Issued by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Information Services
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Wednesday, September 10, 1997 CONTENTS ======== 1. CE gets warm welcome from US political & business leaders 2. CE assures US on democratic, economic development 3. Luncheon speech by CE in Washington 4. CE's Q&A session after luncheon address 5. CE's remarks after meeting Senate Members 6. CE's remarks at opening of HKETO 7. Remarks by Acting Chief Executive 8. Hong Kong geared up for major financial meeting 9. FS's speech 10. FS's transcript 11. Govt committed to providing best support for manufacturing 12. Government proposes to close Sewage Services Trading Fund 13. SCA speaks on voter eligibility 14. Action against unlicensed telecommunication installations 15. Route Twisk reopens tomorrow 16. Designation of Teachers' Day supported 17. Antiquities Advisory Board 95th Meeting 1. CE gets warm welcome from US political & business leaders ********************************************************* American political and business leaders have given the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, a warm welcome during his first full day (September 9, US time) of meetings and briefings in Washington D.C. During a busy day, Mr Tung delivered a keynote address to the US Chamber of Commerce and held a series of meetings with key political figures including US Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, Senate Finance Committee chairman William Roth (Republican), US Senate Majority leader Trent Lott (Republican) and members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and its Sub-committee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He also opened the new premises of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington and was guest of honour at a dinner with prominent US think-tanks and academics hosted by Hong Kong Commissioner USA Mr Kenneth Pang. During his meetings with US political leaders, Mr Tung was asked about a wide range of topics including the electoral processes in Hong Kong and the pace of democracy, mainland-born children of Hong Kong residents, relations with China and the SAR's role in the Asia-Pacific region. During a meeting with Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, the recent financial turmoil in the Asian markets were discussed, as well as Hong Kong's continued economic prospects and growth. In the meeting Mr Tung said Hong Kong would let the stock market decide its own equilibrium while Government would focus on regulation to ensure market integrity and proper risk control through efficient clearing and settlement systems. On the development of democracy in Hong Kong, Mr Tung briefed US politicians of the SAR's political system, the role and nature of functional constituencies and the evolution of democratic process as enshrined in the Basic Law. "The meetings enhanced understanding and provided a deeper insight into Hong Kong issues among politicians and business leaders," said Mr Tung. "These meetings have underlined and enhanced the importance of Hong Kong-US relations in regards to trade and economic development." Mr Tung said the meetings with Senators and business leaders today (September 9, US time) had also reinforced their confidence in the strength of Hong Kong's economy, stock market and financial systems. US political leaders also commented favourably on Mr Tung's current popularity ratings in Hong Kong, noting that the SAR was 'in good hands'. At the US Chamber of Commerce luncheon, chamber president Tom Donohue said the chamber recognised that Hong Kong's tremendous economic success rested on a series of very important attributes including a free market system, few restrictions on foreign investment, a strong and independent legal system, the free passage of people and goods, the unfettered flow of ideas and information and a world-class infrastructure. Mr Donohue said on visits to Hong Kong he had been struck by the dynamic nature of the economy and the non-stop energy of Hong Kong people. "On my return I told business leaders and decision makers here if you want to know what the global economy is going to look like tomorrow, look at Hong Kong today," he said. Mr Donohue said the faithful implementation of the Joint Declaration and the 'one country, two systems' formula will strengthen US business confidence in Hong Kong as well as help strengthen US-China relationships more broadly. "We are pleased that Mr Tung and his government had pledged full implementation to that approach." Following his meeting with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr Tung was praised for his performance as Chief Executive. Senator Craig Thomas, the chairman of the Sub-committee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said he was 'very impressed' with Mr Tung's observations on what has happened since the Handover. "Things have gone smoothly," he said. The sub-committee's ranking Democrat member Senator John Kerry said: "I think every member of the committee expressed considerable respect and admiration, even, for the way in which the Chief Executive C H Tung has managed the transition." Sen. Kerry also said committee members had received some 'very good explanations' concerning Hong Kong's democratic evolution. End 2. CE assures US on democratic, economic development ************************************************* The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, has used his first major speech in the United States to reassure US business leaders and political figures about Hong Kong's continued democratic and economic development. In a keynote address in Washington D.C. yesterday (Tuesday) to the influential US Chamber of Commerce, Mr Tung said it was essential to deepen understanding between America and East Asia, particularly with China. Mr Tung said he would speak up for Hong Kong, and hoped to change perceptions in America about Hong Kong's continued stability. Mr Tung also explained the extensive guarantees contained in the Basic Law to protect Hong Kong's way of life, economy and legal system. The Chief Executive said he knew, and appreciated, that Hong Kong's electoral arrangements had been an issue in the United States. He said that in regards to constitutional issues there would always be debates - in Hong Kong, America or anywhere else on earth. He told luncheon guests about the scope of democratic development over the next 10 years in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as outlined in the Basic Law. "In seven years time we will have more democracy in Hong Kong than we did under 156 years of colonial rule," he said. "Hong Kong has never had a single voice in the selection of the Governor during 156 years of colonial rule. Under the Basic Law, Hong Kong people will have an increasingly larger voice in the selection of the Chief Executive. "I myself was selected in December last year by a committee of 400 people, all of whom reside in Hong Kong. A similar committee will select the second Chief Executive, serving from 2002 to 2007, except the committee will be enlarged to 800. "In fact, the progress we will achieve in 10 years from 1997 in terms of democratic process will be far more comprehensive and far-reaching than what we received under 156 years of colonialism. "There are those who believe that the pace of democratisation in Hong Kong is too slow. Others believe that it is too fast. I believe we have struck the right balance." Mr Tung told Chamber members that democratic evolution after 2007 would depend on the wishes of Hong Kong people and the overall environment at that time, with universal suffrage being the ultimate objective. "In the meantime, we certainly have widely consulted the community, and believe we have the support of the local community with the political situation after July 1, 1997." Mr Tung said the Hong Kong SAR Government would continue to manage its economy with the lightest and most steady of hands, sticking firm to free markets, small government, low taxes and fiscal prudence. "We want to remain your best partner for business in Asia, the best place to find out what is going on across Asia," he said. Mr Tung highlighted the already strong economic links between Hong Kong and America and how increased Sino-US trade would also be good for the SAR. "A point that everyone in Hong Kong profits from is the fact that the US and China make a good economic fit," he said. "What you produce, China needs. What China makes, you want. That makes for trade, and we in Hong Kong stand ready to service that trade." Mr Tung said America already had a big stake in Hong Kong - more than 50,000 US citizens lived in Hong Kong; 414 US companies have regional headquarters in Hong Kong; 29 US banks and financial services groups, including eight of the top 10, manage over US$ 100 billion in loans, debt and assets. "Around 60 per cent of US trade with China passes through Hong Kong and we have US$ 22.4 billion worth of direct trade between us," he said. "All that is not just a stake from the past, it is a stake for the future too, because Hong Kong is going to remain important to America for the next century." End 3. Luncheon speech by CE in Washington *********************************** Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, at a luncheon organised by the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington on September 9 (Tuesday): I am happy to be back in the United States, where I lived and worked for ten years at an earlier stage of my career. Renewing friendship is one of life's most pleasant occupations. I stand here with you today a friend, but also with the honour of being the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. July 1, 1997 was a day to which we in Hong Kong had looked forward with pride and confidence. Pride to at last be reunited with China, and to become masters of our own destiny. Confidence in that we can and will make our city an even better place for our children and grandchildren. Hong Kong is our home, and we treasure its distinctive character and system of government. China is our country, and that patriotism which is, in the words of Adlai Stevenson, "the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime" is a natural feeling for us to have. I'm here to speak for Hong Kong, but how others perceive our country, China, has quite an impact on us. I don't think I'm exaggerating too much if I suggest that American attitudes to China's resumption of sovereignty had been reflected in two items of media coverage. I am referring to the shots used in the TV news reporting of the ceremony at midnight on July 1, and a recent headline in the one of your newspapers. On July 1, after showing the official ceremony, the TV pictures switched to PLA soldiers entering Hong Kong. Not emphasis on the peaceful return of a territory taken years ago in war; not consideration of Hong Kong people being given full responsibility for their government for the first time in their history; not that but instead the PLA. The newspaper headline appeared on August 11. It read "China launches review of Hong Kong's tax system". What the article actually said was that we had begun a review of the profits tax system. The sub-editor just assumed that because China is now the sovereign, China must have initiated the review. Yes, PLA soldiers did come into Hong Kong on July 1. They moved into 14 of the 39 barracks formerly occupied by British soldiers. To us it was just a natural part of the resumption of sovereignty. As for the tax review, that was announced back in March, when Hong Kong was still under British rule. In carrying on with the review we are simply exercising the full autonomy given to Hong Kong under the Basic Law - our constitution - to manage our own finances. The Basic Law gives us far more than financial autonomy. Apart from foreign affairs and defence, it gives to us full responsibility to maintain our own economic and social system; our own legal system; our own system of government; our religious freedoms, press freedom and civil liberties. Under the Basic Law, Hong Kong remains a separate customs territory, we protect intellectual property rights, and we uphold international controls on trade in strategic commodities. Under the Basic Law, it is me and my administration that is responsible for the good government of Hong Kong, and we are answerable to the people of Hong Kong for that. We are also responsible for upholding the commitments that we have been authorised to make with international partners, and we are answerable to them for doing so. It is important to remember that the idea of "one country, two systems" was not the brainchild of Hong Kong or London, but of China. Today's Chinese leaders are committed to making the concept work. They have faith in the ability of Hong Kong people to administer Hong Kong; and have pledged their full support for us. I can testify to this commitment from my experience over the last few months. The Central Government has given us an entirely free hand in dealing with our own affairs and developing our economic, social and cultural relations. Two months have gone by since July 1, the three branches of our political structure, the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary have all been functioning normally. There has been no change in the life style to which we are accustomed. And our economy continues to expand. It is deeply in China's interest that Hong Kong should continue to work well under the "one country, two systems" concept - a concept which was China's idea for solving the complex question of fully reuniting Hong Kong with China while maintaining our special systems and characteristics. China's leaders are committed to letting us shape our destiny under the high degree of autonomy that the Basic Law has given us. The fact is that the success of Hong Kong under "one country, two systems" will serve as a significant step towards the greater and final objective of reunification of the entire Chinese nation. China has undergone dramatic changes since she opened up to the outside world in 1978. The economy has grown at a remarkable rate, averaging close to 10 per cent per annum. This is a tribute to the vitality and energy of the Chinese people and the quality of China's leaders. These leaders have the ability and the acumen to steer China successfully into the 21st century. It is this ability and acumen that will ensure the implementation of the "one country, two systems" concept as we move forward into the future. We feel no sense of threat in China's rising prosperity. What is happening there is not the growth of some monolithic giant, but the transformation of the lives of millions of men and women. It is a process that should warm the heart. It is a process that needs peace and stability if it is to be seen through. And a point that everyone in Hong Kong profits from is the fact that the US and China make a good economic fit. What you produce, China needs. What China makes, you want. That makes for trade, and we in Hong Kong stand ready to service that trade. We are well placed to develop our role, thanks to the solid foundation Hong Kong has in its finances, its civil service and, fundamentally, in the rule of law. During the recent turbulence in other Southeast Asian financial markets you saw how solid our finances and fiscal policy are today. The fundamentals in Hong Kong remain extremely strong for the future. We expect GDP growth this year of around 5.5 per cent, up from 4.9 per cent last year. Inflation continues to decline, albeit slowly. Next year, our new airport