LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 27 February 2002 3823 OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Wednesday, 27 February 2002 The Council met at half-past Two o'clock MEMBERS PRESENT: THE PRESIDENT THE HONOURABLE MRS RITA FAN HSU LAI-TAI, G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE KENNETH TING WOO-SHOU, J.P. THE HONOURABLE JAMES TIEN PEI-CHUN, G.B.S., J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE DAVID CHU YU-LIN, J.P. THE HONOURABLE CYD HO SAU-LAN THE HONOURABLE ALBERT HO CHUN-YAN IR DR THE HONOURABLE RAYMOND HO CHUNG-TAI, J.P. THE HONOURABLE LEE CHEUK-YAN THE HONOURABLE MARTIN LEE CHU-MING, S.C., J.P. THE HONOURABLE ERIC LI KA-CHEUNG, J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE DAVID LI KWOK-PO, G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE FRED LI WAH-MING, J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE LUI MING-WAH, J.P. 3824 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 27 February 2002 THE HONOURABLE NG LEUNG-SING, J.P. THE HONOURABLE MRS SELINA CHOW LIANG SHUK-YEE, J.P. THE HONOURABLE JAMES TO KUN-SUN THE HONOURABLE CHEUNG MAN-KWONG THE HONOURABLE HUI CHEUNG-CHING, J.P. THE HONOURABLE CHAN KWOK-KEUNG THE HONOURABLE CHAN YUEN-HAN, J.P. THE HONOURABLE BERNARD CHAN THE HONOURABLE CHAN KAM-LAM THE HONOURABLE LEUNG YIU-CHUNG THE HONOURABLE SIN CHUNG-KAI THE HONOURABLE ANDREW WONG WANG-FAT, J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE PHILIP WONG YU-HONG THE HONOURABLE WONG YUNG-KAN THE HONOURABLE JASPER TSANG YOK-SING, J.P. THE HONOURABLE HOWARD YOUNG, J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE YEUNG SUM THE HONOURABLE YEUNG YIU-CHUNG, B.B.S. THE HONOURABLE LAU CHIN-SHEK, J.P. THE HONOURABLE LAU KONG-WAH LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 27 February 2002 3825 THE HONOURABLE LAU WONG-FAT, G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE MIRIAM LAU KIN-YEE, J.P. THE HONOURABLE AMBROSE LAU HON-CHUEN, G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE CHOY SO-YUK THE HONOURABLE ANDREW CHENG KAR-FOO THE HONOURABLE SZETO WAH THE HONOURABLE TIMOTHY FOK TSUN-TING, S.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE LAW CHI-KWONG, J.P. THE HONOURABLE TAM YIU-CHUNG, G.B.S., J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE TANG SIU-TONG, J.P. THE HONOURABLE ABRAHAM SHEK LAI-HIM, J.P. THE HONOURABLE LI FUNG-YING, J.P. THE HONOURABLE HENRY WU KING-CHEONG, B.B.S. THE HONOURABLE TOMMY CHEUNG YU-YAN, J.P. THE HONOURABLE MICHAEL MAK KWOK-FUNG THE HONOURABLE ALBERT CHAN WAI-YIP THE HONOURABLE LEUNG FU-WAH, M.H., J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE LO WING-LOK THE HONOURABLE WONG SING-CHI THE HONOURABLE FREDERICK FUNG KIN-KEE 3826 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 27 February 2002 THE HONOURABLE IP KWOK-HIM, J.P. THE HONOURABLE LAU PING-CHEUNG THE HONOURABLE AUDREY EU YUET-MEE, S.C., J.P. THE HONOURABLE MA FUNG-KWOK MEMBERS ABSENT: THE HONOURABLE MARGARET NG THE HONOURABLE MRS SOPHIE LEUNG LAU YAU-FUN, S.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE EMILY LAU WAI-HING, J.P. PUBLIC OFFICERS ATTENDING: THE HONOURABLE DONALD TSANG YAM-KUEN, J.P. THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION THE HONOURABLE ANTONY LEUNG KAM-CHUNG, G.B.S., J.P. THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY MR I G M WINGFIELD, J.P. THE SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE MR NICHOLAS NG WING-FUI, J.P. SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT MR DOMINIC WONG SHING-WAH, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR HOUSING MISS DENISE YUE CHUNG-YEE, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR THE TREASURY LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 27 February 2002 3827 DR YEOH ENG-KIONG, J.P. SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE MRS REGINA IP LAU SUK-YEE, J.P. SECRETARY FOR SECURITY MRS FANNY LAW FAN CHIU-FUN, J.P. SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER MR LEE SHING-SEE, J.P. SECRETARY FOR WORKS MS SANDRA LEE SUK-YEE, J.P. SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC SERVICES CLERKS IN ATTENDANCE: MR RICKY FUNG CHOI-CHEUNG, J.P., SECRETARY GENERAL MR LAW KAM-SANG, J.P., DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL MR RAY CHAN YUM-MOU, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL 3828 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 27 February 2002 TABLING OF PAPERS The following papers were laid on the table pursuant to Rule 21(2) of the Rules of Procedure: Subsidiary Legislation/Instruments L.N. No. Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety Management) Regulation (Cap. 59 sub. leg.) (Commencement) Notice 2002.............................................. 21/2002 Pension Benefits Ordinance (Established Offices) Order...................................................... 22/2002 Pension Benefits Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule) Order 2002............................................... 23/2002 Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Canada) Order (L.N. 290 of 2001) (Commencement) Notice 2002.............................................. 24/2002 Statutes of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Amendment) Statutes 2002........................... 