
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity been disclosed in annual Proportion Held report/financial statements Purpose of of Share/ Name of Principal Place of setting up the List of Directors Equity Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
Company held (Please (Please
(%) (%) (%) provide details provide the
By institutionBy of disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By
2. Centennial To provide full Same as on Hong Kong Board of Governors 100% 100% - Same as above College time self-funded the left Peter William four-year Mathieson Bachelor Degree LO Sau Mui programmes Ian Holliday William validated by the LEE HKCAAVQ Lay Members LO Kingman George TAM K K WONG Philip WU Peter YAM Samson SUN Linus CHEUNG 3. Versitech 1. To undertake Same as on Hong Kong CHEUNG Ying 100% 100% - Same as above Limited contract the left Sheung research LO Sau Mui work, training YU Tze-shan, activities, Hailson technology FAN Yan-hok, business Philip incubation, LI On-kwok, Victor intellectual Peter William property Mathieson administration WONG Chi-yun, and Allan technology HOR Tzi Sum Andy transfer WAN Charn-wing, Frank 2. Act as the CHIA Kok-onn commercial arm of the University for technology transfer 4. HKU- To carry out Same as on Mainland TAM Kwong Hang, 100% 100% - Same as above Shenzhen research, the left China Paul Institute of technology (Legal Research and transfer and representative) Innovation provide consultancy services on technology development 5. HKU- To carry out Same as on Mainland TAM Kwong Hang, 100% 100% - Same as above Zhejiang research, the left China Paul Institute of technology (Legal Research and transfer and representative) Innovation provide consultancy services on technology development 9704 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity been disclosed in annual Proportion Held report/financial statements Purpose of of Share/ Name of Principal Place of setting up the List of Directors Equity Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
Company held (Please (Please
(%) (%) (%) provide details provide the
By institutionBy of disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By
6. The Investment Same as on Hong Kong Peter William 100% 100% - Same as above University of holding and to the left Mathieson Hong Kong ring-fence HKU WONG Richard Yue (Shenzhen) from the Chim Limited Mainland China Steven John Cannon tax exposure in TAM Kwong Hang, respect of the Paul permanent WAI Henry Wing establishment Kun risk LO Sau Mui 7. The To provide Same as on Hong Kong Peter William 100% 100% - Same as above University of medical and the left Mathieson Hong Kong clinical LEONG Che Hung (Shenzhen) consultancy WAI Henry Wing Teaching services Kun Hospital LO Sau Mui Limited LEUNG Gabriel Matthew 8. Poon Kam To provide Same as on Hong Kong Dr Dickson POON 50% 50% - Notes to the Not Kai Institute executive the left Prof Eric CHANG Consolidated disclosed in of education and LO Sau Mui Financial 2015 Annual Management advisory Statements ― Consolidated services but Subsidiaries Financial dormant since (for financial Statements 1 August 2010 year 2014 and as the before) company has been dormant for a number of years 9. HKU Investment Same as on British CHEUNG Ying 100% 100% - The Enterprises holding, for risk the left Virgin Sheung University of Limited management for Islands LO Sau Mui Hong Kong's the holding YU Tze-shan, annual company's Hailson consolidated investment in financial joint venture statements business in ― Notes on biotechnology Subsidiaries only reported the details of principal subsidiaries of the University 10. TCM Investment Same as on British CHEUNG Ying 100% - 100% Same as Investment holding, for risk the left Virgin Sheung above Limited management for Islands LO Sau Mui the holding company's investment in joint venture business in biotechnology LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9705
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity been disclosed in annual Proportion Held report/financial statements Purpose of of Share/ Name of Principal Place of setting up the List of Directors Equity Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
Company held (Please (Please
(%) (%) (%) provide details provide the
By institutionBy of disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By
11. 港大科研Provision of Same as on Mainland TAM Kwong Hang, 100% - 100% Already 諮詢( 深 圳) research, the left China Paul disclosed in 有限公司 promotion, CHEUNG Ying the notes to consultation and Sheung the financial technological LO Sau Mui statements of support services the immediate holding company, The University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) Ltd 12. 港大教育Provision of Same as on Mainland Steven John Cannon 100% - 100% Same as 信息諮詢services in the the left China KAO Weiyuan John above ( 上 海) 有限 areas of the LO Sau Mui 公司 development, transfer, consultation and liaison of technology in corporate management, commercial activities, investment, educational technology and information technology 13. HKU SPACE To provide Same as on Mainland K K WONG 100% - 100% - Already (Beijing) commercial the left China Andrew WU disclosed in Consulting advisory LO Sau Mui the notes to Service Co services, Mona TAM the financial Limited management Dorothy CHAN statements of skills training, Ning R LIU the brand and Kevin YEUNG immediate business William LEE holding planning company, HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education 14. Profit Beyond Investment Same as on British YU Tze-shan, 100% - 100% - Already Assets holding, for risk the left Virgin Hailson disclosed in Limited management for Islands HO Him Shuen the notes to the holding the financial company's statements of investment in the joint venture immediate business in holding development of company, production Versitech process of Limited industrial enzymes. Also to enhance cost efficiency and facilitate future transfer of technology/ business 9706 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Have the information Percentage of relevant to subsidiary(ies) Share/Equity been disclosed in annual Proportion Held report/financial statements Purpose of of Share/ Name of Principal Place of setting up the List of Directors Equity Company Activity Incorporation Yes No
Company held (Please (Please
(%) (%) (%) provide details provide the
By institutionBy of disclosure) reasons) By a subsidiary By
15. Bioworld Investment Same as on British Peter William 100% - 100% - Same as Investments holding, for risk the left Virgin Mathieson above Limited management for Islands LO Sau Mui the holding company's investment in joint venture business in provision of medical services. Also to enhance cost efficiency and facilitate future transfer of technology/ business 16. HKU To provide Same as on Hong Kong Dr John A Cribbin 100% 50% 50% Already CyberSPACE e-education the left Prof C F LEE disclosed in Limited services the notes to the financial statements of the immediate holding company, HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education 17. E-Business Undertaking Same as on Hong Kong TAN Chung-Jen 100% Sold - - - Solutions information the left LEE Lai-sun, Peter in Limited technology TAI Chark Tong 2013 consultancy work 18. Hantak Investment Same as on Hong Kong YU Tze Shan, 100% - Dis- - - Ortho- holding and the left Hailson solved Technology development of CHEUNG Ying in Limited orthopaedic Sheung 2013 products 19. Interweb Investment Same as on British CHEUNG Ying 100% - Dis- - - Investment holding, for risk the left Virgin Sheung solved Limited management for Islands LO Sau Mui in the holding 2011 company's investment in joint venture business for medical equipment technology and biotechnology 20. 港大科橋Development of Same as on Mainland YU Tze-shan, 100 - Dis- - - ( 廣 州) 生物 medical the left China Hailson solved 科技有限equipment CHEUNG Ying in 公司 technology, Sheung 2013 medical LAM Bing Lun biotechnology Philip and related products, research and related consultancy services LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9707
Taking up Post-service Outside Work by Directorate Civil Servants
20. MR FREDERICK FUNG (in Chinese): President, under the existing requirements, directorate civil servants who wish to take up any outside work during their leave period before they leave office and/or within a specified control period must obtain prior permission from the Secretary for the Civil Service. If they are at Directorate Pay Scale Point 8 (D8) or equivalent, the control period is three years. It has been reported that the former Commissioner of Police (CP) (a post with a pay scale point equivalent to D8) who retired just over a year ago, has recently submitted an application to the Civil Service Bureau for taking up outside work, in order to take up a post of a strategic planning consultant with an annual salary of over $1 million in a private organization. As that person indicated, before retirement, that he would not consider joining the commercial sector after retirement because "even selling vegetables would come into contact with police officers", and he would only consider working for charities that paid him $1 a year, his application has raised eyebrows in the community. Moreover, some members of the public have queried that the taking up of the post by that person may involve the transfer of benefits and deferred benefits, which may embarrass the Government and tarnish the image of the Police Force. Some members of the public have even queried that the private organization will gain certain advantages by employing a former CP. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will take into consideration the following factors in its decision on whether to approve the application: the queries expressed by members of the public towards the application, the applicant's access to much sensitive information during his tenure as CP and the fact that top-level police duties involve different realms of the society; if it will not, of the reasons for that;
(2) whether it will review, in a timely manner, the arrangements for directorate civil servants to take up post-service outside work, in particular those senior civil servants (e.g. CP) whose scope of duties and power is wide and work nature is sensitive, and devise a clearer and more stringent regulation regime, e.g. extending the control period and specifying the types of outside work that may be approved; and
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(3) whether it will consider entering into an agreement with directorate civil servants who will soon leave office for the purpose of specifying the nature of the post-service outside work that they may take up, so as to avoid their taking up new posts which brings embarrassment to the Government and tarnishes the image of the civil service; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE (in Chinese): President, there is an established control regime governing the taking up of post-service outside work by directorate civil servants on final leave and former directorate civil servants in the Government. The objective is to strike a due balance between protection of the public interest and individual's right to work.
Under the control regime, directorate civil servants are required to submit application in advance before taking up post-service outside work (except for unpaid work with specified non-commercial organizations) during the restriction periods. Restriction periods cover sanitization period and control period. Sanitization period lasts for six months (for officers at Directorate Pay Scale Point D1 to D3 or equivalent) or 12 months (for officers at Directorate Pay Scale Point D4 to D8 or equivalent), counting from the cessation of active government duty. Control period lasts for two years (for officers below Directorate Pay Scale Point D8 or equivalent) or three years (for officers at Directorate Pay Scale Point D8 or equivalent), counting from departure from the Civil Service. During the sanitization period, applications for post-service outside work of commercial nature will normally not be approved.
All applications will be assessed in a stringent manner against a set of key considerations including:
(i) the posts that the applicant has held and the scope of duties that the applicant has been responsible for during a specified period of time (three years or more) before cessation of his/her active government service;
(ii) whether the applicant, while in the above specified period, had been involved in the formulation of any policies or decisions, the effects LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9709
of which directly or specifically benefited or could directly or specifically benefit his/her own business or his/her prospective employer;
(iii) whether the applicant or his/her prospective employer might gain an unfair advantage over competitors concerned because of the applicant's access to sensitive information while in the above specified period;
(iv) whether the applicant, while in the above specified period, had been involved in any contractual or legal dealings to which the prospective employer was a party;
(v) whether the applied-for work would have any connection with the assignments/projects and/or regulatory/enforcement duties in which the applicant had been involved while in the above specified period;
(vi) whether the applicant's taking up of the applied-for work would give rise to public suspicion of conflict of interest or other impropriety;
(vii) whether any aspects of the applied-for work would cause embarrassment to the Government or bring disgrace to the Civil Service; and
(viii) whether a fair-minded and informed observer, having considered the relevant facts, would conclude that the applied-for work might give rise to reasonable apprehension of deferred reward or benefit.