opens, greatly improving our quality as an aviation and service hub, and we are following it up with a massive programme of rail and other infrastructure development to further improve our efficiency and productivity. The efficiency and productivity of Hong Kong's civil service is respected by our community and by those who come to do business with us. Time and again I am complimented on their quality. Their enthusiasm and commitment to making Hong Kong an even better place in the next century is a great encouragement. The rule of law underpins our free market, the work of our civil service and the quality of our community. We will maintain our legal system, grounded, like yours, in the common law. The rule of law has kept our society open, fair and law abiding. We will maintain effective enforcement of the law, especially against corruption, and will maintain the principle that everyone, Chief Executive included, is subject to the law. Additionally, we will resolutely maintain our conservative and prudent fiscal management style, low and predictable tax structure as well as level playing field for all. We will continue to encourage the contribution of the foreign community and maintain the characteristics of a leading international city. Alongside all specific reasons, my confidence in Hong Kong's future is grounded in the spirit of the people of Hong Kong. What they have achieved within my lifetime is staggering. What we still hope to achieve together is no less ambitious. Our experienced entrepreneurs and investors, and the high proportion of our children now going on to technical colleges and universities, give us the talent and the drive to keep on succeeding in whatever the world holds for us. On October 8, I will be delivering my first policy address - our equivalent of your state of the nation address. I will be setting out a programme to tackle a wide range of matters close to the hearts of Hong Kong people. Hong Kong has reason to be proud of its achievement over the past 30 years, but we have to be alert to challenges which lie ahead. We face keen competition in trade and services, and our competitiveness is threatened by inflation. We have to meet the challenges arising from a growing and ageing population, satisfy demand for more and better housing, and deal with employment dislocation due to restructuring of the economy and rising level of population under the poverty line. We will be sticking to the free market approach that has brought us prosperity in the past and aiming to improve the competitiveness of our business environment. As the world moves rapidly into the information era, we will be investing heavily in our information infrastructure, our education and our expertise in this field. We aim to give every child in Hong Kong an education of the highest quality, to improve their language skills and ability to use new technologies. We will be speeding up land formation, extending our mass transit system and other infrastructure and increasing the pace of home construction to 85,000 units per annum to achieve a home ownership rate of 70 per cent in the next 10 years. We are setting up provident funds and extending care for the elderly in order that our old people are provided with a treasure sense of security, belonging, and worthiness. Let me now turn to developments on the political front. Elections for first full Legislative Council will be held May next year. Members of all political parties and independent individuals are welcomed to take part. Every adult permanent resident is eligible to vote. This first full legislature will have 60 members all of whom will be elected directly or indirectly. More specifically, 20 will be directly elected, 30 indirectly elected through functional constituencies and the remaining 10 indirectly elected through an election committee. The second legislature will be elected for a four-year term in the year 2000 when the number of directly elected seats will increase to 24, and the third legislature in the year 2004 when 30 or 50 per cent of the seats will be directly elected. In seven years' time, we will have more democracy in the legislature than we ever have in 156 years of colonial rule. As you all know, Hong Kong has never had a single voice in the selection of the Governor during 156 years of its colonial rule. Under the Basic law, Hong Kong people will have an increasingly larger voice in the selection of the Chief Executive. I myself was selected in December last year by a committee of 400 people, all of whom reside in Hong Kong. This committee represents the society of Hong Kong from different walks of life including businessmen, professionals such as doctors, lawyers, architects, labour unionists, social workers, politicians and religious leaders including representatives from the Protestants, Catholics, Buddhists and Muslims. The second Chief Executive, serving from 2002 to 2007 will be selected by a similar committee, except that the committee will be enlarged to 800. In fact, the progress we will achieve in 10 years from 1997 in terms of democratic process will be far more comprehensive and far-reaching than what we received under 156 years of colonialism. There are those who believe that the pace of democratization in Hong Kong is too slow. Others believe that it is too fast. I believe we have struck the right balance. As far as constitutional issues are concerned, there will always be debates - in Hong Kong, America, or anywhere else. What about after 2007? The Basic Law provides that further democratic evolution will depend on the wish of Hong Kong people and the overall environment at that time with universal suffrage being the ultimate objective. I know that there is criticism that the electoral arrangements for next year will reduce the franchise in some of the functional constituencies. This misses the point that these functional constituencies in their very original design were indirect elections and were intended to represent economic, professional and grass-root sectors, sectors of importance to the community of Hong Kong, and were not intended to compete with directly elected constituencies. Indeed, they are an interim arrangement, designed to maintain balance and continuity while our democratic process evolves over the next 10 years. Here, I note an interesting coincidence, that the timetable in the Basic Law covers a period as long as that between your 1776 Articles of Confederation and the 1787 Constitution, when you moved from a very loose system focused on state legislatures to a much more centralised federal system. I appreciate that this is an issue of concern in the US. However, at the end of the day, we must move forward in what we think is in the best long term interest of Hong Kong people. In the meantime, we certainly have widely consulted the community, and believe that we have the support of the local community. While we exercise that political responsibility, I can assure you that Hong Kong will continue to manage its economy with the lightest and most steady of hands, sticking firm to free markets, small government, low taxes and fiscal prudence. We will continue to uphold academic and media freedom. We want to remain your best partner for business in Asia, the best place to find out what is going on across Asia. Like America, we haven't just practised free trade, we have endeavoured to promote it in the WTO and in APEC. Let me reminded you just how big a stake America has in Hong Kong. Fifty-thousand US nationals live and work in Hong Kong. There are six schools teaching with a US curriculum in Hong Kong. Four-hundred-and-fourteen US companies have regional headquarters or offices there. Twenty-nine US banks and financial services groups operate in Hong Kong, including eight of the top 10, managing over US$100 billion in loans, debt and assets. Around 60% of US trade with China passes through Hong Kong, and we have US$22.4 billion worth of direct trade between us - you are the second largest market for our exports, we are your eleventh largest export market. Total US direct investment in Hong Kong is around US$13.8 billion, your third largest investment in the Asia Pacific region after Japan and Australia. All that is not just a stake from the past, it is a stake for the future too, because Hong Kong is going to remain important to America for the next century. Hong Kong is not just a gateway. We add value to your business through our skills in putting together partnerships, finance and marketing arrangements. We have unique combinations of infrastructure, skills and services that we are constantly building on. Companies operating in Asia today are crying out for management skills. While still behind US levels, Hong Kong is already way ahead of any other regional economy in providing trained managers, able to work well with multinational companies. We are improving our information technology and languages training to ensure that even more of the 24 per cent of our young people now going into tertiary education are able to work with confidence in the modern information and communication based economy. The recent set backs in Asian markets are not going to stop the growth of Asia. Economic growth in China is going to be one of the most important contributors to overall world growth for years to come, and the East Asian region is already not far behind NAFTA and the European Union in terms of GDP. American business needs to be there, and Hong Kong will continue to provide the best base for entering and growing in those markets. Deepening understanding between America and East Asia as a whole, with China in particular, is going to be essential for both regions to manage successfully the process of change that is going on. Hong Kong is already a great base for the exchange of information and understanding between Asia and America. Your universities are closely involved with ours. Our communications and media industries are flourishing and closely integrated with yours. We provide a meeting place for minds as well as markets. You are used to seeing new things happening in Hong Kong - new towns, new airport, new business - and you know that there has been a process of political development going on. Hong Kong is going to go on happening, go on growing, and go on developing in the way you are used to. We are not stopping or changing course. Confidence in Hong Kong has been growing steadily in the months before the transition. Confidence in Hong Kong since the transition has been even higher. The latest poll shows a confidence level of 78 per cent. Indeed over the last three years our population has been growing at two per cent per annum, higher than any metropolis in the world. Such growth is partly due to legal migration from China, and partly due to natural birth, but tens and thousands who have previously migrated overseas are returning to Hong Kong. They feel the pride of being Chinese, they sense the opportunity and they want to take part in making history. When America was opening up, the word to everyone seeking to make a better life was "Go West". That is still the world I give to you today, but don't stop when you get to California, keep coming on to Hong Kong. We have a vision for our future. We are working to build a community confident in its Chinese identity but reaching out to the world; a competitive and successful economy; a society that uses its economic success to invest for the future and to exercise care and compassion for those in need; a city rich in culture, democratic in nature, tolerant and opening attitude. We welcome you to join us in achieving that vision. End 4. CE's Q&A session after luncheon address *************************************** Following is the question and answer session by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, after his luncheon address to the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Tuesday, September 9, US time: Question: What is the central message you will be delivering to Members of Congress and the President while you are here in the United States? Mr Tung: I would like to explain about the transition in Hong Kong, how well we have done, how much confidence we have for our future. I would also like to explain that we are developing our political structure as provided for by the basic law in an orderly manner over the period of 10 years, and on that point many of my friends here feel I am being rather conservative. Well, I'm not ashamed of being conservative. I think being prudent and careful is a good way of moving forward. In Hong Kong we have all the success, and we are moving forward cautiously, making sure that the success will continue as we move forward. I will also be explaining to the Congress the importance of good Sino-U.S. relations, because China is our sovereign. As a Chinese person, being patriotic is very natural, as you can appreciate, but America is a very important part of Hong Kong, and from Hong Kong's perspective, a good Sino-U.S. relationship is very, very important to our future. So obviously, I will also be listening very carefully to what the Congressmen and Senators might be telling me, and I look forward very much to meeting them. Question: Please give us the status and opening date on the new Hong Kong airport. Mr Tung: The airport, the Hong Kong Airport and its associated project is one of the largest projects every undertaken anywhere. I am proud to tell you that the airport will open sometime in April of 1998. No final date has been fixed yet, but it's moving ahead on schedule, and we are very, very proud of what we have done. Question: Thank you. Do you have a sense when China will table further concessions in the World Trade Organisation negotiations? Will it be sometime after Jiang Zemin is confirmed as the leader of China? Mr Tung: Well, my responsibility is looking after Hong Kong. (Laughter.)