25/2002 Other Papers No. 59 ─ AIDS Trust Fund 2000-2001 Annual Accounts together with the Director of Audit's Report No. 60 ─ Audited Financial Statements and Programme of Activities of the Hong Kong Examinations Authority for the year ending 31 August 2001 No. 61 ─ Audited Statement of Accounts together with the Auditor's Report and Trustee's Report on the administration of the Education Scholarships Fund for the year ending 31 August 2001 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 27 February 2002 3829 No. 62 ─ Hong Kong Tourist Association Annual Report 2000-2001 No. 63 ─ Vocational Training Council Annual Report 2000/2001 Report of the Bills Committee on Road Traffic Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2001 ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Honourable Members, today is the first meeting of the Legislative Council in the year "renwu" (壬午)Note. I wish Members success in everything, coming first in all endeavours and great achievements in all attempts. Questions. First question. Creation of New Jobs in Public Sector 1. MR LEUNG YIU-CHUNG (in Cantonese): Madam President, the unemployment rate continued to rise throughout last year and reached 6.1% in the last quarter. Given that the Chief Executive stated on the 30th of last month that the Government would create some 2 000 jobs in addition to the 30 000-plus job opportunities to be created in the public sector as pledged in the 2001 policy address, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the progress in and the detailed schedule for creating the additional jobs, together with a breakdown by job type; and (b) whether it has formulated new measures, apart from the relief measures stated in its reply to this Council on November 7 last year, to tackle the unemployment problem; if so, of the details of such measures? Note The year "壬午" refers to the year 2002. "壬 " is the ninth of the ten Heavenly Stems, whereas "午 " is the seventh of the twelve Earthly Branches. The combinations of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches produce a 60-year Chinese calendar cycle, whereby each year is represented by a pair of a Heavenly Stem and an Earthly Branch. 3830 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 27 February 2002 SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): Madam President, as a result of the dual effect of the deterioration of the external economic environment and the economic restructuring within Hong Kong, the latest quarterly unemployment rate has reached 6.7%. The number of unemployed persons was close to 220 000. In the near term, the unemployment rate is likely to remain high. In fact, a reversal of economic growth is the world trend and is beyond human control. Furthermore, the Government's financial position is extremely tight, and is not able to create a massive number of jobs. To thoroughly address unemployment, any improvement in the unemployment situation must ultimately be driven by the economy and directed by the market to create job opportunities. In the long term, we must upgrade the quality of our workforce and minimize any mismatch between supply and demand. (a) The Chief Executive stated last month that after much hard work by various government departments, it is estimated that an additional 2 000 short-term jobs will be created. Out of these, it is anticipated that about 1 800 will be created by 2002-03. These short-term jobs include clerks, information technology officers, community relations assistants, fire safety supervisors, seafarers, security guards, microfilming system officers, health care assistants, programme assistants, employment assistance co-ordinators, medical services assistants, and so on. The detailed information is set out in Annex. (b) With due regard for our long-term development needs, we will continue with our efforts to explore the possibility of creating more jobs in areas with actual needs to ease the unemployment problem. The Immigration Department, the police and the Labour Department will enhance enforcement to combat illegal employment. This includes intercepting illegal immigrants and prosecuting those who employ illegal immigrants and illegal workers, so as to protect the employment opportunities of local workers. On the other hand, with due regard to Hong Kong's long-term strategic development, the Government is actively developing new economic sectors, improving business environment, expanding the development space for enterprises and encouraging investment with LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 27 February 2002 3831 a view to creating more employment opportunities. In recent years, the Government is actively promoting tourism, the logistics industry and financial services industry. We also step up economic co- operation with the Mainland and invest heavily in manpower training to cater for the needs of economic development. These initiatives will help resolve the unemployment problem. In the longer term, to cope with a manpower mismatch brought about by economic restructuring, we have to change the traditional mode of education and nurture a new generation that have a creative mind and the abilities of self-learning and adaptation. We must also strengthen vocational training and encourage lifelong learning to improve the competitiveness of local workers in the employment market. The Government has also embarked on the formulation of a population policy. On the one hand, we have to attract more talents to come to work in Hong Kong so as to foster investment and facilitate the growth of a knowledge-based economy.