Besides, the Advisory Committee on Post-service Employment of Civil Servants provides the Government with independent advice on applications received.
The existing control regime was formulated by the Government in 2011 after detailed consideration of the recommendations in the reports of the independent Committee on Review of Post-service Outside Work for Directorate Civil Servants appointed by the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council Select Committee to Inquire into Matters Relating to the Post-service Work of 9710 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Mr LEUNG Chin-man, stakeholders' views and legal advice. It has been working effectively. Its implementation details are set out in the "Reports on the Work of the Advisory Committee on Post-service Employment of Civil Servants" submitted to the Legislative Council annually.
We do not comment on individual applications.
Support Measures for Non-Chinese Speaking Students Under 15-year Free Education Policy
21. DR KENNETH CHAN (in Chinese): President, the Government will introduce free quality kindergarten education starting from the 2017-2018 school year for the implementation of the 15-year free education policy. Recently, some concern groups on learning needs of ethnic minority children have relayed to me their concern about whether the Government, when implementing this policy, will at the same time formulate corresponding measures to provide learning support for non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the research projects relating to the education of NCS students conducted in each of the past five years by the Government itself or by other organizations using Government funding, and set out in a table for each project (i) the title, (ii) the subject of the research, (iii) the department/organization responsible, (iv) the commencement date, (v) the completion date, (vi) the total expenditure incurred, (vii) the findings, (viii) the date on which the findings were published (if such findings were not published, of the reasons for that, and (ix) how the Government informed the various stakeholders of the findings and engaged them in the discussions of the policy issues concerned);
(2) whether the Government will consider, prior to the full implementation of the 15-year free education policy, holding discussion forums, seminars or other public engagement activities so as to collect the views of different stakeholders on the learning support to be provided for NCS students under that policy, with a LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9711
view to formulating the necessary support measures in the light of such views; if it will, of the details; if not; the reasons for that;
(3) regarding the University-School Support Programmes (USP) under the School-based Professional Support Programmes, how the authorities monitor the implementation of USP, and of the standards adopted for assessing the effectiveness of the support provided under USP for those kindergartens admitting NCS students; and
(4) whether the Government will consider allocating additional resources for conducting more researches on and implementing relevant measures for the enhancement of the support for NCS students (e.g. providing more resources for schools admitting NCS students and the teachers concerned to further enhance the learning environment of NCS students as well as the relevant teacher training); if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION (in Chinese): President, my reply to the question is as follows:
(1) In the past five years, there were no research projects relating to the education of non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students in kindergartens (KGs) conducted or funded by the Education Bureau. Under the free quality KG education policy, more researches (including those relating to the education of NCS students) will be encouraged to help the sector better cater for the learning needs of children (including NCS Children).
(2) Following the announcement of the implementation of the free quality KG education policy with effect from the 2017-2018 school year by the Chief Executive in his 2016 Policy Address, the Education Bureau has organized about 30 meetings/briefings for various stakeholders (including KG operators/school sponsoring bodies, KG principals and teachers, relevant educational bodies, members of the public (including NCS parents) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)) to collect their views on 9712 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
the implementation of the new policy (including the support for NCS students to facilitate their learning under the new policy). In March 2016, the Education Bureau also met with more than 10 NGOs which provide services for the NCS community, explaining to them in detail the new policy and exchanging views on how to strengthen support for NCS students in KGs. We will continue to collaborate with relevant NGOs through various means such as meetings and briefings to provide more appropriate learning support for NCS students.
(3) The Education Bureau provides school-based professional support for KGs through the University-School Support Programmes financed by the Education Development Fund to enhance the professional capacities of teachers in teaching Chinese to NCS children to help them integrate into local schools and enable a smooth transition to primary education. Regarding the operation of the Education Development Fund, the Education Bureau has set up the Advisory Committee on the Education Development Fund, which comprises front-line teachers, principals, academics and community members, as well as a cross-divisional working group within the Bureau to oversee and monitor the implementation of various programmes, including the University-School Support Programmes, on a regular basis. Besides, the Education Bureau evaluates the effectiveness of the Programmes every year through school visits, questionnaire surveys and/or focus interviews and mid-term and year-end reports submitted by service providers. Evaluation findings over the past few years consistently showed that participating KGs were satisfied with the school-based support provided, and that such programmes met the expectations and needs of the schools in enhancing the professional capabilities of teachers to cater for the learning needs of NCS children.
(4) NCS students' early start in learning Chinese is crucial to their adaptation to the local curriculum and integration into the local community, the earlier the better. Under the free quality KG education policy to be implemented from the 2017-2018 school year onwards, a grant comparable to the recommended salary of one KG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9713
teacher will be provided for KGs admitting eight or more NCS students. With the additional resources, KGs can provide teachers with more manpower support and professional training to develop effective strategies to help NCS students learn through the Chinese medium so as to lay a foundation for their study in local primary schools. KGs should also enhance communication with parents of NCS students and strengthen home-school co-operation. Besides, school-based professional support will continue to be provided and further enhanced to help KGs (including those admitting less than eight NCS students) build up the expertise in facilitating NCS students' learning of the Chinese language for a smooth transition to primary education. The Education Bureau will also enhance teacher training programmes on the teaching and learning of the Chinese language for NCS students. Starting from the 2016-2017 school year, a new programme funded by the University Grants Committee, namely Bachelor of Education (Honours) (Early Childhood Education) in Leadership and Non-Chinese Speaking Children Programme, will be provided by the Hong Kong Institute of Education with the aim of strengthening training for the leaders and management staff of KGs for providing more appropriate learning support for NCS students.
Works to Replace Water Pipes in Public Rental Housing Estates Affected by Excess Lead Found in Drinking Water
22. MR WU CHI-WAI (in Chinese): President, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) announced in March this year that it would arrange contractors to carry out rectification works to replace the non-compliant water pipes in the 11 public rental housing estates affected by excess lead found in drinking water (the affected estates). The contractors would first replace the water pipes in the common areas (common pipes) and then those installed inside the domestic units (domestic unit pipes). HA also indicated that the actual time required for replacing the water pipes would depend on factors such as the numbers and design of the blocks of the respective estates, the weather conditions as well as the deployment of workers and other resources. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
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(1) of the current progress of the works to replace the common pipes in respect of each of the affected estates, including (i) the commencement date, (ii) the total length of the common pipes, (iii) the total length of the pipes requiring replacement and, among them, the length of the pipes which have been replaced and its percentage in the total length, (iv) the original anticipated date of completion, and (v) the latest anticipated date of completion;
(2) whether HA has agreed with the contractors concerned on the deadlines for completion of the works to replace the common pipes; if HA has, of such deadlines and the penalties for failure to meet the deadlines; if not, how HA monitors the progress of the works concerned;
(3) of the earliest time expected by HA when the contractors may commence the works to replace the domestic unit pipes; for those estates having fewer blocks and for which the works to replace the common pipes requiring a shorter time to complete, whether HA will require the contractors concerned to commence the works to replace domestic unit pipes expeditiously; and
(4) whether it knows the exact date on which the independent Commission of Inquiry into Excess Lead Found in Drinking Water set up by the Government will publish its investigation findings; whether the Government has plans to make monetary compensation to the residents of the affected estates?
SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, my reply to Mr WU Chi-wai's questions is as follows:
(1) The rectification works to replace water pipes in the common areas of domestic blocks in the 11 public rental housing (PRH) developments affected by excess-lead-in-water started on 14 March 2016. The contractors will replace the non-compliant water pipes in the common areas first, while those inside individual units will LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9715
only be replaced at the next stage. The time required for replacing the non-compliant water pipes in the common areas in each estate varies, depending on the number and the design of the blocks involved. The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) has posted notices in the lobbies of the affected estates to inform tenants of the estimated time required for replacement of water pipes in the common areas of each block. However, the actual time required for the works would be subject to weather conditions, allocation of manpower and other resources, and so on. The contractors would also need to make work arrangements from the works perspective of each estate.
We do not have information regarding part (ii) and (iii) of the question, namely the total length of the common pipes and the total length and the percentage of the pipes requiring replacement.
(2) The HA has requested the contractors to replace the non-compliant water pipes in the common areas of the 11 affected PRH developments as soon as possible. However, as mentioned in part (1) above, the actual time required for replacing the non-compliant water pipes in the common areas in each estate would depend on factors such as the number and the design of the blocks involved, weather conditions, allocation of manpower and other resources. Hence, we have not set a deadline for the completion of works. The HA has been maintaining close communication with the contractors to closely monitor and follow up the progress of works. In addition, regular communication meetings are held among the contractors, estate management staff and the Housing Department (HD)'s project team to enhance communication and to work out how to minimize nuisance and inconvenience to tenants.
(3) To enable tenants to have access to safe drinking water, the HA has requested the contractors to replace the non-compliant water pipes as soon as possible. As mentioned in part (1) above, the contractors will basically replace the non-compliant water pipes in the common areas first, while those inside individual units will only be replaced at the next stage. As the actual time required for replacing the 9716 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
non-compliant water pipes in the common areas in each estate would be affected by a number of factors and thus be different, the timing for commencement of rectification works inside individual units would also vary from one estate to another. Regarding the detailed work plan and timetable for rectification works inside individual units, the HA will announce the arrangements after the works in the common areas have been completed, prior to the commencement of works inside individual units.
(4) The Commission of Inquiry into Excess Lead Found in Drinking Water submitted its report to the Chief Executive on 11 May 2016. The Government is consulting the Department of Justice on the manner of the publication of the report and other relevant matters (including whether any redaction is necessary).
Since the discovery of the "excess-lead-in-water" incident, the Government and the HA have taken a series of follow-up measures according to priority. In the previous period of time, the most urgent and important task was to ensure the supply of safe drinking water to affected tenants. Various measures that have been implemented include: water sampling tests conducted by the Water Supplies Department and the HD for all PRH estates; in respect of the 11 affected PRH developments, the Government and the HA have provided water wagons or tanks as well as standpipes, supplied bottled water, and requested the contractors concerned to install temporary water points by connecting pipes from the roof-top tank to each floor, as well as to install water filters and replace filter cartridges for two years for the affected domestic households free of charge. In order to rectify the problem thoroughly, the contractors are replacing the non-compliant pipes in the affected estates. We will closely monitor and follow up with the contractors in this regard. In addition, the contractors have provided each household in the 11 affected PRH developments with a subsidy of $660 for paying water and sewage charges within three years starting from 1 January 2016.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9717
GOVERNMENT BILLS
Second Reading of Government Bills
Resumption of Second Reading Debate on Government Bill
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Government Bills. We now resume the Second Reading debate on The Hong Kong Institute of Education (Amendment) Bill 2016.