(Applause.) And it is important that China joins the WTO. I think - I have no doubt in my mind very soon in the future China will become an economic giant of the world, and there is no good reason whatsoever that China is out of the WTO, so I look forward to some speedy conclusion of negotiations, and that China becomes a member of WTO. Question: What steps might be taken in the future to improve the mobility of Hong Kong professionals to the mainland for work or training? Mr Tung: I thought we have a lot of mobility of the Hong Kong people moving to China to work. I think they are about -- there is about 80,000, 85,000 managers from Hong Kong who are in fact working in China, and it is one of the reasons why we have shortage of managers, because they are working in China. I don't see any problem from that point of view. Whoever asked the question, if he has some specific problem, we would like to hear about it. Question: Do you see the Hong Kong experience vis-a-vis Chinese sovereignty as presenting any lessons perhaps for future relations between North and South Korea? Mr Tung: That is not one I have thought about. (Laughter.) But I would say this, that we want to make sure one country, two systems succeed, and I know the Central Government very much want to make sure one country, two systems succeeds. It will have a tremendous bearing in my view on whatever may come by, how it may come by insofar as Taiwan is concerned, because the unification of the country is really the ultimate aim of Chinese people. But I think if the one country, two system does succeed, it also can work in many, many other countries where is -- countries torn up by all sorts of problems. I'm thinking particularly, for instance, of Mindanao, which is part of the Philippines and basically a Muslim area, and there's a question of how to grant autonomy, or this one country, two system, how does it work. I would hope we will succeed in Hong Kong. I have every confidence we will succeed in Hong Kong, and I hope it sets a good example for Taiwan and for a whole lot of other areas which are facing some difficulties. Question: Will the British system of law and precedence continue to influence rights in Hong Kong? Mr Tung: The rule of law is the cornerstone of our success, and we will preserve the rule of law by all means. Rule of law means a very clear-cut set of books you can always go to, you can always rely on. You always know where you stand. Rule of law means an independent judiciary, independent from the executive branch of the Government, and rule of law also means that every person is equal under the law, and this is what we had in Hong Kong, and this is what we will have in Hong Kong in the future. Nothing is more important to us. Question: Could you please give us your views on the importance of permanent Most Favored Nation status for China? Mr Tung: Obviously, it is a very important thing for China. I think it is also very important for the United States. It's really very, very important for Hong Kong. I think the annual debate of MFN has gone on long enough, and I would hope that permanent MFN status would be given to China. Question: Are you able to brief us, give us any insight regarding your visits with U.S. State Department, Treasury Department and other Department officials? Mr Tung: Yesterday I had a very useful visit with the State Department. Madeleine Albright was particularly gracious, because she was really busy preparing to embark on a very difficult mission in the Middle East. We spoke with her, spoke more with Deputy Secretary Talbott and some other colleagues of the State Department. We had a very useful exchange of views. We talked about Hong Kong's future. We talked about the political evolution as we move forward. I thought the discussion was very helpful. I'm seeing other members of the executive today and on Friday, so maybe I tell you another time how I got on. (Laughter.) Question: A few more. American businesses and Government often work in concert with not-for-profit organizations like United Way to improve people's lives and strengthen communities. Will Hong Kong seek these partnerships? Mr Tung: Hong Kong people are also known for their generosity. We, of course, have many, many charity activities in Hong Kong, and millions and millions of dollars are raised, including Community Chest, including many functions that deal with natural disasters that sometimes strike in China. Hong Kong people are known to be very generous. These in Hong Kong are all private sector efforts, not associated with the Government, but we are very proud of these activities. I would imagine that from time to time our Community Chest or our Red Cross does communicate with similar organizations in America to find, compare notes as to how we move forward, do a better job for our own community. Question: This question is on the subject of the pharmaceutical sector and free trade. Are you aware of price and profit controls on imported medicines being currently proposed by China's Government and already being implemented by some provinces, and do you intend to follow the same course in Hong Kong, or, in the spirit of free trade, will you commit to market pricing practices? Mr Tung: Well, I'm not aware what China is doing. As I say, my responsibility is to Hong Kong, and I think I can categorically tell you that in Hong Kong free trade we stand for, we mean free trade, nothing will change before or after July 1, and I see Dennis nodding, so I know I'm right.(Laughter.) Question: You paint a very positive picture about the future of Hong Kong, but every country has problems and challenges. What do you see as Hong Kong's principal challenges being in the near future? Mr Tung: I think there are many challenges in Hong Kong. One of the major challenges is to move forward in our political evolution process over the next 10 years, to lead the community through this phase of activities. Other challenges are really livelihood issues. We have a housing shortage problem, which many of you who do business in Hong Kong will understand and appreciate, that on the one hand, the very expensive type of housing, we are probably the most expensive in the world, and in the middle income housing area the cost is now so high the dream of ownership of homes by many middle class Hong Kong people is evaporating away because of the high cost, and then there are still people in the poorer sector waiting to be housed into some decent housing. This is a tremendous challenge for this new administration. We also face a challenge on education, because we firmly believe if we are going to continue to thrive in the 21st Century our citizens must be some of the best anywhere you can find in the world. We can only do this through adequate investment and tremendous attention being paid to the area of education. There is a whole lot we need to do there. We need to be looking after our elderly people. They have been contributing to Hong Kong's success in the past, and belatedly we are pushing for mandatory pension fund. It's something we should have done long ago, but we are going for it as quickly as we can. We need to be looking at the challenges of the new Information Age. We need to be vastly improving our infrastructure in roads and railways. These are some of the challenges we face, and it is very, very challenging, but on the other hand we also have great opportunities. First of all, we are now one country, and in a one-country sense we can look to China more to see where we can work together with China to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses, to improve our competitiveness, and I must say, we are blessed in this way, that July 1 has come. We are now masters of our own destiny. I have told and discussed with my colleagues in the Government that altogether dream about the 21st Century where we want Hong Kong to be, and other people can dream, but they don't have the means to achieve anything because they don't have the money to do it, and we have a huge war chest. We have US$60 billion in fiscal reserve, and this is more than most communities, and so we can dream and make it happen also, so we are all looking forward to exciting new challenges in the 21st Century. But one of the other challenges for us to make sure one country, two system truly, truly begins to work. The foundation is now being laid, things are really going well. We've got to make sure one country, two system move forward, and move forward well. In this respect, beforehand, I want to assure everybody that in the two system aspect of things, Hong Kong will maintain our own custom, independent custom territory, and that we will be vigorous in cooperation with international organisations in fighting drugs, narcotics, money laundering, in looking at issues as curbing strategic goods trades, and so on, so forth. Anyway, we have a thousand things on our agenda, things we need to do, but we are very excited that some of us are given the opportunity to move ahead. Question: What specific actions is the Government in Beijing taking in the future to demonstrate further its long-term commitment to the one country, two systems policy you have so eloquently spelled out? Mr Tung: Well, I think in the months that I have taken on this responsibility the Central Government has basically left us alone, totally alone in Hong Kong to make decisions that are relevant here in Hong Kong. The issues that relate to foreign policy, the issues that relate to defense, obviously, this is a Central Government issue. But other than that, we are left alone. What other issue is a Central Government policy issue? South Africa is going to establish diplomatic relations with China on January 1, 1998. That has been announced already. South Africa has a representative office in Hong Kong. Now, whether that, between now and July, January 1, 1998, will that be a consulate general's office, or will that be a sort of unofficial trade office, because there was not an official relationship with the Central Government, these are the decisions Beijing will make, because it is a foreign policy decision. But other than foreign policy, other than defense issues, we in Hong Kong make all the decisions, and it will be the case now, it will be the case in the future. I can speak confidently on that. Thank you. End 5. CE's remarks after meeting Senate Members ***************************************** Following is the transcript of the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa's remarks to the press after meeting members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and members of its Sub-committee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the US Senate building in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, September 9, US time: His remarks to Senator Craig Thomas (Republican), chairman of the Sub-committee, and Senator John Kerry (Democrat), Senior Democrat member of the sub-committee: Senator Thomas: We just wanted to take one minute, C.H., Senator Kerry and I, to welcome you here. Mr Tung: Thank you very, very much. Senator Thomas: A young man on our staff has put it in this form as well, so we wanted you to have that. Mr Tung: Thank you very, very much. Senator Thomas: You're more than welcome. Mr Tung: Thank you. Thank you very much. Senator Thomas: You're more than welcome. Question: Can you say something about the meeting with the Chief Executive of Hong Kong? Senator Thomas: Oh, well, of course, all of us are familiar with the Chief Executive. We've known him before. We're delighted that he's here. I was very impressed with his observations with regard to what has happened since the changeover. Things have gone smoothly. Certainly some of us hope that they continue that way and perhaps move a little faster than they probably will. Nevertheless, we were very impressed with what he had to say. Senator. Senator Kerry: I think every member of the committee expressed considerable respect and admiration, even, for the way in which Chief Executive C H Tung has managed the transition, and I think that each of us also expressed some concerns which he is well aware of with respect to the election process, and we had a very good discussion about that. I think it's fair to say that the committee will be watching and continuing to be deeply involved in visits and in a continued dialogue, and that it's our hope that the major issues that the Chief Executive is very, very aware of will continue to be well-received in that discussion between us, but we did express those concerns today and I think received some very good explanations of what the next years in the process will bring. Question: What is the concern that you refer to? Senator Kerry: I think there is a concern, obviously, that the electoral process is going to be one that moves as rapidly as possible towards universal suffrage, and that the constituencies will be adequately represented with a broad enough base of electoral support to give value to the democratic process, and I think that the Chief Executive expressed, obviously, a very keen awareness of our concerns about that, and I think is trying to approach this with a measured, balanced effort that both respects those concerns but at the same time meets some of the internal needs of the city. Question: We have the problems of the Basic Law which are already set out for us. Senator Kerry: Yes. Question: So do you think this is a wise thing? Senator Thomas: I think certainly the Basic Law is there. I think one of the concerns is whether or not, over a period of time, the PRC, Beijing will have very subtle pressures to cause things to change. I don't think anyone expects Beijing to march down there and make changes next month, but over a period of time, will there continue to be movement towards democracy? We hope so. Will there continue to be open markets and the movement towards the market place? We hope so, and we want to help assist in causing that to happen. Thank you very much. Senator Kerry: Thank you very much. Mr Tung: (Chinese spoken.) Maybe I should say in English first, because we had a very useful discussion. I explained to the Senators about the transition, about what happened since the transition. It was a very useful discussion. Obviously, we also discuss about the election next year, and the concern that the Senators have about these elections. I have explained to them that we are moving forward in accordance to the Basic Law, and we are moving forward in what we think is very important to Hong Kong, and is in the long term interest of Hong Kong, and we believe what we are doing is in the long term interests of Hong Kong and that, while we appreciate the concern expressed by the Senators, at the end of the day we must do what is right for Hong Kong, in the interest of Hong Kong, and this we will always do. But we had a very useful discussion, a discussion where we all understand each other's position. Obviously, you can understand that given this different history, different culture, we all have different beliefs. Question: Have you agreed to disagree, Mr Tung? Is that essentially it? Mr Tung: Well, the issue is not really that, because the issue is that this is an election in Hong Kong, and in Hong Kong we must make the right decision for Hong Kong people. It is our decision. Thank you very much. Question: Are you going to do anything more to address their concerns? Mr Tung: I think the issue is really for us to do what needs to be done in Hong Kong, because it is a Hong Kong issue, and we have to do what is right for Hong Kong. (Q&A in Cantonese to follow). End 6. CE's remarks at opening of HKETO ******************************** Following are the remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, and Hong Kong Commissioner USA, Kenneth Pang at the official opening of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington on September 9, US time: Mr Pang: May I have your attention, please. This is the Hong Kong Commissioner, Kenneth Pang speaking. The grand opening ceremony will take place on the first floor of this building momentarily. Chief Executive Tung, Ambassador Lee, ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to welcome the Honorable Tung Chee Hwa, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China on his first visit to the United States. I am indeed honored to have the Chief Executive to officiate at the grand opening of the new premises for the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington, D.C. May I invite Chief Executive Tung to say a few words before unveiling the plaque for the new office. Mr Tung. Mr Tung: Kenneth, Ambassador Lee, friends, ladies and gentlemen, I am very happy to be standing here marking the occasion of the official opening of this wonderful building. This building really is not just any other building. This is not any new building. This is a new building for the Hong Kong Trade and Economic Office, and the fact is that this building represents, among many things the most important thing, the new era for Hong Kong. July 1, 1997 is a new era for Hong Kong, where we become part of China, where we become masters of our own destiny, and this building symbolizes the beginning of this new era. I just had an opportunity to walk around this building and see the art work, see the coloring, and really this building represents the creativity, the modernity, and also the vitality of Hong Kong, and we are indeed very proud, Kenneth, that there is such beauty in Hong Kong, that there is such beauty in Washington, representing us in Hong Kong. Going forward into the 21st Century Asia is going to play an important role. Asia's economy will be as big as that of NAFTA and the European Union. China's economy, as we move into the 21st Century, will be one of the largest in the world, and obviously Hong Kong plays a very important role in terms of all these economic activities. I trust and I believe America will use Hong Kong as their base for all their operations in Asia, and this Hong Kong office of ours will be here to serve all our friends, to make sure that all the things that need to be done are done, that we will be here facilitating all our friends coming to work in Asia, in Hong Kong, and within China. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a very auspicious beginning, and I would like you to all join me in wishing this wonderful building the opening occasion a very, very happy one, and I hope that many of you will have time to come back to see it again and again. Hong Kong is a small place, but we do have many friends in Washington, and this building I am sure will increase the circle of friends we have in Hong Kong, so come back to see us in this particular building. Thank you very much. Mr Tung: I'd like to declare the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office Building officially open on September 9, 1997. Stand-up interview with reporters in front of HKETO: Question: There is increasing pressure over democratic changes. Do you see this as a major embarrassment? Mr Tung: No, no, not at all. I am having very useful discussions in Washington, but there are some views that are similar, there are some views that are different. Obviously that is the case, and to the extent that there are opportunities to talk to each other, mix with each other and better our position is always very, very helpful, and at the end of the day, of course, it is all about Hong Kong, and we, like many of you who live in Hong Kong, we care very much about Hong Kong. We want Hong Kong to do well in the future, and we in Hong Kong must take the decision as to what needs to be done in Hong Kong, what is in the long-term interest of Hong Kong. Question: Mr Tung, in layman's language rather than diplomat's language, how would you characterise what you have heard so far from people and what you expect from Mr Helms tomorrow? Mr Tung: I think it's going to be very interesting and very good discussion opportunity for us to understand each other more, and that's always very helpful. I'm not trying to be diplomatic. Question: But what about the resolution. It's a very strongly worded resolution. Mr Tung: Sorry -- there are some questions -- (Chinese spoken.) Question: Do you think that the resolution that Senator Helms introduced yesterday is -- Mr Tung: Thank you. (End of question and answer session in English) End 7. Remarks by Acting Chief Executive ********************************* Following is the remarks made by the Acting Chief Executive, Mrs Anson Chan, at a media session after signing the condolence book for Mother Teresa at the Indian Consulate today (Wednesday): Question: Are you here in a personal capacity or are you a representative of Mr Tung and the Government? Mrs Chan: I think both. Question: Could you tell me something about your upcoming Shanghai trip ...? Mrs Chan: It is actually a private visit. My mother and I are delighted and honoured to be going to Jiaotong University to receive an honorary professorship. Mr father actually studied at the university. I have not been back to Shanghai since I left in the late 1940s. So this will be my first visit. I am very excited and very very anxious and keen to see for myself the vast changes that have been taking place in Shanghai. But essentially, it will be a private visit. As you know, also, at the moment the Mayor is away in Beijing, attending the 15th Party Congress. So on this occasion, I won't have an opportunity to meet with him but I do hope to be able to meet with the Vice Mayors. I do not have any specific official engagement but I am sure this will be the first of many visits to Shanghai and to other parts of the Mainland. Question: I understand that you are a Catholics yourself, what are the special feelings you have for Mother Teresa? Mrs Chan: Well, I was saying that when I was Deputy Director of Social Welfare and subsequently the Director, I did have an opportunity to meet with Mother Teresa. You know that we found a site on which the Missionary Sisters were able to operate at home essentially for those who are destitute or who are ill. This home is operating very well. I remember very well that Mother Teresa left extremely strong impression in my mind. She was a very very compassionate, very energetic person with a very strong sense of purpose and the determination to do good and to look after the sick and the needy. I am sure the whole world will mourn Mother Teresa's passing. She has done such a lot of good work during her lifetime that I have no doubt that good Lord will keep her and bless her always. End 8. Hong Kong geared up for major financial meeting *********************************************** Hong Kong is all geared up for the first major international event after the Handover Ceremony - the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund which will take place later this month. The Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, is pleased that preparation work at the venue of this major international conference - the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) Phase II - has been completed on time, providing various facilities and services for the official delegations, media and visitors. Mr Tsang, who chairs a steering committee to guide the preparation work, toured the HKCEC Phase II this (Wednesday) afternoon to see for himself the work that has been carried out. Mr Tsang said he was delighted that everything would be ready by the time when pre-meeting events begin in the middle of this month. "We've put a great deal of effort and resources into making a successful event," he noted. Noting that about 14,000 delegates including top bankers, governors of central banks and ministers of finance, would attend the Annual Meetings, Mr Tsang said the meetings would present "a golden opportunity for us to show them the modern city of Hong Kong, the efficient and modern working environment of Hong Kong, and most important the stability and financial strength of Hong Kong immediately following the transition". He also hoped that the forthcoming event would be the best ever annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF. Accompanied by Mr James Lau, Executive Director (External Department) of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Mr Stephen Ng, Head of the Planning Division, Mr Tsang first toured the facilities located on Level 2 of the HKCEC Phase II. The major facilities include the "Hong Kong Display Centre", a Financial Information Display, and an Electronic Message Centre. Mr Tsang showed particular interest in the Hong Kong Display Centre, which highlights the elements that make Hong Kong a "Pacific Powerhouse", namely Hong Kong's impressive infrastructure, its advantages as a financial centre and its role as a service provider. Among the display material at the centre are two internet booths. Thematic video tapes on the territory's infrastructure and Hong Kong as a business and financial centre will be shown on a large video wall at the display centre. The display centre offers a photo-taking opportunity for visitors, who can select a photo from a lightbox containing 18 different landmarks. Their image will then be captured by a digital camera and projected on the selected photo. Mr Tsang went on to inspect the facilities provided on Level 5 where two more Financial Information Displays and another Electronic Message Centre are also located. He was attracted by the Financial Information Display which keeps participants updated on financial news and market information with hi-tech equipment. The state-of-the-art Electronic Message Centre, which enables participants to make contact with one another in a user-friendly and convenient manner, also captured Mr Tsang's attention. He tried his hands at the Centre's computers to see how a participant can simply log in to the system with his or her identification badge, type or write and then scan in messages. The name of the message recipient will appear on scrolling monitors located at the centre. The recipient may then go to any of the four centres set up at the HKCEC Phase II to view his or her message. The last leg of Mr Tsang's tour was Level 7 where more facilities are provided, including a Press Room specially set up for media representatives covering the Annual Meetings. Accompanied by Miss Pat Davies, Assistant Secretary for Conferences of the Joint Secretariat of World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund, Mr Tsang toured the Press Room which is equipped with more than 500 work-stations. Facilities include three editing booths; TV interview studio; telecom service centre and information desks. Before concluding his tour, Mr Tsang launched a commemorative book specially produced for the Annual Meetings. He said the book had been produced to provide a comprehensive, realistic and interesting overview of Hong Kong's unique financial sector. Copies will be distributed to participants. The book contains contributions by 22 prominent financial figures from Hong Kong and overseas on topics ranging from a macro-economic analysis of Hong Kong's prospects to a detailed scrutiny of services, monetary issues, banking, capital and equities markets, as well as the financial relationship with the mainland of China and Hong Kong's global profile. End 9. FS's speech *********** Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair 1997 today (Wednesday): Ladies and Gentleman, I am delighted to be here to open the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair 1997. As a leading watchmaker in the world, Hong Kong is honoured to have the opportunity to launch this Fair which is the largest of its kind in the world. Watches and clocks are time-telling instruments. But people at different times in history have attached different values to them. They used to regard well-designed watches and clocks as work of art or valuable gifts. Today, consumers expect watches not only to be accurate timepieces but also fashionable products. Watch-makers have to be highly innovative and responsive to changes of market needs and trends. In meeting the challenges of this fast-changing market, our watchmakers have to face strong competition from both the producers in the low-end market and those from Switzerland and Japan in the higher-end market. Many manufacturers in Hong Kong respond by increasing investment in technology to upgrade their product design and quality, and to increase the value-added of their production. The use of computer aided design systems to shorten response time and to enhance productivity has already become a common practice in the industry. Our manufacturers have also been striving to ensure competitive pricing by lowering production cost. Like many other producers, our watchmakers have shifted their assembly-type operations to areas where the costs of land and labour are lower, notably Mainland China and Southeast Asia. Their operations in Hong Kong have become the strategic headquarters of their offshore manufacturing facilities, focusing on higher-value added and intelligence- based activities such as product design, quality control and marketing. Our manufacturers have succeeded in taking on these challenges. Our watch and clock industry remains in excellent shape. It is the third largest manufacturing industry in Hong Kong. In the international market, we are the world's second largest exporter of watches, both by value and quantity, and the world's largest exporter of clocks by value and second largest by quantity. Such achievements are the result of the hard work and the enterprise of our watch and clock manufacturers. As many of them are with us today, I wish to take this opportunity to pay tribute to their efforts over the years. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is committed to providing the best support for the further development of our manufacturing sector. Since the inception of the Industrial Support Fund in 1994, we have approved many projects designed to promote and develop new technologies. Many of these new technologies developed are particularly useful to the watch and clock industry, such as the development of palladium plating, metal injection moulding, and surface treatment for titanium alloy. We also provided $9 million to establish the Watch and Clock Technology Centre in 1996 to assist local watchmakers in acquiring technology and information. Last year, we commissioned consultants to conduct a techno-economic and market research study on Hong Kong's metal and light engineering industries. The watch and clock industry represents one of the industries. This study, when completed later this year, will no doubt provide useful pointers for enhancing the competitiveness of the industries. Hong Kong was known as a centre for mass production of medium to lower-end watches. Our manufacturers have come a long way in upgrading the image of Hong Kong-made watches and developing the higher-end market. I am confident that our dynamic and experienced watch and clock manufacturers will continue to lead and shine in the world market. I congratulate the organisers of the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair '97 for successfully launching this event and wish all participants a most enjoyable time. Thank you very much. End 10. FS's transcript *************** Following is the transcript of the media session by the Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, after visiting the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on the preparation work of the Work Bank/IMF annual conference this (Wednesday) afternoon. FS: I am very happy to be shown around today. This is really the final phase of the preparation for the Annual Meeting of the IMF and World Bank. This is really marking probably the end of the preparation work which lasted for over four years. We started involved in 1994 when we were told that we were successful in having this meeting being held in Hong Kong. It is held immediately following the completion of our transition. We are very lucky to have this particular premises which is really superb in mounting an exhibition or seminar of this kind. I've been shown around some of the 900 offices we have been built for the use of individual delegations, and as you know there will be representatives coming from 180 countries, all together about 14,000 delegates, they are the top bankers in the world - the governors of central banks, the ministers of finance etc. So I hope this is a golden opportunity for us to show them the modern city of Hong Kong, the efficient and efficient and modern working environment of Hong Kong, and most important, most important, the stability and financial strength of Hong Kong immediately following the transition. And I am very confident that our colleagues have done an excellent first class job, and we would like to be among the best, probably the best ever annual meeting of the World Bank/IMF. I have been assured today by some of the very experienced, experienced senior colleagues from the IMF and the World Bank, that we are likely to achieve that objective, that is, the best ever annual meeting of the Bank and the Fund held outside the United States, and probably within the United States too. Question: The meeting here affected by the Party Congress? FS: Not directly. The Party Congress is being held and will be successfully held. And what we are holding here is something which was prepared over the last three years and would not be affected by a single event which is happening in Mainland China. What is important on this occasion that we assure that some our most senior leaders would be coming and participate in this function. They will be doing their hosting function here. Question: Discussion on the currency crises? FS: I would be very surprised that they would be emerge at some stages of discussion. But we must realise that the currency crises so called in Asia is one of the economic events happening in the world today. So I would expect the governors of central banks and financial ministers would canvas a whole spectrum of financial and economic issues, including of course what is happening in Asia. End 11. Govt committed to providing best support for manufacturing ********************************************************** The Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, said today (Wednesday) that the Government was committed to providing the best support for the further development of the manufacturing sector. Since the inception of the Industrial Support Fund in 1994, he said, many projects designed to promote and develop new technologies have been approved. Many of the new technologies developed are particularly useful to the watch and clock industry, such as the development of palladium plating, metal injection moulding, and surface treatment for titanium alloy. Mr Tsang was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair '97 - the largest of this kind in the world organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The Financial Secretary noted that the watch and clock industry was Hong Kong's third largest manufacturing industry. In the international market, Hong Kong is the world's second largest exporters of watches, both by value and by quantity, and the world's largest exporter of clocks by value and second largest by quantity. "Such achievements are the result of the hard work and the enterprise of our watch and clock manufacturers," he said. Mr Tsang said in addition to the Industrial Support Fund, the Government also provided $9 million to establish the Watch and Clock Technology Centre in 1996 to assist local watchmakers in acquiring technology and information. "Last year, we commissioned consultants to conduct a techno-economic and market research study on Hong Kong's metal and light engineering industries. The watch and clock industry represents one of the industries," he said. "This study, when completed later this year, will no doubt provide useful pointers for enhancing the competitiveness of the industries." Mr Tsang paid tribute to the manufacturers for their efforts in meeting the challenge of the fast-changing market. "Our watchmakers have to face strong competition from both the producers in the low-end market and those from Switzerland and Japan in the higher-end market," he said. "Many manufacturers in Hong Kong respond by increasing investment in technology to upgrade their product design and quality, and to increase the value-added of their production. "Our manufacturers have also been striving to ensure competitive pricing by lowering production cost. Like many other producers, our watchmakers have shifted their assembly-type operations to areas where the costs of land and labour lower. "Their operations in Hong Kong have become the strategic headquarters of their offshore manufacturing facilities, focusing on higher-value added and intelligence- based activities such as product design, quality control and marketing." Mr Tsang said Hong Kong was known as a centre for mass production of medium to lower-end watches and local manufacturers had come a long way in upgrading the image of Hong Kong-made watches and developing the higher-end market. "I am confident that our dynamic and experienced watch and clock manufacturers will continue to lead and shine in the world market," he added. End 12. Government proposes to close Sewage Services Trading Fund ********************************************************* The Government proposes to close the Sewage Services Trading Fund (SSTF) at the end of the current financial year and to re-establish sewage services on a vote-funded basis from April 1, 1998 in view of its financial position. A Government spokesman said today (Wednesday) that it was extremely unlikely that, despite existing financial concessions, the revenue from sewage charges could be increased to fully recover the additional expenditure that would be incurred in the years to come following the commissioning of major new sewage facilities. "The Government has accepted that, as sewage services are an essential public service, the SSTF would operate under an exceptional financial arrangement whereby it would not be required to make a return on the assets employed in the provision of services, as required of all other trading funds. "In addition, the Government waived the requirement for the Fund to recover the cost of assets replacement in setting charges. As a result, we only aim to recover the operating and maintenance costs through sewage charges and the Fund has in effect been provided with all its assets free of charge," he explained. Up to now, the Fund has been able to balance its books on this basis mainly because of the delay in the commissioning of the full Strategic Sewage Disposal Scheme (SSDS) Stage I works. But in 1997-98, it is forecast to have an operating deficit before depreciation of $261 million. Even assuming that sewage charges will be increased by 50 and 33 per cent in 1998 and 1999 respectively, and by 12 per cent each year thereafter, as is forecast in the Business Plan of the Fund, accumulated deficit will rise to $615 million by March 31, 2001 and there is no prospect of it breaking even before 2007. "This is because we anticipate a rapid and sustained growth in operating expenditure as new facilities are brought on stream. Without substantial regular increases in the sewage charges, break even will not be in sight at all," he said. "The only way of making up the deficits is through injection of funds from the General Revenue." The spokesman noted however that this would be against the letter and spirit of the Trading Funds Ordinance. "Under the Trading Funds Ordinance, there is a requirement for the Fund to meet its expenses incurred in the provision of government services out of its income, taking one year with another. "We are left with no choice but to close the Fund, write off the accumulated operating deficit and re-establish sewage services on a vote-funded basis." Under a vote-funded arrangement, sewage services will continue to be managed by the Drainage Services Department with expenditure to be voted by the legislature in the context of the annual Estimates. All the remaining works in Stage I of the SSDS will be funded under the Public Works Programme. Taking into account the characteristics and capital intensive nature of sewage services, it will be treated as a Government utility. Separate operating accounts will be kept and published annually, to ensure accountability and transparency. The operating accounts will provide an overall picture of the financial position of the sewage services undertaking, enable comparisons to be made with past performance and provide a basis for the setting of future charges. The Drainage Services Department will continue to maintain its performance standards and improve productivity. As the Sewage Services Ordinance has provided for the Sewage Charge and Trade Effluent Surcharge to be paid to Government, the closing of the SSTF will not affect the legitimacy of the collection of these charges. The Government intends to maintain the polluters' share of the costs of running the sewage services in real terms, and will seek the Legislature's approval of increase in charges to continue to recover part of the full operating and maintenance costs to meet the rise in expenditure when major facilities come on stream. "The 'Polluter Pays' principle as applied under the SSTF would be preserved," the spokesman said. The spokesman added that the trading fund concept itself remained valid and the five other trading funds were operating successfully. The Executive Council has been informed of the proposal which will be discussed at the Provisional Legislative Council's Environmental Affairs Panel on September 19, 1997. The Government intends to move a Resolution in the Provisional Legislative Council in November to close the Fund. End 13. SCA speaks on voter eligibility ******************************* Persons not of Chinese nationality who have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong will need to apply to the Right of Abode Office of the Immigration Department for verification of eligibility for permanent resident status if they want to cast their votes in the Legislative Council election next year, the Acting Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, Mr Clement Mak, said in the Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) meeting today (Wednesday). As the entire process of establishing permanent resident status would take about six weeks, Mr Mak urged all persons concerned who are not holding a permanent identity card but who would be qualified to be permanent residents under the Basic Law to submit an early application to the Immigration Department. In response to PLC member's question on voter eligibility, Mr Mak said that according to Article 26 of the Basic Law, a permanent resident of the HKSAR shall have the right to vote. "The definition of a permanent resident is set out in Article 24 of the Basic Law which is reflected in part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Immigration Ordinance," he explained. He pointed out that on the basis of BL 24 and 26, there are two groups of persons who will no longer be qualified as eligible voters for the coming Legislative Council election to be held in May 1998. They include: * persons who have resided in Hong Kong for seven years or more but who are not eligible to be permanent residents under the amended Immigration Ordinance, for example, foreign domestic helpers; and * those who are qualified as permanent residents of the SAR but who have not made a declaration to demonstrate that they have taken Hong Kong as their place of permanent residence. The latter refers to persons not of Chinese nationality who have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong, Mr Mak said. "Persons under the second category may become eligible electors for the coming LegCo election if they can establish their permanent resident status before the end of the voter registration period early next year," he said. Applications for verification of eligibility for permanent resident status should be addressed to the Right of Abode Office, Immigration Department, 10th Floor Harbour Building , 38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong. For enquiries, please call the Office's hotline on tel no. 2825 4055. End 14. Action against unlicensed telecommunication installations ********************************************************* In a joint operation mounted today (Wednesday) by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) and the Police, 4 unlicensed telecommunication installations used for carrying unauthorised external public telephone calls have been closed down. At present, Hong Kong Telecom International Limited (HKTI) holds an exclusive licence for certain external telecommunication circuits and services, including the external public telephone services (commonly known as the "IDD" services). The local telephone companies and callback service operators who provide some form of "IDD" services have to route their traffic through HKTI's facilities. It is an offence under the Telecommunication Ordinance if a local telephone company or a callback service operator uses international private leased circuits (IPLCs) or an unlicensed radio station for carrying telephone calls to China or other destinations outside Hong Kong, in bypass of the facilities of HKTI. The offender is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine of $50,000 and to imprisonment for 2 years; and on conviction on indictment, to a fine of $100,000 and to imprisonment for 5 years. According to OFTA's spokesman, 6 sites had been searched by OFTA staff. Unauthorised telecommunication equipment was removed and relevant documents relating to the operation of the unauthorised activity were seized. "Such unauthorised telecommunication installations will affect the operation of service providers who abide by the law, prejudice fair competition in the market and have adverse impact on the long term development of telecommunication services in Hong Kong. OFTA is determined to stop such unauthorised installations. It will continue to monitor the situation and to carry out similar operations with the Police immediately when such illegal activities are found," a spokesman for OFTA said. "The evidence obtained today will be examined by OFTA and the Department of Justice. If sufficient evidence has been identified, prosecution actions will be initiated," continued the OFTA spokesman. End 15. Route Twisk reopens tomorrow **************************** The Highways Department today (Wednesday) announces that Route Twisk section between Lui Kung Tin and Tai Mo Shan Country Park Management Centre at Tsuen Kam Au will re- open for one-lane two-way traffic from 6 am tomorrow (Thursday). The road was closed on August 22 following a landslide at the Lookout. Since then, round-the-clock slope stabilisation work has been carried out. Additional slope work including more shotcreting, rock dowels and soil nails on the failed slope will continue for about four weeks. End 16. Designation of Teachers' Day supported ************************************** The Government fully supports the proposal of designating a "Teacher's Day" every year to boost respect for the teaching profession and to improve the status of teachers. This will have significant contribution to the development of education in Hong Kong in the long run. In response to the motion of designating a "Teacher's Day" moved by the Hon Yeung Yiu-chung in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday), the Acting Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said that a "Teacher's Day" could help arouse public awareness of the need to show respect for the teaching profession, as well as enhancing teachers' image and fostering greater dedication to their job. "We are open-minded about the selection of the date and are now seeking the views of the education sector and parents," Mr Cheung said. He added that two factors would have to be considered when choosing the date. The first was whether the chosen date would allow teachers and students to fully participate in activities to be held in honour of our teachers. The second was whether the activities for the "Teachers' Day" could tie in with those organised for the current "Teachers' Week", and become a highlight for the series of activities. Dates to be considered include September 10 (Teacher's Day in the mainland); March 12 (Tree Planting Day); September 28 (Birthday of Kongzi); and a date at the end of January, which is the usual time chosen for the Hong Kong Teachers' Week. He said the Government was