Does any Member wish to speak?
THE HONG KONG INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION (AMENDMENT) BILL 2016
Resumption of debate on Second Reading which was moved on 2 March 2016
MR WONG KWOK-HING (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I support The Hong Kong Institute of Education (Amendment) Bill 2016 (the Bill), which seeks to change the title of The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) to The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). I believe that the President, teachers and students of HKIEd, who are now watching or listening to these proceedings on television or on the radio, have been waiting most eagerly for the final scrutiny of the Bill at the Legislative Council meeting today.
It is absolutely a good thing for HKIEd to be upgraded to university status. During the discussions at the Panel and the House Committee, I have repeatedly expressed my full support for the upgrade and called on Members from various political parties and groupings in the Legislative Council to bestow an honourable favour and stop filibustering. This is because if the Bill is not passed before 16 July this year, the students of HKIEd graduating this year will not be able to obtain graduation certificates issued in the name of a university. I have asked the Bureau if such certificates can be issued retrospectively, and the reply of the Bureau is that it is out of the question and impossible to issue such certificates retrospectively. The upgrade definitely should not be delayed and is an opportunity too good to miss.
9718 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
I am delighted that the Bill has come to this stage today. I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to HKIEd, which will eventually and officially become EdUHK after the passage of the Bill by the Legislative Council on this historic occasion. For the students who will be awarded graduation certificates by EdUHK after the retitling exercise, this gratifying outcome is also a cause for celebration.
In my capacity as a Legislative Council Member, I must apologize to the President, teachers and students of HKIEd for the fact that the scrutiny of the Bill was delayed until today because of filibustering. I find this regrettable. During today's meeting alone, from its start this morning up till now, there were already eight quorum calls by my count.
While the Members requesting quorum calls say that this is a power vested in them by the Rules of Procedure, it is really meaningless to do so. The eight quorum calls, each lasting 15 minutes or so, have already wasted about two hours of our time. The President, teachers and students of HKIEd waiting outside the Legislative Council are burning with anxiety like cats on hot bricks. If today's meeting was aborted due to the absence of a quorum, we would not be able to complete the scrutiny of the Bill as scheduled and would have to resume next week. Fortunately, the scrutiny procedure has now formally commenced.
The efforts made by the President, teachers and students of HKIEd over the years have now finally paid off. This is gratifying and worthy of celebration. I take this opportunity to wish EdUHK further success with the continued efforts of its teachers and students in the future.
Thank you, Deputy President.
DR KENNETH CHAN (in Cantonese): The Civic Party and I fully support The Hong Kong Institute of Education (Amendment) Bill 2016 (the Bill), such that The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) will be formally upgraded to The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). HKIEd once faced direct threats from the Administration, particularly from Arthur LI, the then Secretary for Education and Manpower, and the status of HKIEd as an independent and professional teacher training and academic institution was thus challenged. At that time, Arthur LI even remarked then that HKIEd had better merge with The LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9719
Chinese University of Hong Kong, since the two institutions were located in the vicinity of each other, one in Ma Liu Shui and the other in Tai Po.
HKIEd has a long history. Many of our teachers who had taught us and our seniors are graduates of various faculties of HKIEd. We should be grateful and should strive to upgrade HKIEd to a university, enabling it to have the status and essence of a university, and also become an independent teaching institution that enjoys academic autonomy.
Apart from his self-righteousness and condescending air, Prof Arthur LI had directly expressed his discontent with the research result of certain staff members of HKIEd on more than one occasion, telling the then President Prof Paul MORRIS and Vice President Prof Bernard LUK that the Government was unsatisfied. He even warned and threatened the then President, "I will remember this. You will pay!" All such events that took place not long ago remain clear and distinct in our mind. For this reason, it is most vital that we must not forget our original intent while joyfully approving the upgrade of HKIEd to a university.
Under the protection of the Basic Law, Hong Kong enjoys academic freedom and institutional autonomy. The Government keeps a distance from front-line researchers in universities through the University Grants Committee, which acts as a firewall. The existence of universities aims at telling the truth to the bigwigs. When the bigwigs tell lies or make mistakes, university personnel should step forward and reprimand them. If a university is required to be submissive to the Government simply because it is publicly funded, such a practice is dictatorial and uncivilized, totally destroying the proper values and righteousness of a university. This is also detrimental to the overall interests of Hong Kong and sets a very bad precedent.
As such, regarding HKIEd being granted university status, alumni, teachers and students who have been following the issue as well as people who are concerned about the development of education in Hong Kong should bear this point in mind. They should also make effort to assure that not only EdUHK, but also all other tertiary institutions in Hong Kong will not be subject to any form of interference or suppression by the Government, either at the institutional level or in respect of activities conducted by front-line teaching staff and students.
9720 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
More importantly, no filibustering has taken place in this debate in the Legislative Council. As the Deputy President is aware, Members from various parties agreed that there was no need to set up a Bills Committee. For this reason, we have saved a lot of time, and the Bill could directly proceed to its Second Reading today immediately following the completion of the examination of the Budget. Hence, certain Members should not make an issue of the subject, thinking that this will give them credit. That should not be a direction of discussion concerning the subject.
Regarding the discussion on EdUHK, I am happy to see that teachers, students and alumni of HKIEd have exchanged views and drawn on collective wisdom through various rounds of discussion held in the institution. Apart from discussing the upgrade and the new title of the institution, a more important point is that they all agree that systematic, in-depth and forward-looking reviews must be conducted over the governance of the university. However, in dealing with such complex problems, they are aware that the approach of starting with the easy before getting down to the difficult should be adopted. In other words, the ideal approach is to acquire university title first and then conduct reviews. In this regard, having discussed with the persons concerned, I absolutely understand and agree to the approach. For this reason, today, I am not only more than willing to support the Bill, but also hope that following the upgrade of HKIEd, they will expeditiously put forward various reform proposals on the governance framework of the university, particularly the composition of the university council as provided for in the law, such that society, our colleagues, alumni and students can hold discussion on the general direction of reforms.
Of the 26 members of the existing Council of HKIEd, over half or 15 members are appointed by the Chief Executive, including government officials, namely, the Secretary for Education or his representative. If we really respect academic freedom and institutional autonomy, we should not only allow EdUHK, but also other universities, including the Hong Kong Baptist University that I serve, to invite the persons considered to be most conducive to university development in the light of the agreed development strategy and direction, to join the university council, so as to offer advice and draw on collective wisdom. Appointment should not be made by the Chief Executive based on an appointment system left behind from colonial times, as this will give people the impression that the university council has to face latent undesirable political interference.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9721
If the Council of HKIEd is to perform its duties legally, a quorum of half of its members must be present. In the worst-case scenario, the persons appointed by the Chief Executive can all be his fans, and if they refuse to attend meetings, the Council will be unable to perform its duties as required under the law. Under the existing ordinance, the Chief Executive can appoint as many as 20 persons into the Council of HKIEd. Merely from the number of appointees, we are well aware that the pressing task of conducting a reform must be tackled expeditiously.
We do not want to see that after a good tertiary institution has been upgraded to a university to realize its aspirations and honour its pledges, it will still be targeted against, like what former Secretary for Education and Manpower Prof Arthur LI did as mentioned above. Violations of academic freedom and institutional autonomy and disrespect of the dignity of academics should not have occurred, but regrettably, such incidents had happened. I not only hope that EdUHK will scale new heights, but that other tertiary institutions in Hong Kong will seize the opportunity of the upgrade of HKIEd to a university, to draw on collective wisdom and review the governance system of universities in Hong Kong. The Chief Executive should not continue to be the Chancellor of universities, and his right to make appointments should be reviewed and reduced significantly.
Universities absolutely have the wisdom, talent and experience to select suitable members of the community to assist in their academic development and fulfilment of social mission. This is the best scenario I wish to see. In the advisory committee of the university I once served, some appointed members really made no contribution. Such members are distinguished persons from various social sectors. Being leaders of various merchants' associations, trade unions and professional groups, they have undeniably attained success either in business or in their profession. However, as members of the council or advisory committee of universities, they have to listen, observe and learn in a humble way. They may need two or three years to understand their roles, but by then, their term of service may have ended, and hence their contribution is not very significant.
The appointed members often ask other members when industrialization of research outcome will take place. As I have observed, certain appointed members of the university council invariably ask the same question at every 9722 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 meeting, that is, when research outcome will be industrialized. In their view, members of the community will consider the university worthless if industrialization of research outcome does not take place. According to many academics, while they understand the concern of such members, but if the same question is asked over and over, both parties are not in tune with each other. The members do not understand and are not interested in what the academics are doing, and their sole concern is to make money expeditiously. This is not what we expect how members of the university council can help in the university development under the premise of institutional autonomy and academic freedom.
Very often, such members query us why fund raising activity is not held in accordance with government policy to facilitate technology transfer by the university. Shouldn't such work be done by them as this is the only area of work that they can grasp? They have made no efforts whatsoever to understand the historical development, missions, strategies and visions of the university, and they have made no contacts with alumni, faculty members and students, so as to become part of the university to engage in discussions. Hence, speaking of professors being in charge of the institution, the spirit of CAI Yuanpei, people can well expound their views and chant many slogans. Those who are ignorant of such ideas pretend to be knowledgeable, but pretence is different from being knowledgeable and their shortcomings will be revealed in practice. It is doubtful whether they can truly contribute to university development.
In the near future, after HKIEd has acquired university title and can award degrees, I am sure that the teaching staff, alumni and students of EdUHK will join hands with other institutions to conduct a brilliant and in-depth discussion on the governance framework of universities as expounded in the long-awaited report of the University Grants Committee which has finally been released recently, after Secretary Eddie NG had reviewed the report for over six months. I am sure that staff members of universities will, while doing a good job in their respective positions, continue to tell the truth to the bigwigs, and reprimand them for their faults.
With these remarks, I staunchly support the upgrading of HKIEd to EdUHK. Thank you, Deputy President.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9723
MR IP KIN-YUEN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, today is 18 May 2016, and this date will be remembered by the education sector forever because today marks a new page in the history of The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd), as well as our education system.
I note that Secretary Prof Anthony CHEUNG is also present today. I reckon that as a former President of HKIEd, he also sees today as a very important day. Upon the passage of The Hong Kong Institute of Education (Amendment) Bill 2016 (the Bill) today, "The Hong Kong Institute of Education" will become a name in history as HKIEd will change its title to "The Education University of Hong Kong" (EdUHK). It is a matter of great concern for many people.