keen on enhancing the image of teachers and on promoting greater respect for teachers. The Education Department organised many such activities every year. Starting from 1995, the Department organised a "Teachers' Week" in January every year. Notices were issued to school principals urging them to encourage the students to organise activities during the "Teachers' Week" in order to show their respect and gratitude to their teachers. "'Teachers' Week' were usually held in the period between the end of the first semester and the Lunar New Year. Teachers and students have sufficient time to think and plan the activities," he said. The Committee on Respect Our Teachers Campaign was set up by the Education Department in 1995. There are now 14 participating educational organisations which help the Department in planning and promoting various activities to enhance teachers' image. Mr Cheung noted that the Government was also actively taking other measures to enhance the professional development, status and the quality of teachers. The Education Commission has endorsed the proposal to establish a General Teaching Council. A preparatory committee has already been appointed to work out the detailed arrangements. Other measures for improving the professional qualifications of teachers include a study currently undertaken by the University Grants Committee's (UGC) on how to implement the new policy to require all newly appointed secondary and primary teachers to be trained graduates. The UGC will complete the study in the first half of 1998. The Government will then consider the way forward. Also, the Government has accepted the proposal of the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications (ACTEQ) to lower the salary bar for untrained secondary school graduate teachers who joined the profession after 1997 from point 27 to 22, in order to encourage these teachers to receive professional training as soon as possible. In addition, the Government will continue to improve the qualifications and training for kindergarten teachers. Starting the year 2004, all newly appointed kindergarten headmasters/headmistresses should have completed a certificate course in kindergarten education. The Government will also train a total of 1,830 qualified kindergarten teachers in the next three years, thereby increasing the ratio of trained teachers in each kindergarten from 40 per cent at present to 60 per cent by the year 2000. ACTEQ will also appoint consultants in October to examine the factors affecting teachers' performance, including the effect of teacher education programmes on the quality of teachers. End 17. Antiquities Advisory Board 95th Meeting *************************************** 1. Year of Heritage ---------------- The Board was pleased to note the positive response from the public to the various projects presented under the Year of Heritage, especially a most encouraging average daily attendance of 340 has been recorded for the 'Hong Kong Heritage - A History of 6,000 year's exhibition and a sum of $2.8 million (the net proceeds) was raised to fund the remaining programmes and other heritage-related activities of the Year of Heritage. Major forthcoming activities will include - Date Programme ---- --------- September 17, 1997 Mini-concert at the Yamen Building of Kowloon Walled City Park October 25, 1997 Opening of the Central and Western Heritage Trail (Phase I) December 17 - 19, 1997 International Conference on Heritage Education to mark the close of YOH at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre 2. Declaration of Historical Buildings ----------------------------------- At the meeting, the Board recommended the declaration of the following historical buildings under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance - (i) Hau Mei Fung Ancestral Hall --------------------------- The Ancestral Hall located in Kam Tsin Tsuen, Sheung Shui, during the Qianlong reign by Hau Cheuk-wen, the twenty-second generation of the Hau clan to commemorate his great grandfather, Hau Tsui-fei, alias Mei-fung. (ii) Leung's Ancestral Hall ---------------------- The Leung's Ancestral Hall, situated to the north-west of Yuen Kong Tuen, Pat Heung, Yuen Long was probably built by the Leungs from Donguan of Guanddong province about 200 years ago. (iii) Tat Tak Communal Hall --------------------- Tat Tak Communal Hall, situated to the north of Sheung Cheung Wai in Ping Shan, was reputed to have been built during the Xiangfeng reign (1851-1861) of the Qing dynasty by the Tang clan of Ping Shan which branched out from Kam Tin in the early thirteenth century. (iv) Sin Sut Study Hall, Tin Hau Temple; and Tung Kok Wai of Lung Yeuk Tau, Fanling -------------------------------------- Sin Sut Study Hall, which is situated in San Uk Tsuen, was built in 1840 to commemorate Tang Wan-kai, the nineteenth generation ancestor of the clan. Before the second World War, the building was used as a school and after the war, a kindergarten. Tin Hau Temple, also known as Tin Hau Kung, is situated between Tang Chung Ling Ancestral Hall and Lo Wai. According to the village elders, the temple was constructed before the ancestral hall which was probably built in 1525. Tung Kok Wai, located at the foothill of Lung Shan with a history of about 500 years, is a walled village with its entrance facing north-west. 3. Territory-wide Historical Building and Structure Survey ------------------------------------------------------- The Board noted the smooth progress of the survey, which was funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club ($4.143 million) to enable the compilation of a comprehensive inventory of pre-1950 buildings and structures to facilitate the formulation of strategy and measures to protect and preserve the built heritage of Hong Kong. Five regions/districts, namely, the Central and Western District, Wan Chai District, Southern District, Kam Tin and Sha Tin were surveyed and about 1,200 buildings recorded. Two more architectural teams from China would be commissioned to participate the survey, i.e. the Tsinghua University and the Shenzhen Museum. The survey commenced in October 1996 and was expected to complete in mid 1998. End PROVISIONAL LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL MEETING CONTENTS ======== 1. CS's speech on Government Minute 2. Speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration 3. Government will conduct extensive publicity for 1998 Election 4. Women health centres 5. Operating hours of boundary crossings 6. Employment situation of graduates of HKIEd 7. Publicity efforts for labour legislation stepped up 8. Policy on private housing development projects explained 9. Enough school places for child immigrants ensured 10. HA training programme for nurses 11. Classification of schools by students' academic performance 12. Movement records at Immigration control points 13. Betting on football matches 14. Land use criteria at Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate 15. "Calling Number Display" to be introduced into 999 hotline 16. Employment of former SFC staff 17. Measures to tackle vehicle emissions 18. Flood protection scheme in NT making progress 19. Government plans to clear five cottage areas 20. Singaporean officials to serve on advisory bodies 21. Figures on registration of tutorial schools 1. CS's speech on Government Minute ******************************** Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan, in introducing the Government Minute in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Madam President, Laid on the table today is the Government Minute responding to Report No. 28 of the Public Accounts Committee. The Minute sets out the measures the Government has taken, or is planning to take, on the conclusions and recommendations contained in the Report. I do not propose to go over the Government's response on each of the subjects covered. I am pleased to note that Mr Eric Li has been elected once again as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. In his capacity as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the previous legislature, Mr Li spoke on June 11, 1997 when tabling the Report. Referring to some of the subjects covered in the Report, he made certain key observations regarding the implementation of public policy and the Government's accountability. I would like to respond to those observations. Mr Li considered that while the Government establishes publicly-funded bodies with the objective of improving public services to the community, it is incumbent upon the Administration to ensure that the huge public resources placed under these bodies are giving good value for money. We agree with this, especially when subventions to these non-government public bodies now account for some 37 per cent of total government recurrent expenditure. However, in discharging this responsibility, we have to strike a balance between proper control of public money and allowing these publicly-funded organisations adequate flexibility in resource management. Otherwise, we may undermine the efficient and effective delivery of public services by these bodies. In the case of departmental quarters retained by the Hospital Authority, we agree that these quarters are valuable assets which should be put to good use at all times. The inter-departmental working group set up in April this year to monitor the utilisation of these quarters has made good progress. Of the 542 vacant quarters at the time, 170 have been or will be converted for non-clinical uses by the Hospital Authority, such as offices and overnight restrooms and 190 will be used for providing social welfare services or let out commercially for residential purpose. The Hospital Authority is actively looking at the future use of the rest. Also on the operation of publicly-funded organisations, Mr Li suggested that the time has perhaps come for the Administration to take a fresh overall view of the manner in which these organisations relate to the Government and the remuneration packages they offer. In making this suggestion, Mr Li observed that while we need to ensure the proper use of public resources, we should also ensure that these publicly-funded organisations meet the situations of the modern day labour market of Hong Kong. I agree with his remarks. Publicly-funded organisations operate independently of Government and need a degree of flexibility in setting their own terms and conditions of employment. We feel that Government should not interfere in this provided that the terms are in line with our subvention principle that the overall remuneration for staff in organisations receiving Government subventions should not be superior to those provided by Government to comparable grades in the civil service. We share the concern of the Public Accounts Committee on the implementation of the double housing benefits. Since there are different types of publicly-funded organisations, we need first to review the criteria governing the application of the double housing benefits rules. We will then take steps to ensure that those which should be subject to the rules are implementing the rules. On the suspension of pensions for retired civil servants in publicly-funded organisations, we note Mr Li's remarks that our existing policy on suspension of monthly pensions for retired civil servants employed in certain gazetted publicly-funded organisations "may have inadvertently placed the publicly-funded organisations in a disadvantageous position when recruiting retired civil servants". We will undertake an in-depth review of the policy, having regard to its original rationale and objectives, and their relevance to present circumstances. Finally, the Committee expressed concern over the relocation of a private cargo pier under the West Kowloon Reclamation Project only a few years after its establishment as a result of the Airport Core Programme (ACP). The ACP is the largest and most important package of infrastructure development in Hong Kong's recent history. Against an extremely tight time schedule, it is almost inevitable that its implementation would impact on other projects or planned facilities. Nevertheless, we accept the need for a fuller assessment of such potential impact on our overall planning of such major infrastructure projects and will, as a general rule, do so in future. Madam President, I wish to express my sincere thanks to the Chairman and Members of the former Public Accounts Committee. I am sure their good work will continue in the current Public Accounts Committee under the Chairmanship of Mr Li. I look forward to your positive comments and sound advice, which will help the public service of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region maintain high standards of openness and accountability. - - - - - Note to Editors: The following is the Government Minutes in response to Report No.28 of the Public Accounts Committee dated June 1997: THE GOVERNMENT MINUTE IN RESPONSE TO THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 28 DATED JUNE 1997 REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF VALUE FOR MONEY AUDITS GENERAL REVENUE ACCOUNT CIVIL SERVICE BUREAU (Paragraphs 5.1 - 5.22 -- The implementation of policies on the prevention of double housing benefits and the suspension of pensions for retired civil servants in publicly-funded organisations) Prevention of double housing benefits in publicly-funded organisations There are different types of publicly-funded organisations subject to different funding principles and different funding methods. Civil Service Bureau (CSB) and Finance Bureau, in consultation with the relevant Policy Bureaux, are conducting a review on the various types of publicly-funded organisations to determine which of these should be subject to the prevention of double housing benefits rules. CSB will then investigate whether the prevention of double housing benefits rules have been implemented in these organisations and will keep the Committee informed of progress. At the same time, CSB will liaise with, and assist, the relevant Policy Bureaux in ensuring proper interpretation and implementation of the rules by publicly-funded organisations under their purview. To this end, CSB will continue to circulate relevant rules and guidelines pertaining to the prevention of double housing benefits to Policy Bureau as well as the publicly-funded organisations concerned. The Administration takes note of the suggestion that publicly-funded organisations which are subject to the prevention of double housing benefits rules should check with the Director of Accounting Services and the Director of Housing the receipt of civil service housing benefits and public housing benefits by their employees and their spouses. We believe that a cost-effective way of taking this forward is to require the housing benefit recipients in these publicly-funded organisations to declare any previous housing benefits they enjoyed or are enjoying that are caught by the prevention of double housing benefits rules and to ask the organisation concerned to conduct random checks. We will be putting this suggestion to the publicly- funded organisations concerned for their consideration. Suspension of pensions for retired civil servants in public- funded organisations The Administration notes the concerns of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over the implementation of the existing policy on the suspension of monthly pensions for retired civil servants re-employed in publicly-funded organisations. We also note the Committee's observations (as conveyed by the Hon Eric LI Ka-cheung, Chairman of PAC, when tabling Report No. 28) that the policy may have "placed the publicly-funded organisations in a disadvantageous position when recruiting retired civil servants", and that the merits of the existing policy, vis-*-vis the possible disadvantages, should be re-examined. In response to these observations, CSB will undertake an in-depth review of the policy on pension suspension, having regard to the original rationale and objectives of the policy and their relevance to present circumstances. As part of the review, CSB will, as the Committee has recommended, examine the criteria for determining publicly- funded organisations as public service for the purpose of pension suspension. We will also examine the application of any modified criteria that may be recommended in the light of the review. In the meantime, CSB has, as recommended by the Committee, reviewed the existing procedures for waiving pension suspension in respect of retired civil servants re- appointed to the public service on a part-time or temporary basis, in conjunction with the Director of Accounting Services and the Director of Education. We are satisfied that the criteria for waiving pension suspension have been clearly set out, i.e. the waiver applies only to retired civil servants who are re-employed in a gazetted public service for no more than three months, or are taking up part-time jobs of less than 24 hours per week. We are also satisfied that proper monitoring procedures have been put in place to ensure that the waiver is applied only in accordance with the established criteria. In this regard, the Director of Accounting Services, in processing requests for a waiver, will require the retired officer to supply proof of the duration and working hours of his/her post- retirement employment. We will also take steps to regularly remind retiring and retired civil servants of the requirement to report to the Administration any post- retirement employment in the public service. HEALTH AND WELFARE BUREAU (Paragraphs 5.23 - 5.68 - Departmental quarters retained by the Hospital Authority) The Administration recognises that the 2,641 quarters managed by the Hospital Authority (HA) are valuable resources which should be put to appropriate and beneficial use at all times. These quarters will provide the potential for expansion or redevelopment for hospitals in the longer term. Meanwhile, they provide an opportunity for the hospitals to improve their direct patient services by decanting some of their non-clinical activities to these vacant premises. In cases where there are no short-term alternative hospital uses, the Administration will actively consider renting out the vacant units for residential use or making them available for welfare uses. Renting out for residential use An inter-departmental Working Group chaired by the Health and Welfare Bureau was set up in April 1997 to monitor the utilisation of the quarters retained by HA. The Working Group includes representatives of HA, Government Property Agency (GPA) and Architectural Services Department (Arch SD). Of the 2,641 quarters managed by the HA at that time, 2,099 units were put to hospital uses or rented out for residential purposes. The current position of the remaining 542 quarters is as follows - Number of units (a) converted to other hospital uses 93 since April 1997 (b) to be converted to other hospital 77 uses during 1997-98 (c) unlettable because of very 97 dilapidated conditions (to be demolished/redeveloped) (d) not suitable for letting 85 out to the public because of operational and security reasons (future uses being actively assessed by HA) (e) to be rented out for residential or 190 welfare uses ____ Total 542 The HA has engaged a consultant to conduct an independent rental valuation for all the quarters currently let or to be rented out in future. The consultant's report will be available around mid September 1997 and will form the basis of the rental for charging incoming tenants as well as existing tenants on the expiry of their lease. GPA has tendered advice to HA on the valuation parameters to be adopted for incorporation in its brief to the consultant. Block E, Prince of Wales Hospital Of the 80 quarters in Block E of PWH which HA agreed to return to Government, three are being used as HA's call rooms and four have been let out to Youth Outreach. GPA has also reserved some other units on the lower floors for welfare uses. GPA will lease out the remaining units, on a short-term basis, at market rate pending a final decision on the ultimate usage of the quarters. Meanwhile, GPA is touching up these units for letting in the open market. To resolve the carpark problem associated with the use of these quarters, HA has started constructing 80 additional carparks within the PWH. The first batch, totalling 52 carparking spaces, will be completed in mid September 1997, with the remainder in October 1997. HA will pay for the construction costs and hand over the carparks to GPA upon completion. To expedite the leasing process, HA has undertaken to provide designated carparking spaces to any tenant who moves in during the period the new carparks are under construction. Use of quarters as welfare premises The Administration agrees that some of the vacant quarters may be suitable for welfare services. Indeed, GPA has let out four quarters in Block E of PWH to Youth Outreach for the provision of youth counselling services. GPA will continue to explore opportunities for letting out other vacant quarters in Block E and in the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital for welfare uses. Use of quarters as storerooms The Administration agrees that we should consider other more economical options for storing the furniture and equipment not required by the HA on a day-to-day basis. In this connection, HA is critically examining how best to meet the storage requirements of individual hospitals. The Working Group will follow up on this issue. Fire service installations in quarter-converted offices HA and Arch SD have completed a survey of the fire prevention facilities in the quarter-converted offices and is carrying out upgrading works in some of these offices. The Working Group will closely monitor the situation to minimise the risk of fire in these converted offices. CIVIL SERVICE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE (Paragraphs 5.69 - 5.78 - The provision of training courses by the Civil Service Training and Development Institute) Since the PAC hearing held in April 1997, the Administration has taken the following measures to address Members' concerns. Utilisation of training centres and mismatch of class size and seating capacity Civil Service Training and Development Institute (CSTDI) accepts the PAC recommendation that utilisation statistics of classrooms should be compiled to facilitate better planning, control and use of training accommodation. Since May 1997, the Institute has computerised the classroom booking procedures at Wing On Centre and, based on these records, prepared monthly reports on classroom booking and usage rates to monitor the utilisation level. Computerisation of the booking system also improves the scheduling of classes, thereby making better use of the classrooms available. CSTDI has also adopted other measures to improve the utilisation level such as inviting more trainees than the intended class size to maximise attendance rates where appropriate, and letting out the classrooms to other departments for training purposes. The Administration agrees that there should be a better match between the size of training classes and the available seating capacity. However, while we are conscious of the need to make full use of space in training rooms, we are equally concerned about the training quality and effectiveness. The optimum class size must take into account the nature of the training course, the trainer to trainee ratio and the extent of interaction required of trainees in the course of training. CSTDI has reviewed the class size of all training courses and considered that the class sizes of some written communication courses can be increased from 21 or 22 to 24. Output statistics for the civil service training courses CSTDI has since April 1997 compiled monthly reports on the response rates and the attendance rates of the training courses. Based on this information, CSTDI will monitor the actual output of training activities for future reference in setting performance targets, and planning and evaluating training courses. Cost comparison of in-house training and external training courses CSTDI has revised the monthly progress reports of each training unit to include information on the cost comparisons of in-house training and external training courses. The Institute will review these figures annually to decide whether there is any scope for further contracting out some of the training programmes. New accommodation at the North Point Government Offices (NPGO) A working team comprising representatives from CSTDI, Government Property Agency (GPA), Civil Service Bureau (CSB) and Finance Bureau has been formed to review the accommodation requirements of CSTDI in the NPGO. The working team has noted that CSB and CSTDI are now reviewing the civil service training needs in the medium term. The results of this review will have a bearing on the training activities to be included in the annual training programme for 1998-99 and thereafter, and hence CSTDI's accommodation requirements in the NPGO. Thus, the working team considers it more appropriate to conduct an accommodation review for CSTDI in December 1997, as by then the 1998-99 training programme will be finalised. If any accommodation originally earmarked for CSTDI in the NPGO is found to be in excess of its actual requirements, GPA will allocate the surplus space to other users on a temporary basis so as to preserve the flexibility to cater for CSTDI's expansion in future. Meanwhile, CSTDI is also exploring the possibility of converting conventional self-learning packages to media- based programmes to save accommodation as the former require more classrooms for holding guidance sessions. GPA has reviewed the existing procedures for departments to submit their accommodation requests. The Agency will revise applicant departments' submission forms to ensure that all applications will have to be routed through the proper management level of the department and relevant supporting documents are enclosed to justify their requests for accommodation. GPA has also tightened its internal vetting procedures by putting in place a three-tier vetting and approval system. Under this three-tier system, GPA officers at assistant professional level will first vet requests for accommodation and, where necessary, carry out site visits to verify the accuracy of the information submitted. Officers at professional level will approve requests in compliance with the prevailing space standards/entitlements, while senior professional officer's approval is required for those requests which deviate from the normal standards. RADIO TELEVISION HONG KONG (Paragraphs 5.79 - 5.84 - Employment of departmental contract staff) The employment of departmental contract staff (DCS) by the Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is to suit the operational needs of RTHK being a broadcaster. This is in line with the industry practice. The Administration wishes to assure the Committee, as it had during the PAC hearing, that it is certainly not a means to circumvent proper resource allocation procedure to meet increases in workload. RTHK has issued a questionnaire to all local electronic media organisations to gather more information on the industry practice in employing "temporary staff". In parallel, it is carrying out a review to determine the most desirable conditions for the employment of DCS, the optimum combination of permanent and freelance staff and the need to turn some of the temporary staff positions into permanent establishment. In the light of the findings on industry practice and the review, RTHK will seek approval from the relevant authorities for the modification of the conditions of employment of DCS to address any anomalies. RTHK may also reduce the number of DCS Category I, redefine the Category II staff to include only freelancers on artistic and creative work, and redefine the Category III staff as "temporary staff". Meanwhile, RTHK has updated the contract forms for both DCS Category I and II to incorporate essential elements of the guidelines issued by CSB. Since April 1997, RTHK has been offering contracts to all DCS Category I new recruits for duration not exceeding one year. RTHK will review the performance of these staff on an annual basis. (Paragraphs 5.85 - 5.91 - Royalties for radio broadcasting of copyright musical works) The Administration is of the view that there can be no question of the Government breaching a contractual obligation to recover the apparent "overpayment" of royalties to the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Limited (CASH). The use of a fixed percentage mutually agreed between CASH and RTHK to calculate the annual royalty payments, in place of the formula, is provided for in the Licence Agreement. The current fixed 4.233 per cent was agreed between RTHK and CASH. That said, the Administration fully recognises the need to renegotiate a new formula which will relate payment to the usage of the CASH music. RTHK has started officially the first round of re-negotiation with CASH in July 1997. Both parties have agreed to - (a) conduct a monitoring exercise to measure the actual CASH music usage in August 1997; (b) use the monitoring results as a basis for calculating royalties; and (c) consider the CASH music usage, the expenditure on radio broadcasting and the total broadcasting hours of RTHK in any new formula to be adopted. In the next round of negotiations, RTHK intends to explore a simpler and more equitable means of measuring the CASH music usage, seek the agreement of CASH on the addition of a dispute resolution clause in the current licence and on the conduct of periodic reviews of the royalty formula and the licence. RTHK will also conduct another monitoring exercise on CASH music usage in late November to mid December 1997 to capture the effects of the racing and sports season. We will keep the PAC informed of progress. TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT (Paragraphs 5.92 - 5.103 - Monitoring of franchised public bus services) The Administration accepts PAC's recommendation that as far as possible, targets should be set for all key performance indicators of the bus companies. With the agreement of the bus companies, the Commissioner for Transport has set performance targets for the following nine key indicators: bus availability, bus utilisation, number of Passengers Liaison Group meetings to be convened, number of bus shelters to be constructed, implementation of agreed Route Development Programme items, average bus age, parking capacity of depots per registered bus, approved bus termini spaces for overnight parking per registered bus and number of buses per maintenance pit. Transport Department reported these developments to the Transport Advisory Committee in May 1997. The Commissioner for Transport has expanded the objectives of her surveys to optimise the usefulness of their findings for verifying the returns submitted by the bus companies. The surveys now include the collection of data on vehicle allocation for individual bus routes. The Commissioner has also issued written instructions on the types of data to be verified, the verification procedures to