Deputy President, I want to declare interests. I have a very close relationship with HKIEd. I was a teaching staff of HKIEd from 1995 to 2006, spanning 11 years and four months in total. This is the longest job I have held in my entire career. Around 1997 and 1998, I was an elected HKIEd Council member for one year. In 2006, Dr LAI Kwok-chan and I founded the Centre for Development and Research in Small Class Teaching of HKIEd. Currently, I am an adviser to the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching of HKIEd. I am also one of the parties involved in the well-known "HKIEd saga" a decade ago. Hence, I would like to explain to the public why we have not taken the opportunity of the present legislative amendment exercise to address the governance issue of tertiary institutions. I would also like to reflect on the treacherous road travelled by HKIEd for the upgrade. I also want to talk about the direction of EdUHK's future development, society's expectation of it, as well as its mission.
Deputy President, first of all, the legislative amendments required for HKIEd's upgrade have indeed presented us with the opportunity to explore the issues relating to the role of Council members or the Chancellor of institutions funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC). These issues are very important, especially in consideration that a number of incidents involving the University of Hong Kong (HKU) happened last year, including the pro-vice-chancellor selection controversy, the arbitrary appointment of Mr Arthur LI as Chairman of the HKU Council against general view in society, and so on. I think we all know these incidents quite well, and I do not want to say anything further. But throughout the process, we can understand why society is boiling 9724 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 with concern because academic freedom and university autonomy touch on Hong Kong's core values, and they are also safeguarded by the Basic Law.
Regrettably, after LEUNG Chun-ying became the Chief Executive, he tried to use or abuse a supposedly symbolic power, making appointments to serve his personal interests. As such, we can see that under the existing legal framework, the Government can easily intervene with the administration of universities directly through the appointment of Council members by the Chief Executive in the capacity as Chancellor of universities. The situation is worrying indeed. Once the universities lose their autonomy, academic freedom will also be undermined. Hence, it is natural for us to contemplate a review of HKIEd's governance structure together with the legislative amendments required for the upgrade. But it is now a bad timing to do so since the current term of the Legislative Council is drawing to an end, with little time left.
On the other hand, HKIEd has been working very hard for the upgrade over a long period of time. Should anything go wrong at this critical moment, it will deal a heavy blow to HKIEd. It is something I feel deeply about as a former lecturer of HKIEd.
I would like to take Members through the twists and turns of HKIEd's road towards the upgrade and explain why the process is wrought with sadness. As we all know, the Education Commission Report No. 5 proposed the merger of the then five colleges of education to form HKIEd, and there was no clear plan to upgrade HKIEd as a university at that time. But as various tertiary institutions gradually acquired the status of universities, including the Hong Kong Baptist University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, society suddenly realized that HKIEd was lagging behind its counterparts, with its appeal waning as an option of further education. So, after the reunification, TUNG Chee-hwa set a new direction for all teachers to be degree holders. It was a very important policy as HKIEd started offering degree programmes in 1998, with non-degree programmes gradually phasing out.
It was a very important preparation stage in HKIEd's road towards acquiring university status. The idea of upgrading HKIEd to a university was first suggested by Prof Ruth HAYHOE, the second Director of HKIEd (the title was later changed to President). As a scholar of comparative education, Prof HAYHOE considered that HKIEd should be upgraded to a university as LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9725 there was an excellent tradition of teacher training in South East Asia. She had also discussed the idea with Dr Alice LAM, the then Chairman of the UGC. Though no formal application was made at that time, this new idea had clearly taken root in HKIEd. With concerted efforts of all colleagues, HKIEd was granted self-accrediting status in respect of its teacher education programmes in 2004.
After an institution was granted self-accrediting status, it would only be one step away from acquiring university title. This was what we thought at that time. But many incidents happened around 2004 as HKIEd went through its hardest and darkest period.
At that time, apart from upgrading HKIEd to university status, merger was another option worth exploring, and much discussion had taken place within the institute. Merger was not an option we rejected outright. We considered it a feasible option that could be further discussed. But regrettably, the then Secretary for Education and Manpower Arthur LI was both the strongest advocator for the merger and the culprit for the ultimate failure. Before he became the Secretary for Education and Manpower, he once told Prof HAYHOE that should HKIEd merge with The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), the post for one Vice-chancellor/President would be deleted. After he became the Secretary for Education and Manpower, he suggested that CUHK, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and HKIEd should be merged to form a "Super University".
While merger could be an option for further discussion, regrettably, Arthur LI adopted a heavy-handed approach, and he said, "The authority is in my hand." When putting forward the merger proposal, he told HKIEd that if the merger was rejected, he would give his subordinate a free hand to willfully cut future funding for HKIEd's programmes. I think all of us would still remember his words: "I will remember this, you will pay!" As a matter of fact, a heavy price was indeed paid by HKIEd as many teachers were either dismissed or not having their contracts renewed. Both the number of student places and funding provision of HKIEd were substantially reduced, forcing it into a dire strait.
On the other hand, CUHK was also facing pressures from Arthur LI. It was asked to negotiate an agreement on Deep Collaboration with HKIEd, which was eventually signed in 2006. While it was supposedly a major event, the relevant parties chose to sign the agreement in a very low-profile manner 9726 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 somewhere in the City Hall. Clearly, the agreement was only signed to appease Arthur LI. Afterwards, the "HKIEd saga" broke out, to be followed by the hearings of the relevant Commission of Inquiry. The entire inquiry was concluded in 2007. During the process, as a concerned party in the incident, I felt deeply the great blow dealt on HKIEd, not to mention that the employment contracts of Prof Paul MORRIS and Prof Bernard LUK, the then President and Vice President of HKIEd respectively, were not renewed because of the incident.
Thereafter, merger was no longer a viable option, and HKIEd could only strive to upgrade its status as a university. That is why HKIEd made its first application for upgrade in 2007. The application was rejected by the UGC for it held that monotechnic institutions could not acquire a university title. After Prof Anthony CHEUNG became President of HKIEd, he immediately started to offer programmes in new disciplines, while continuous efforts were made to prepare for another application. After another futile attempt, HKIEd made the present application. As we all know, circumstances have changed, including our political environment and atmosphere. I am sure HKIEd will receive the good news very soon.
We must learn our lesson from history. After an institution was granted self-accrediting status, it should be upgraded as a university very soon. Even if certain technical changes are required, the whole process should be completed smoothly. But because some public officials had abused their power and HKIEd's governance structure could not withstand external influences, the institute must go through a difficult period. As that period has already become history, we should now look towards the future in a positive light.
As far as the upgrade is concerned, I think it would be most important to understand why HKIEd is widely supported by different parties all the way. Whenever I discuss the matter with Members of different political parties or groupings, as well as with people in the community, they would unanimously express support for the institute to be retitled as a university because they are all aware of the importance of education, as well as HKIEd's role as the vanguard of teacher training. The upgrade will provide greater assurance in terms of the quality of new teachers, which I think is very important.
From now on, HKIEd may find itself constantly embroiled in the struggle between education and non-education considerations, as well as between academic research and professional training. In fact, all these can co-exist if a LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9727 balance is maintained. But EdUHK should always be vigilant about tipping the balance towards one side or the other. Should that happen, it would go against the objective of its inception in the first place. Hence, I hope that all people concerned in EdUHK, from the President to all staff and all students, will always bear in mind the importance to do well in education and non-educational pursuits, including work in academic research as well as teacher training.
Some 10-odd years ago, I once told Prof Ruth HAYHOE that HKIEd had two missions. The first mission was to meet the UGC's requirements and attain a certain level in research and other areas. The second and equally important mission was to train up the best teachers for our primary and secondary schools as well as kindergartens. This basic mission of HKIEd is no different from the principle guiding the successive establishment of HKIEd's predecessors, that is, the former colleges of education, since the 1940s. To accomplish this task, it would be most important to ensure a higher standard of both teacher training and internships, so that new teachers are ready to deliver results once they join the schools, albeit primary or secondary schools or kindergartens. I hope HKIEd, or perhaps I should say, EdUHK, will continue to excel in this regard, so as to take the overall level of Hong Kong's education forward.
I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Prof Bernard LUK who passed away recently. I also wish EdUHK great success in all its future endeavours.
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I should not be the one to comment on education issues because in this Council, my education level is the lowest and I have not attended university. But after listening to Mr WONG Kwok-hing's remarks, I really cannot help saying a few words.
Mr WONG Kwok-hing has spoken for almost 10 minutes and all he has been saying are words of congratulation. Have Honourable colleagues ever heard the story told by LU Xun? When a baby is one month old, many guests come for celebration. One of the guests says the baby is pretty the parents are certainly delighted, right? Another guest says that the baby will live for one hundred years, and will scholarly honour, the parents are also delighted. The third guest says that the baby will die sooner or later. It is definitely inappropriate for him to say so. Similarly, when we protested in front of ZHANG Dejiang, we were being taken away and given a severe beating, right? 9728 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
However, the third person is actually telling the truth, as everyone will die sooner or later. So, Mr WONG Kwok-hing was making praises and giving advice. He was talking nonsense, saying that owing to filibuster, The Hong Kong Institute of Education (Amendment) Bill 2016 might not be passed, and The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) could not be granted university title.
Honestly, Mr IP Kin-yuen who has just spoken is a living target; he has been honest and kind, right? In 2004, he wrote to the then Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower Fanny LAW, telling her that the education reform gave teachers a difficult time and increased their workload. Teachers spent more time doing paperwork than teaching, and they might not be considered for substantive appointment if they had not carried out research. He also mentioned that the education reform … the reform was strongly supported by Mr WONG Kwok-hing and his like. Now, all pro-establishment Members are saying that everything has been fine since the reunification 19 years ago; the East is red and the sun rises; yet, we cannot see sunlight as it is covered by the pro-establishment camp's dark clouds.
Deputy President, as you also know, after the reunification, TUNG Chee-hwa immediately said that three major tasks had to be fulfilled. The first task was the implementation of an education reform and he especially appointed Antony LEUNG to be in charge of it. The whole purpose of the education reform was to remove three great mountains, the largest one being the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (HKPTU). This implied that in implementing an education reform, the authorities set themselves against teachers, as well as against the union supported by teachers … In fact, until now, even in the small-circle elections ― some people left once these issues are discussed ― in the small-circle elections, including the return of Legislative Council Members by functional constituencies or the election of the Chief Executive by the Election Committee system, the HKPTU is still the largest organization in Hong Kong representing teachers' interests. TUNG chee-hwa said that this mountain should be removed first; this was the crux of the problem, right? Secretary Prof Anthony CHEUNG should be well aware of that. Pro-establishment Members sitting opposite me are useless. Deputy President, you should ask them to come back to listen to my remarks. They left once I started to scold them and they only said the baby was good looking …
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9729
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung, please sit down.
Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber?
(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung, please continue with your speech.
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): Well, Members have finally returned but some Members will leave later. Members of the pro-establishment camp often say that requesting headcounts is a waste of public money. But Chairman MAO also said that eggs could not be hatched into chickens. For eggs to be hatched into chickens, hens are indispensible and temperatures must be right. Members' request for headcounts will only take effect under certain conditions, including the lack of a quorum. When the Member concerned moved his finger, other Members have to complement. But if their limbs are unco-ordinated as if they are suffering from epileptic seizures, what is this to do with me? I just said, "President, according to Article 75 of the Basic Law, there is a lack of a quorum", and they help me accomplish the task. Some Members have just left the Chamber but I will not request a headcount. ZHANG Dejiang comes to Hong Kong today and it is too bad if the meeting is aborted due to the lack of a quorum; ZHANG Dejiang is going to censure them.
Anyway, the victim at that time was Mr IP Kin-yuen. He wrote an article accusing the then Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower Fanny LAW, and pointed out that the education reform caused everyone to live in fear and as such, teachers could hardly teach. This had caused a crisis. Deputy President, Mr WONG Kwok-hing is famous for being ignorant, and people call him "Big-yap dog" on the Internet. The saliva of "Big-yap dog" stinks and I need to carry out disinfection. He said the HKIEd could not be granted university title due to filibusters. Nevertheless, the instigators were his friends, Arthur LI and Fanny LAW. Today, they are still key members of LEUNG Chun-ying's fan club and LEUNG Chun-ying's favourite.
9730 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
Mr WONG Kwok-hing said, "It is absolutely a good thing for HKIEd to be upgraded to university status. I hope Members will not filibuster and impede the upgrade process". Who is filibustering? It is Arthur LI who filibustered. They chatted, clinked glasses, shook hands and had tea together. Arthur LI was also invited to officiate at ceremonies. Before this fop became the Secretary for Education and Manpower, he was the Vice-Chancellor of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. To take care of his own "baby", he did not want HKIEd to be upgraded to a university; instead, he wanted to set up a super university, incorporating HKIEd into The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and disallowing HKIEd to become an independent university. The upgrading of HKIEd has thus been dragged for a long time.
HKIEd was established many years ago, even before the establishment of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. There were five colleges of education back then, including the Northcote College of Education and the Sir Robert Black College of Education, which were later merged to form HKIEd. Over the years, HKIEd had accumulated a lot of experience in teacher training, why should it not be granted university status simply because Arthur LI once said, "I want to have a child, but you do not have the right to be born". Later, Arthur LI and Fanny LAW were accused of interfering with academic freedom, and the incident was investigated by a Commission of Inquiry appointed by Donald TSANG.
As the then President Prof Paul MORRIS was against the Government, he was attacked by the pro-establishment camp who accused him of lying and political conspiracy, and they also accused Vice President Prof Bernard LUK of lying. Mr WONG Kwok-hing was making praises and giving advice, but what he said was actually meaningless. They attached themselves to Donald TSANG at that time. While they swarmed to support Arthur LI and Fanny LAW, they insulted the gentle and educated people such as President Prof MORRIS and Vice President Prof LUK, who were widely supported by teaching staff and students, accusing them of lying.
According to President Prof MORRIS, in 2003, while royalist Arthur LI, Mr WONG Kwok-hing and Mr CHAN Kam-lam were having a drink with him, the "tsar" said that Prof MORRIS would be "raped" ― such things only happened during the Nanjing Massacre. The "tsar" said to President Prof MORRIS, "You will be raped by me sooner or later." President Prof MORRIS was so scared that he was in a constant state of anxiety. I have just quoted another statement of the "tsar", "I will remember this, you will pay". He was just like a triad member LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9731 who placed a pot of tangerine tree outside someone's shop, and if that person did not pay, he would remember and that person had to pay a price sooner or later.
At a time when HKIEd was due to be granted university status, who stopped the upgrading of HKIEd to a university? It is your friend, the one whom you still support today. I have never seen someone who had been spurned by society, who had to take the blame and resign and no longer served as the Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, did manage to make a comeback. Today, ZHANG Dejiang visits Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, the Chairperson of which is Fanny LAW. Under this bureaucratic system, a person could be re-appointed after admitting mistakes because the Government has the power of appointment. Some Members were making praises and giving advice, requesting "Long Hair" not to filibuster to prevent HKIEd from being granted university status. As I said, "despicability is the epitaph of a despicable person". Mr WONG Kwok-hing supported that person at that time. Prof Anthony CHEUNG was the President of HKIEd at one time, he might not be the President of HKIEd if things were not so messy at that time. The sin they committed lead to the failure of HKIEd to be granted university status. As we all know, during that time, Hong Kong Shue Yan College, a private college, was upgraded to a university. Only HKIEd which trained teachers over the years and have students all over the world was stifled by the "tsar" they supported.
Pro-establishment Members said our filibustering would hinder the upgrading of HKIEd. They kept reproaching "No-good NG" at meetings but they bowed and greeted him afterwards. Our approach is different; we directly reproach "No-good NG". For this reason, Secretary Eddie NG does not hate me because he knows that these people say bad words behind his back. Those who previously supported Arthur LI now support "No-good NG", as dictated by this bureaucratic system. Fortunately, I have good memory and I can talk nonstop on this issue from memory alone. If Members of the pro-establishment camp are not convinced, they can refute me. Had they supported Arthur LI and Fanny LAW? Had they impeded the upgrading of HKIEd to a university? They had actually done so; what else could they say? If something happens to LEUNG Chun-ying in the future, they will say that they have been cheated by him.
I urge HKIEd's alumni, current students and students who have now become teachers not to forget this story. Since Antony LEUNG's appointment as Chairman of the Education Commission by TUNG Chee-hwa, the authorities had the intention to remove the largest teachers' association as well as people 9732 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 originally in charge of education, and then implement an education reform. The education reform failed, but Antony LEUNG became the Financial Secretary after his engagement in education. He implemented an outsourcing system, reduced civil service pay and reduced Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments. Had Mr WONG Kwok-hing and certain Members not supported him?
This is history. I just need to cite one incident to show how despicable they were. When a person whom they once appreciated stepped down, they trampled him even though he would return soon afterwards. To be honest, I only speak after I heard Mr WONG Kwok-hing's praises and advice, asking us not to filibuster. I now declare that, whether Mr WONG Kwok-hing is talking on behalf of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, he and his henchmen supported Arthur LI in stifling educational autonomy and hindering HKIEd from acquiring university title. In fact, "Long Hair" had not filibustered to impede HKIEd's upgrade to a university. I have finished speaking; those who have guts may refute me.
MR CHEUNG KWOK-CHE (in Cantonese): Deputy President, under scrutiny today is The Hong Kong Institute of Education (Amendment) Bill 2016 (the Bill). It has been almost a decade since The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) formally submitted its application for university title to the Government in June 2007. Eventually, in January this year, the Chief Executive in Council approved the award of university title to HKIEd. Today, the Legislative Council formally scrutinizes the Bill.
(THE PRESIDENT resumed the Chair)
I certainly support the Bill. It is the wish of the public that HKIEd should acquire university title. Various sectors of society are thrilled that HKIEd has finally secured the Government's approval of its university status, which I believe is the fruit of many people's hard work behind the scenes. Hong Kong has seen a growing trend for local post-secondary education providers to seek university status. A few years ago, Hong Kong Shue Yan College was officially upgraded to university status. Now, HKIEd is to be granted university title. Later on, we may see Chu Hai College of Higher Education or Caritas Institute of Higher LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9733
Education apply to become a university. In giving this speech, I naturally hope to express my concern about The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK): I believe that an institute elevated to university status is obliged to work towards more important missions and purposes.
Mr WONG Yuk-man once proposed three Committee stage amendments (CSAs) to the Bill. Regrettably, being opposed by the Administration, the CSAs were ruled inadmissible by the President on the grounds that they were irrelevant to the subject matter of the Bill and hence contrary to the Rules of Procedure, as the only object of the Bill is to change the title of HKIEd to "The Education University of Hong Kong". However, in accepting the findings of the review by the University Grants Committee (UGC) with respect to HKIEd, the Government pointed out that "HKIEd already possesses the qualities and attributes commonly expected of a university and is fully worthy of joining the ranks of the other UGC-funded universities", and HKIEd had in place "governance structures and processes appropriate to a well-managed university", so HKIEd should be granted university title. Given that appropriate governance structures and processes are important considerations in support of university status, the responses provided by the Government and the President this time seem to be divorced from such logic and have ruled out the CSAs purely on technical grounds. In my view, the CSAs are not only relevant to the subject matter of the Bill, but also absolutely in tune with public opinion.
A university is a university not because of a larger campus or greater numbers of students and subjects taught. Universities do not merely aim at producing various kinds of skilled workers, raising productivity and boosting the GDP, but play a significant role in facilitating local people's pursuit of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights for everyone, and have an obligation to put forward solutions to contemporary social problems. After being upgraded to university status, HKIEd should, apart from properly performing its professional duty of training teachers on a continuous basis, also provide a good spread of complementary disciplines. These are the responsibilities of a university.
The question of how a university can properly fulfil the responsibilities and duties expected of it to enable people to enjoy their legitimate right to education is absolutely related to its governance structures and processes. In 1988, the World University Service issued the Lima Declaration on Academic Freedom and Autonomy of Institutions of Higher Education, which states that "the right to education can only be fully enjoyed in an atmosphere of academic freedom and autonomy of institutions of higher education", and that "autonomy means the 9734 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 independence of institutions of higher education from the State and all other forces of society to make decisions regarding its internal government, finance, [and] administration". Sadly, the Bill does not inspire confidence that after the upgrade, EdUHK will enable its teachers and students to have sufficient right to education and academic freedom; nor do EdUHK's governance structures and processes inspire confidence that it can meet the standard of autonomy expected of a university. For this, the Administration, which introduced the Bill, must be held accountable.
The rationale behind this view held by me lies in the urgent need to amend the existing university ordinances. In the past colonial era, the Chancellor of Hong Kong's universities was the Governor, who also appointed members of the universities' Councils. But back in those days, the Governor would not exercise his actual powers as Chancellor; rather, he allowed the universities to retain their capacity for self-government to the greatest possible extent, enabling Hong Kong to win international acclaim for the quality of its tertiary education. However, after Hong Kong's return to China, this tradition has gradually turned sour. In particular, since LEUNG Chun-ying took office as the Chief Executive, he has exploited his powers to the fullest extent, intervened in everything, and demanded that all social systems should serve his political needs. Under the small-circle electoral system, not only does he have no popular mandate, but he can even exercise his powers without any restriction. With unlimited powers, the Chief Executive also has great authority over university affairs.
During the past four years, as far as we could see, while the current-term Government seemed to respect freedom of speech and freedom of assembly and association on the surface, it scorned them in actual fact, and rode roughshod over university autonomy. As soon as the Chief Executive took office, he appointed a member of his electioneering team, Mr Herman HU, Chairman of Ryoden Development Limited, who is currently a Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress, as Chairman of the Council of the City University of Hong Kong (CityU). Later, he appointed his campaign office's personnel Miss Leonie KI, Mr Kaizer LAU and Miss Karen TANG to the Councils of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) respectively, and appointed Mr Rex AUYEUNG, a former member of the CityU Council, as Chairman of the Council of Lingnan University (LU). Subsequently, he appointed Mr Andrew LIAO, Executive Council Member and member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, as Chairman of the Council LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9735 of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and then appointed Mr Arthur LI, an extremely controversial Executive Council Member, as Chairman of the HKU Council. Recently, he further appointed Mr Norman LEUNG, a famous "LEUNG's fan" and former Chairman of the CityU Council, as Chairman of the Council of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).
President, my purpose in citing the above examples is to challenge the Government's view that "HKIEd already possesses the qualities and attributes commonly expected of a university", because all universities in Hong Kong have generally lost the qualities and attributes they should possess, as well as the governance structures and processes appropriate to a well-managed university. The several examples above are sufficient to reflect that the Chief Executive has practised cronyism and used university positions as political rewards, causing the universities to serve the Chief Executive's personal political stance and needs. A case in point is the Chief Executive's alleged removal of names from the HKU's honorary degrees list. All these will only make universities become more like secondary schools, producing irreversible ill-effects on university governance and the higher education sector.
In addition, over the past few years, the Government has appointed a lot of political and business figures to the universities' Councils, creating apparent cases of "laymen controlling experts". These laymen only have money in their minds. Putting in their hands such powers as determining the appointments of staff and budgets of the universities, which are responsible for nurturing the future pillars of Hong Kong, and deciding how the universities should develop is tantamount to ruining Hong Kong society. Now that conventional universities are plagued by a whole slew of problems and gradually deviating from the missions and purposes that a university should achieve, how can EdUHK keep the same problems at bay after the upgrade if the relevant statutory provisions are not amended? Will it bring disgrace on its university title?
In fact, this is not just my personal worry, but has proved to be a concern based on public opinion as I mentioned earlier on. In February this year, the HKIEd Students' Union held a referendum among its students on the demand for amendments to the university ordinances. A total of 2 000-odd students voted in the referendum, the results of which reflected that 95% of the students supported "abolishing the Chief Executive's ex-officio role as Chancellor of the institute", 95.5% of the students supported "abolishing the Chief Executive's power to 9736 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 appoint members of the Council of the institute", and 96.8% of the students supported "increasing the proportion of democratically elected representatives of academic staff, administrative staff and students in the Council of the institute".
Over the past few months, in addition to HKIEd, other tertiary institutions such as CUHK, the HKBU, PolyU, HKUST, LU and The Open University of Hong Kong have also held "Referendums on Amendments to Ordinances governing Tertiary Institutions", the results of which indicate that the students are generally in favour of abolishing the Chief Executive's ex-officio role as Chancellor of their institutions, abolishing the Chief Executive's power to appoint members of the Councils of their institutions, and increasing the proportion of democratically elected representatives of academic staff, administrative staff and students in the Councils of their institutions, the reasons being that they hope to re-establish university autonomy and academic freedom and fundamentally improve the governance structures and processes of Hong Kong's universities, so that the local universities will not fail to live up to their titles.
As I said at the beginning of my speech, I support the Bill. But this does not mean that I totally agree with the contents of the Bill. Victor AU, former President of the HKIEd Students' Union, has indicated his hope that HKIEd can launch the "Consultation on Amendments to University Ordinances (Second Phase)" as soon as possible, and he opines that the reform of the composition of the Council of HKIEd is as pressing as the upgrade of HKIEd to university status. He hopes that we will not have to wait another decade for the task to complete. President, in my view, only by amending its university ordinance and reforming its governance structures and processes can EdUHK become a genuine university that has university autonomy and academic freedom, and be able to shoulder the responsibilities and duties expected of it. Only in this way will the upgrade of HKIEd truly come to pass. The SAR Government is obliged to face and resolve these issues. Of course, the quickest way to enable EdUHK to live up to its university title is for the incumbent Chief Executive, LEUNG Chun-ying, to immediately resign and step down, refrain from seeking re-election, stop all the actions that damage university autonomy, and reactivate the constitutional reform process forthwith, so that the Chief Executive can be accountable to the public through universal suffrage, and university autonomy can be truly safeguarded.
President, I so submit.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9737
MS STARRY LEE (in Cantonese): President, today, The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) is finally granted university title and becomes the eighth publicly-funded university in Hong Kong, starting a new chapter in its history.
As HKIEd President Prof Stephen CHEUNG has said, even if middle-class parents plan to send their children abroad for tertiary education, their children still stay in Hong Kong to receive kindergarten, primary and secondary education, and their teachers are probably graduates trained by HKIEd. Therefore, HKIEd shoulders great responsibility and plays a pivotal role in nurturing talent in Hong Kong.
HKIEd was established in 1994 by amalgamating the former Northcote College of Education, Grantham College of Education, Sir Robert Black College of Education, Hong Kong Technical Teachers' College and the Institute of Language in Education with a view to providing teacher education. Like other similar institutions, it takes a very long time for HKIEd to acquire university status.
In 2009, the Government expressed its support for HKIEd's vision of "Education-plus" and strengthening its research capability. In July 2014, HKIEd submitted an application for university title to the Government. Finally, the University Grants Committee submitted the Report of the Review Group on the Application for University Title by HKIEd to the Education Bureau in September 2015. The Bureau endorsed the Report, and the Chief Executive in Council decided to grant HKIEd university status. If the Hong Kong Institute of Education (Amendment) Bill 2016 (the Bill) is passed, HKIEd will complete the final step of its application for university title and officially become a university.
President, given the current intensely antagonistic political atmosphere, it is very difficult for society to reach a consensus on an issue. It is also extremely difficult to obtain the consent from different camps in this Council. This incident is a good case in point. With the general support of society, all parties and groupings in this Council agreed that it was not necessary to set up a bills committee to scrutinize the Bill; moreover, the Government has changed the order of the agenda items so that the Bill can be dealt with upon the completion of the scrutiny of the Appropriation Bill 2016. This shows that all of us really hope that HKIEd could complete the process of acquiring university status expeditiously, and that HKIEd's efforts in the past have gained support and recognition from the general public.
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President, there is another piece of good news regarding the academic performance of HKIEd before the upgrade. In the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2016, HKIEd's ranking has raised from 15th last year to 12th in the world, and second in Asia in the field of education. The ranking shows that HKIEd is recognized by the academia in teaching, research and knowledge transfer.
President, I hope that HKIEd's upgrade to university status can attract more high-calibre students to join the teaching profession. We have to admit that the current status of HKIEd may affect some students' impression of the institute, especially in respect of admission and overseas exchanges, people may think that HKIEd graduates are different from other university graduates. After all, Hong Kong people have a special quest for university education. Secondary school leavers always regard university education as their first choice. It is believed that after HKIEd has acquired university title, it will attract more quality students who are aspired to become teachers; the quality and status of teachers will also be enhanced as well.
President, speaking of the education problems in Hong Kong, there are indeed divergent views in society. Yesterday I was invited to meet with a group of senior management personnel. As soon as I was seated, they asked about my views on the education problems in Hong Kong. I told them that HKIEd has finally completed the final step towards acquiring university title, and the process should be approved by the Legislative Council today. Even if the summoning bell rings, I am not worried. I am confident that the meeting will not be aborted at this point because all of us look forward to passing the Bill by the Legislative Council as early as possible.
They asked me how to address the various education problems in Hong Kong at present. I have been asked this question many times before. I pointed out that after the upgrade of HKIEd, it would attract more high-calibre students to join the teaching profession and become good teachers. I also drew their attention to the fact that people all over the world also have many complaints about their education systems. Not long ago, I read a book which brings up a question which I, as a parent and a Legislative Council Member responsible for dealing with education issues, will ask: why some places are able to nurture clever children? How come so many parents in Hong Kong prefer sending their children to study abroad to arranging them to study in local schools? To find out the answer to these questions, the author of the book, who is a journalist, has LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9739 visited countries such as Finland, South Korea and Poland, the education systems of which are widely acclaimed. As students in Finland have shown remarkable improvements, the author wishes to find out how well the Finnish education system is. The Secretary for Education, who had also visited the country, may have a better understanding than mine.
According to the author's analysis, the secret behind Finland's success is very simple. Since Finland attaches great importance to education, the teachers are elites among elites. They are offered attractive remuneration packages and enjoy the same social status and level of respect as doctors or professionals in Hong Kong. Hence, a great number of top-calibre talent are drawn to the teaching profession. The teachers and schools are regarded as professionals and are highly respected by parents and the Finnish Government. The Finnish students are conscientious in their studies and parents are greatly concerned about their children's academic performance.
The author concludes that there is actually no single education programme or formula in the world which can nurture exceptionally outstanding children. However, one point we must admit is that parents and schools are the cores. Parents of course form the core of a family while teachers form the core of a school. If we want our children to be clever, we need a team of high-quality principals and teachers who are caring and dedicated to nurturing better students. The Government must continue its efforts in training high-quality teachers. Hence, Hong Kong should learn from Finland in this respect. We support HKIEd's acquisition of university title and also expect more high-calibre and dedicated young people to join the teaching profession to nurture our next generation. Apart from helping HKIEd's upgrade, I hope the Education Bureau would also address teachers' work pressure, raise their status and respond to their demands. It is hoped that by doing so, more dedicated and capable people will join the teaching profession, thus creating better learning conditions for our students.
With these remarks, President. I support the Bill.
MS CYD HO (in Cantonese): President, seeing that The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) is to be officially upgraded and retitled as a university today, many Members have mentioned Bernard LUK, former Vice President of HKIEd who passed away recently, and his great contributions to HKIEd. He and Paul 9740 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016
MORRIS, former President of HKIEd, had been subjected to tremendous pressure in upholding the autonomy and academic freedom of HKIEd. I am also grateful that Secretary Anthony CHEUNG is present at today's meeting. Although he has to attend the meeting in his capacity as the Secretary for Transport and Housing when the Legislative Council examines the Bill on the Eastern Harbour Tunnel later on, I believe his presence at the meeting at this moment is related to the fact that being the former President of HKIEd, he is also concerned about this Bill.
The upgrade process of HKIEd has at least lasted six to seven years from Anthony CHEUNG to Stephen CHEUNG. In fact, the preparation started even earlier. Starting from the mid-1990s, HKIEd already asked all teaching staff to obtain a doctoral degree lest those only holding a master's degree might not have their contract renewed after HKIEd was upgraded. It is evident that HKIEd has prepared for the upgrade for a long time. It has taken HKIEd 20 years to be finally retitled as a university today, in 2016. Who has filibustered? The teaching staff have made great efforts. Secretary Anthony CHEUNG applied for the retitling when he was the President. But it has taken six or seven years before the application is finally approved, which is unfair to the students of HKIEd.
During the process of seeking university status, HKIEd was almost "closed". As some colleagues have mentioned just now, when Arthur LI was the Secretary for Education and Manpower, he proposed to merge HKIEd with The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), without any sound justifications. He only claimed that as HKIEd was a small institution and its location was close to CUHK, one in Tai Po and the other in Sha Tin, the two institutions might as well merge. What sort of justification was that? Did Arthur LI aspire to establish the LI's empire? He could not annex HKIEd simply because it was a small institution in the proximity of CUHK.
The Government is very much concerned about HKIEd because it trains teachers. As we all know, in an authoritarian country, the government would give priority to "take control of education and people's thoughts". How would it leave HKIEd alone? There were incidents in which the operation of HKIEd was blatantly interfered. For example, when Fanny LAW was the Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower, IP Kin-yuen wrote an article in the newspaper criticizing the education reform. At that time, as the Government intended to reduce the funding for tertiary institutes, some teaching staff of LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9741
HKIEd would be made redundant. Fanny LAW thus took this opportunity and personally telephoned HKIEd to ask if IP Kin-yuen was on list of staff to be made redundant, so as to make sure that he would be sacked. That was interference.
Why can't the authorities accept that fact that the teaching staff of tertiary institutions have independent thinking? In particular, why can't the authorities tolerate the teaching staff who criticize the Government and oppose government policies? This is very worrisome. Tertiary education institutions are places where people pursue academic research and in the process, one has to break old rules and established norms in order to present new thoughts and ideas, especially critical thoughts. If an institution is like a rubber stamp, the academic freedom of that institution is at stake and new thoughts can hardly emerge in such an environment.
President, the measures and policies that restrict people's thoughts not only target those who oppose the Government, but also impose micro controls, such as the curriculum design and the number of new student intakes. Let me cite an example. A subcommittee of the Legislative Council is formed to follow up the implementation of free kindergarten education and one of its major concerns is how to enhance the quality of kindergarten teachers' training. We know that after completion of certain courses, kindergarten teachers are qualified to become kindergarten principals. Many teachers want to enrol in those courses although they are fully aware that they may not have the chance to be promoted to the post of principal after completing the courses.
In our view, if more people are allowed to enrol in the courses, kindergartens will also be benefited as well when more teachers have the knowledge of how to run the school, even though vacancies for principals may not be available for the time being. However, later we found that the Government had limited the number of student intakes of these courses to 15 per class, barring many kindergarten teachers from enrolment. This is interference. It hinders the enhancement of teachers' quality and career advancement. Do all teachers who have studied those courses aspire to become a principal? Actually, the teachers are very reasonable and they know that they will not get a promotion if there are no vacancies. Why must the Government hinder kindergarten teachers from furthering their studies and upgrading themselves? This is an example showing how bad the Government's interference is.
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There are more examples of government interference. As the Chief Executive has the power to appoint members of university councils, controversial figure such as Arthur LI, someone who is detested by the alumni, students and teaching staff of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), could still be appointed as the Chairman of the HKU Council. Another controversial figure is Junius HO, former Chairman of the Law Society, someone who likes to stir up disputes, was appointed as a member of the Council of the Lingnan University. As soon as he was appointed a member of the Council, he quarrelled with the students. We fail to see in him the virtue of self-restraint, a quality that a professional like him should have. But the Chief Executive readily appointed people of such qualities to the university councils, further interfering with the decisions of universities.
We are of course very worried whether these "LEUNG's fans" in the university councils will use their position and power to evict those who sing a different tune. Wan CHIN of the Lingnan University did not have his contract renewed and CHENG Chung-tai of the Polytechnic University is under tremendous pressure. These are two cases in point. Of course, their political beliefs are different from those of the mainstream and even more different from those of the Government, but their teaching posts in universities, their dismissal or otherwise should not be affected by their political beliefs. Instead, they should be judged fairly according to their performance in teaching and academic research. They should not be dismissed due to political factors.
I wish to cite a very famous foreign scholar, Noam CHOMSKY, as an example. He was famous for his defiance against the Government. He opposed the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War and the expansion of American imperialism. He was arrested several times for participating in civil disobedience actions and he was even on NIXON's Enemies List. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he taught was under great pressure to dismiss him, but it withstood the pressure. The pressure on him was so great that his wife had to study for a PhD, just in case the MIT would dismiss him and she had to teach to provide for the family. The MIT withstood the tremendous pressure from the government and let him, a rebellious person in open defiance of important government policies on foreign and military affairs, retain his teaching post. New York Times named CHOMSKY the most influential public intellectual of the time. Had MIT been unable to withstand the pressure and sacked him, he might not have the room to conduct academic researches and voice his thoughts and ideas. And of course he would not be able LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9743 to support the Occupy Wall Street Movement and later published a series of articles commenting on the Occupy movement. President, why is it that other countries are able to do so but the Hong Kong Government is so narrow-minded?
On a radio interview on Sunday, Chief Executive LEUNG Chun-ying said that whoever knew a few English words would know about the confrontational politics in English speaking countries. Why didn't he say that institutional autonomy was highly tolerated in English speaking countries? According to his argument, since he also knows a few English words, may I ask why he adopts autocratic means to suppress university teaching staff. President, I fully understand that the student unions and student groups of various institutions wish to explicitly state their views through a referendum. They oppose the Chief Executive's ex-officio role as the Chancellor of their university and his statutory power to appoint members of the university council. Their views are loud and clear.
Why didn't the Legislative Council form a Bills Committee to scrutinize the Bill? We were in a dilemma. Members of the democratic camp certainly wished to have a formal platform to discuss how the Chief Executive, as the Chancellor, affected institutional autonomy, but we also well understood that HKIEd graduates of this year wished to have the title "university" printed on their graduation certificates. Secretary Anthony CHEUNG once explained to us, with the title "university" on their graduation certificates, students would find it easier to apply for enrolment in overseas universities to pursue a master's degree or PhD degree. Previously, some overseas institutions would automatically reject the students' applications, seeing that they are university graduates, and would not give them a chance to offer further explanation. That would affect the students' opportunities for pursuing further studies. Hence, when faced with this dilemma, we decided not to scrutinize the Bill for the well-being of this year's HKIEd graduates. However, if the democratic camp can respond to the needs of the students, we hope that the pro-establishment camp and the Government will also respond to the aspirations of the students and expeditiously amend the relevant ordinance, so as to abolish the Chief Executive's ex-officio role as the Chancellor and his power to appoint members of the university council.
Thank you, President.
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DR LAM TAI-FAI (in Cantonese): President, before I deliver my speech, I have to declare that I am a member of the Presidential Advisory Group of The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd).
President, this week is very important to Hong Kong because of two major events, both important and good, in the city. The first major event is, of course, the visit of a leader of the Central Authorities, Mr ZHANG Dejiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, to Hong Kong to understand the governance of the territory and show his care for Hong Kong people. The second major event is the birth of the eighth university in Hong Kong if The Hong Kong Institute of Education (Amendment) Bill 2016 (the Bill) currently under discussion ― which, simply put, seeks to upgrade HKIEd to university status ― is passed after being read the Third time.
The upgrade of HKIEd to university status marks a new milestone in the development of education in Hong Kong, which is entering a new phase. I also believe that following this upgrade, the quality of talent in Hong Kong is bound to improve accordingly, and Hong Kong's overall sustainable competitiveness will be enhanced consequently. This will be very beneficial and contribute a lot to Hong Kong's overall development. Therefore, the upgrade of HKIEd to The Education University of Hong Kong is a significant, gratifying and favourable event not only for the education sector, but also for Hong Kong as a whole.
I know that later on, the chairpersons or representatives of some political parties will meet with Chairman ZHANG Dejiang. I hope that instead of suggesting to Chairman ZHANG that Chief Executive LEUNG Chun-ying be replaced or the constitutional reform process be reactivated, or expressing to him various views on the co-location of boundary control facilities or the implementation of "one country, two systems" as mentioned by pro-establishment Members, they had better give Chairman ZHANG a piece of great news, that is, the eighth university in Hong Kong is coming into being, and that Hong Kong sets great store by the training and education of talent. I believe that on hearing this wonderful news, Chairman ZHANG will definitely feel gratified and glad, and consider his visit to Hong Kong this time a fruitful and satisfactory one.
President, under the administration of the current-term Government, the relationship between the executive and the legislature is very poor, as evidenced by many confrontations, dissentions and conflicts amid incessant disputes, which have caused minor issues to be politicized and escalate into political storms. But then, I would like to tell Members that sometimes there are exceptions. Prior to LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9745
HKIEd's application for university title, the Panel on Education, of which I am the Chairman, had explored this issue at a meeting in an atmosphere of great harmony and goodwill. All Panel members returned to rationality, put aside their preconceptions and shared the same objective of supporting the upgrade of HKIEd to university status. This was an unusual sight. Such a phenomenon has been very rare and exceptional in recent years. We often say that sports can unite the community. In fact, the development of education can likewise unite the community and bring together different political parties and groupings. This also testifies to the legitimacy of upgrading HKIEd to university status, which it truly deserves. And that is what everybody wants to see. I therefore hope that the Bill will be read for the Third time and passed smoothly today or tomorrow.
President, the government of any advanced society should put education on the front burner, or even at the top of its list of priorities, because education has proved to be a kind of soft power that, coupled with science, can lead to national rejuvenation. For this reason, the Government must invest as much as possible in and allocate more resources for education, so as to make a good job of it.
Unfortunately, during the past few years, the Education Bureau was faced with wave upon wave of controversial issues, if I may say so. But this time around, the Government has been receptive to good advice in that it has listened to us and adjusted the order of business by putting the Bill at the forefront of the Agenda, giving priority to the upgrade of HKIEd to university status. To be fair, the Government has done the right thing this time. This move can be described as an occasional good deed, which lends credence to the saying that "if you have done a hundred things, you must have done at least one thing right". Of course, I believe that if the Secretary for Education can make up his mind to abolish the Primary Three Territory-wide System Assessment, effectively tackle the problem of "matchbox-style school premises", and even review the staff establishment and salary structure in primary schools, he will definitely contribute to the healthy development of education in Hong Kong as a whole, and his popularity rating will rise.
Just now many Honourable colleagues mentioned problems relating to the governance by and authority of the Chancellor of the universities. I hope that in these couple of days, Members will put aside this issue for the time being and rationally support the upgrade of HKIEd to university status, so as not to create any unnecessary side issues or unintended complications which might put the Third Reading of the Bill at risk.
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President, in retrospect, it can be said that HKIEd's pursuit of university status has been a very bumpy journey full of twists and turns. In the past, there were allegations that the disciplines offered by HKIEd were homogeneous, and as a result, HKIEd failed twice in its bid to apply for university title. After years of effort and campaigning, it can see the light at the end of the tunnel today. In my view, this is due in no small measure to the contributions made by the President of HKIEd, Stephen CHEUNG.
Stephen CHEUNG took over the post of President of HKIEd in 2013. At that time, this post was really a hot potato. A lot of people criticized him for holding many public positions and lacking experience in this field, and queried whether he would be capable of helping HKIEd acquire university title. Now, the facts have proved that President Stephen CHEUNG has performed his duties with great dynamism, actively promoted the revamp and transformation of HKIEd, and carried out a vigorous reform to diversify its programmes and offer more postgraduate programmes. In addition, he has maintained discussions and dialogues with different political parties and groupings in the Legislative Council with an open mind, and has done a lot of consultation and communication work. So I believe that the retitling of HKIEd will command the support of all political parties and groupings, and the Bill will be passed today or tomorrow. I believe in causality, and I believe that God never disappoints the studious. The upgrade of HKIEd to university status should be able to complete in these two days. At long last, all the effort has finally paid off.
President, today's meeting will be adjourned at 5 pm. As I do not know how many Members will speak after me, nor do I know whether the Bill can be put to the vote today, I am not going to make my speech a long-winded one. I will cut it short.
Here, I once again call on Members to support the retitling of HKIEd, and kindly make a success of this favourable and significant event. I would like to congratulate in advance the students who are now studying at HKIEd and will graduate this year on the recognition and affirmation of their status as university students. I also hope that after the retitling exercise, the Government will give strong support to this new university and allow it to develop healthily.
President, I so submit.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 9747
DR HELENA WONG (in Cantonese): President, on behalf of the six Members of the Democratic Party, I am going to speak in support of the Hong Kong Institute of Education (Amendment) Bill 2016 (the Bill). The Democratic Party would like to extend our warmest congratulations to The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd), which is going to be upgraded as a university and retitled as "The Education University of Hong Kong".
HKIEd has suffered many setbacks in pursuit of university title and today, the final stage is reached. On 26 January this year, the Executive Council approved granting HKIEd university status, and its title will be changed to "The Education University of Hong Kong" in English and "香港教育大學" in Chinese. It will become the eighth publicly-funded university in Hong Kong. The path that leads HKIEd to the title of university is long, taking more than a decade, and although this Council is going to pass the Bill today, the road of reform is indeed endless. When the President of HKIEd, Prof Stephen CHEUNG, met with Members of the Legislative Council, he said that the discussion on removing the automatic appointment of the Chief Executive as the Chancellor of HKIEd would resume after it attained university title.
President, the attainment of university title is a decade-long journey for HKIEd. Its application for a title upgrade in 2007 was unfortunately rejected in 2009. HKIEd subsequently launched degree programmes such as language studies, and completed the necessary programme accreditation and Programme Area Accreditation exercises. Then, HKIEd submitted an application for university title again the year before last, which was finally approved by the University Grants Committee (UGC) last year. The Executive Council also approved granting university title to HKIEd, so it has now come to the last step of obtaining the Legislative Council's approval for the relevant legislative amendment.
The award of university title is indeed a recognition of the longstanding efforts of the staff and students as well as HKIEd, which is basically operating as a university. The title-awarding process is just a formality to give it the legitimate status. Just as the President of the HKIEd Students' Union has said, given that HKIEd is not seen as a university, employers might compare its graduates with those of other universities in assessing their job application, especially the teaching posts in primary and secondary schools, and even cast doubt on their quality. Therefore, students hope that after HKIEd is granted university title, the employment rate, salaries and benefits of the graduates will improve. With regard to the automatic appointment of the Chief Executive as 9748 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 the Chancellor, HKIEd has reached a consensus with the students' union and staff associations that a proposal for the relevant legislative amendments would be submitted on completion of the retitling process. The message of the Students' Union to remove the automatic appointment of the Chief Executive as the Chancellor was received loud and clear by Members, and we are aware that earlier on, an institute-wide consultation and referendum have been conducted for students to express views.
We hope that the legislative amendment process can be expeditiously completed today, such that HKIEd will formally be granted university title and proceed with the follow-up reforms as early as possible without having to wait for another 10 years to address the issue of automatic appointment of the Chief Executive as its Chancellor.
If we look back at history, in the early 1990s, the Government greatly increased the number of degree places except for the four former colleges of education. The then Chairman of the Education Commission Mrs Rita FAN once recapped in a newspaper column that such a policy was detrimental to the training of teachers in Hong Kong. Subsequently in 1993, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the City University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Baptist University obtained their self-accrediting status and university titles. However, since those Colleges of Education had not made the corresponding changes, their student intake had dropped significantly as students were reluctant to enrol in these colleges. As a result, those colleges of education had encountered great difficulties in attracting students, let alone training them as teachers. It was only by then did the Government hastily implement the Education Commission Report No. 5, whereby the four former Colleges of Education were merged as HKIEd in 1994 to provide bachelor's degree programme on education. By so doing, the falling student intake and declining student quality were reversed. Nonetheless, the entire society was bound to pay the price for the Government's negligence of teachers' training back then. Though HKIEd lags behind other tertiary institutes in getting university title, it is better late than never. It is hoped that we can complete the relevant legislative amendment today.
Following the retitling of Lingnan College as "Lingnan University" in 1999, seven of the eight UGC-funded institutions had completed the retitling process and become universities, leaving behind HKIEd only. Today, we are obliged to help HKIEd complete with the necessary procedures.
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President, some people ask what are the advantages of being upgraded as a university. As I have mentioned earlier on, the President of the HKIEd Students' Union hope that students who are going to graduate this summer will receive a certificate of graduation issued by a university. To the students, there is indeed a difference between university graduates and non-university graduates in terms of future employment, job seeking and salaries. Furthermore, in respect of HKIEd's ability to attract candidates of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, the upgrading will enhance the competitiveness of the HKIEd vis-a-vis the other seven UGC-funded universities. Therefore, we hope that after the HKIEd attains the university title, it will no longer be placed in a disadvantageous position in terms of student recruitment.
Our society is very miserable because the teacher training institution can only attract students with the worst academic performance, but we nonetheless expect them to teach students at primary, secondary and even kindergarten levels. This is definitely not right. We should encourage students with the best academic performance to study educational courses and train them as teachers. I think no one would like their children being taught by teachers who are not up to standard or with records of poor academic performance. Therefore, we are very eager to encourage people who earnestly want to engage in education not to switch to other profession simply because HKIEd is not a university. Attracting suitable and excellent talent to join the education sector and provide them with the best training is what we should do.
The attainment of university title by HKIEd is not only meaningful to its students or graduates, but also carries significant meaning to the recruitment of new teaching staff and the quality enhancement of its existing staff. We notice that in the pursuit of university title, those few institutions have enhanced the qualification requirements of their teaching staff and encouraged those who have yet to obtain doctoral degrees to further their studies. Of course, problems did arise in the course of it, including the purchase of certificates from the state universities of the Philippines or substandard colleges. We hope that the Secretary for Education would closely monitor the situation to prevent any attempts to whitewash for upgrading purpose, that is, to create an image of high qualification through the purchase of certificates. This is something we should guard against. In fact, I have also seen many colleagues working very hard to upgrade their academic qualification.
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Nowadays, universities do not only conduct recruitment in Hong Kong, but will recruit globally for Assistant Professor, for example. Therefore, after HKIEd attains university title, it will no longer be placed in a disadvantaged position in competing for or absorbing the best academic talent at the international or local level. In my opinion, this is a very important step for the only institution providing teachers' training under the flagship of university in Hong Kong. As we are aware, in the pursuit of university title, HKIEd has clearly stated that apart from providing a degree for education or training its graduates as teachers, it has also launched other degree courses other than education. Therefore, although in future The Education University of Hong Kong will continue to focus on teacher education, we hope that it will also launch other degree programmes to achieve "Education-plus" and provide training for local talent.
President, I shall stop here. I eagerly hope that Members of this Council will join hands to support HKIEd today. It has been more than 20 years since 1994 and it is our wish to see HKIEd moving to a new horizon by obtaining university title, and continuing to train local teachers and talent in various aspects.
With these remarks, President, I support the Bill.
SUSPENSION OF MEETING
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): It is now about 10 minutes to five and three Members have yet to speak.
I now suspend the meeting until 9 am tomorrow.
Suspended accordingly at 4.49 pm.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 18 May 2016 A1
Appendix I
WRITTEN ANSWER
Written answer by the Secretary for Food and Health to Mr Gary FAN's supplementary question to Question 3
As regards nursing manpower in public hospitals, the Hospital Authority (HA) provides different types and levels of services to patients having regard to their conditions and needs. To meet the operational needs, the HA has developed a workload assessment model to estimate the nursing manpower requirements. The model takes into account the prevailing number of patients and the dependency level of patients for nursing care via a patient-nurse dependency tool. This tool classifies the patient-nurse dependency level into four categories, with category I having the lowest dependency level and category IV having the highest level. The higher the dependency level, the more nursing time is required. The workload assessment model has incorporated other workload factors such as the nursing time required for patient education, counselling and care planning as well as non-bedside nursing work such as care co-ordination and liaison. In addition, the model has also taken into consideration other specific factors such as patient turnover (including admission, discharge and transfer of patients) that impact on nursing workload.
On the basis of 44 work hours per week on average for nurses and after discounting the rest day and leave, the HA can derive the required number of nurses per service setting based on this model. The following example shows the calculation of the projected nursing manpower requirement for a general ward with 40 beds with an assumed 85% bed occupancy rate according to a patient-nurse dependency distribution.
Patient-Nurse Dependency Estimated Nurses Bed (PND) Bed Required Specialty Occupancy PND I PND IV No. Normal Busy PND II PND III Rate (lowest) (highest) Scenario Scenario(1) Medical 26% 32% 22% 20% 85% 40 22.3 25.3 Surgical/Orthopaedics 25% 35% 24% 16% 85% 40 22.1 25.1
Note:
(1) 15% busy loading will be added if the wards have more than 17 patients admission/discharge/transfer per day and the turnover of patients against bed day occupied exceeds 50%.