be followed and the records to be maintained. Transport Department staff are now following these instructions in carrying out verification work. The Commissioner for Transport currently does not have any outstanding potential cases for financial penalty under section 22 of the Public Bus Services Ordinance. For future cases, the Commissioner has issued departmental guidelines to ensure that a decision on whether to proceed with a recommendation to the Chief Executive in Council will be made within six months for cases requiring collection of more evidence, and within three months for other cases. The Administration has pursued the matter regarding over-provision of reserve in the Contingency Fund of China Motor Bus Company Limited (CMB). In response to the Administration's request, CMB had appointed an actuary to conduct a comprehensive review of its reserves in respect of third party liabilities as at June 30, 1996. On the basis of the actuary's advice, CMB reduced the amount of provision for third party liabilities in 1995-96 by about 20 per cent from its original estimate of $23.8 million to $19.4 million. In respect of the level of reserves for consequential fire loss, the Administration received CMB's actuarial report on July 22, 1997. The actuarial assessment was conducted in connection with a decision by CMB to take out an external insurance policy to cover consequential fire loss. The actuary has confirmed that the insurance policy taken out by CMB is suitable to cover risks where the claim exceeds $20 million, and has recommended that CMB should adjust the level of reserves downwards from $94.5 million to $20 million after it has taken out the insurance policy. CAPITAL INVESTMENT FUND TRADE AND INDUSTRY BUREAU AND FINANCE BUREAU (Paragraphs 6.1 - 6.18 - The Government's role in the development of electronic data interchange for the business community) Following the PAC hearing on the Government's role in the development of electronic data interchange for the business community, the Administration has made further progress in the implementation of the Community Electronic Trading Service. The Director of Information Technology Services conducted a requirement justification study on cargo manifests in April 1997 and circulated a draft report for review in July 1997. He is finalising the report and will present it to the Computer Strategy Group in due course. The Commissioner of Customs and Excise has been undertaking a review of the systems and procedures involved in handling dutiable commodities permits since April 1997 and a draft report will be ready by September 1997. He will then consider the need for a requirement justification study. On June 20, 1997, the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council approved the funds required to computerise and implement electronic data interchange for certificates of origin. A Preparatory Committee of the Hong Kong Electronic Commerce Association comprising representatives of the Hong Kong Article Numbering Association, Hong Kong Productivity Council, Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Tradelink Electronic Document Services Ltd. and Transportation Community Network Ltd. has been formed. The aim of the Association is to provide the coordination and leadership required for the proper promotion, development and support of electronic commerce in Hong Kong. The Committee produced a first draft proposal in July 1997 and aims to finalise the proposal by September 1997. CAPITAL WORKS RESERVE FUND PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS BUREAU, WORKS BUREAU, CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DEPARTMENT (Paragraphs 7.1 - 7.26 - Beneficial use of construction waste for reclamation) The Administration wishes to report the following progress in the various measures to improve utilization of construction waste for reclamation works. The draft final report of the consultancy on public dumping strategy, commissioned by the Director of Civil Engineering, is expected to be available at the end of September 1997. Meanwhile, the Civil Engineering Department is trying to locate additional public dumping outlets, particularly on Hong Kong Island. The Department is also identifying potential outlets/barging points in Eastern, Central & Western and Southern districts. The possibility of incorporating off-site sorting at outlets/barging points is also being explored. The Works Bureau will shortly issue a Technical Circular requiring on-site sorting of surplus construction materials on demolition sites. In order to maximise the use of construction waste, the Works Bureau will ask works departments to notify the Public Dumping Sub-Committee at an early stage those projects which may incorporate public dumping. As regards the landfill charging scheme, the Administration is working hard on proposals to address the trade's concerns. These proposals include relaxing the deposit requirement and providing a longer credit period. In addition, once procedures on the landfill charging scheme are finalised, the Works Bureau will issue a Technical Circular requiring all government works contractors to pay directly the landfill charge through an account billing system. LANDS DEPARTMENT AND TERRITORY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT (Paragraphs 7.27 - 7.39 - Reprovisioning of a private cargo pier under the West Kowloon Reclamation Project) The Administration will cooperate with the Director of Audit in his further enquiries into whether projects similar to the Cheung Sha Wan Cargo Pier may also have been affected by the Airport Core Programme. Over the years, the Works Bureau and the works departments have made significant improvements in project management. The works departments will maintain close liaison with the end-users of facilities that are to be reprovisioned at all stages of design and construction. The works departments have already adopted a proactive approach to ascertaining users' requirements and securing acceptance of any changes to the design or specification of facilities that are to be reprovisioned prior to the award of contracts. We will continue to adopt this approach in future reprovisioning works. End 2. Speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration ************************************************ Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan, in the Provisional Legislative Council to move the Second Reading of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 1997 today (Wednesday): Madam President, I move that the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 1997 be read the second time. The Bill aims to amend the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (Cap. 484) to improve its provisions in respect of the constitution of the Appeal Committee to hear applications for leave to appeal. Section 16 of the Ordinance provides for the constitution of the Court of Final Appeal for substantive hearings of appeals. This section contains a provision which prevents a judge from hearing an appeal from a decision made by him or to which he was a party. The aim is to apply the common law rule against bias by pre- determination. Section 18 of the Ordinance, on the other hand, provides for the constitution of an Appeal Committee for hearing and determining applications for leave to appeal. It provides that an Appeal Committee shall consist of either the Chief Justice and two permanent judges nominated by the Chief Justice, or three permanent judges nominated by the Chief Justice. However, there is no express prohibition against bias by pre-determination in this section. The common law rule against bias by pre-determination should apply to both the substantive hearings of appeals and applications for leave to appeal. As in the case of substantive hearings of appeals, it would be inappropriate for a judge to sit on an Appeal Committee if he has previously rejected the application, or if the judgment or order at issue was made by him or by a court of which he was a member. We therefore propose to amend the Ordinance to apply expressly the common law rule against bias by predetermination to the hearing and determination of any application by the Appeal Committee. As the proposed exclusion from the Appeal Committee of judges who have had a previous involvement with the case may mean that there are insufficient permanent judges to sit on that Committee, an additional amendment has to be made to provide that where a sufficient number of permanent judges is not available for any cause to sit on the Appeal Committee, the Chief Justice shall nominate a non-permanent Hong Kong judge to sit in place of a permanent judge. These two amendments mirror the provisions in sections 16(4) and 16(8) of the Ordinance. We also propose to make a technical amendment to section 18(2) of the Ordinance to clear any doubts as to the powers of the Appeal Committee. At present, section 18(2) provides that the power of the Court of Final Appeal to hear and determine any application for leave to appeal shall be exercised by the Appeal Committee. For criminal appeals, under section 32 of the Ordinance, leave to appeal shall not be granted by the Appeal Committee unless it is certified by the Court of Appeal or the Court of First Instance that a point of law of great and general importance is involved; and where the court below has refused to certify, the Court of Final Appeal may so certify and grant leave to appeal. Section 18 only refers to the power to hear and determine an application for leave to appeal, it is arguable that the application for leave to appeal where a certificate has not previously been granted does not include the application for a certificate under section 32(3). We therefore propose to amend section 18(2) to put beyond doubt that the powers of the Appeal Committee include power to certify under section 32(3) of the Ordinance. At the moment, there are two pending applications for leave to appeal, in which two of the three permanent judges have previously sat on the Court of Appeal which refused the same application for leave to appeal. There is an urgent need to complete the legislative amendment as soon as possible so as to provide for a proper constitution of an Appeal Committee to hear the two pending applications for leave to appeal. The Bill is therefore essential to the normal operation of the Court of Final Appeal. Madam President, the Bill aims to solve the practical problems that have arisen in the light of the Judiciary's practical experience in operating the Court since its establishment. The Bill is an essential and technical one, and I commend it to Honourable Members for early passage into law. End 3. Government will conduct extensive publicity for 1998 Election ************************************************************* Following is a question by the Hon Choy So-yuk and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, Mr Clement Mak, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: Regarding the 1998 Legislative Council elections, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the measures the Government will adopt to publicise the arrangements with regard to the 1998 Legislative Council elections; (b) whether the Government has undertaken any studies as to why some eligible citizens did not register as voters nor case their votes in the last Legislative Council elections; if so, what the details are; (c) whether the target voting rate of 50% mentioned by the Government is based on a 100% voters registration rate or the actual voters registration rate; (d) how the Government will ensure that next year's Legislative Council elections will be free from corrupt practices, given that incidents of such practices were found in previous elections, and (e) according to Article 6 of the Basic Law, how many groups of persons who were eligible for registration as voters in the 1995 former Legislative Council elections will become ineligible in next year's Legislative Council elections? Reply: Madam President, (a) Regarding the specific arrangements for the 1998 Legislative Council elections, the Government will conduct extensive publicity and promotion so that voters and candidates will have a clear understanding of the election arrangements and changes. At present, our plan is that publicity will involve a number of government departments including the Information Services Department, Radio Television Hong Kong, Home Affairs Department, Registration and Electoral Office, Home Affairs Bureau and Constitutional Affair Bureau, while the Electoral Affairs Commission will conduct promotional activities relating to registration of electors and issue guidelines on electoral matters. Meanwhile, the Provisional Legislative Council is still examining the Legislative Council Bill. The Government will co-operate with the Electoral Affairs Commission to draw up a detailed publicity plan after the Bill is passed by the Provisional Legislative Council. (b) In relation to Legislative Council elections in 1995, consultants were commissioned to conduct surveys on willingness to register as voters and cast their votes. According to the survey, the reasons given for not registering as voters given by those eligible and interviewed included lack of interest in election, no knowledge on how to register and no time available. As regards those interviewees who had registered as voters but did not cast their votes in the election, the reasons given for not voting included no time available, not in Hong Kong on the voting day, having no satisfactory candidate, lack of knowledge about the Legislative Council or the candidates, etc. For the coming Legislative Council elections, we will deploy appropriate resources to conduct a full-scale voter registration exercise. In this connection, we are considering the feasibility of making door-to-door visits to encourage eligible persons to register as voters. There will also be publicity on the importance of the coming Legislative Council elections to encourage active public participation. (c) Generally speaking, the voter turn-out rate is calculated in terms of the number of registered voters. As to the turn-out rate of the forthcoming Legislative Council elections, no specific target number has been set. As in the past, the Government will, through various effective means, encourage eligible persons to register and take an active part in voting. Of course, it is the best if the turn-out rate is as high as possible. (d) Regarding the issue of honesty, it is generally acknowledged that the elections in Hong Kong have had a good track record of fairness and honesty. The Electoral Affairs Commission will draw up detailed guidelines to ensure that the elections are conducted in a fair, open and honest manner. The coming elections will be subject to the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Ordinance to guarantee fairness and integrity. The Independent Commission Against Corruption will be in charge of the relevant investigations, prosecutions and community education. (e) According to Article 26 of the Basic Law (BL), a permanent resident of the SAR shall have the right to vote. The definition of a permanent resident is set out in BL 24 which is reflected in part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Immigration Ordinance. On the basis of BL 24 and 26, there are two groups of persons, regardless of whether they were eligible voters before July 1, 1997, will no longer be qualified as eligible voters for the coming Legislative Council election to be held in May 1998 - i) persons who have resided in Hong Kong for seven years or more but who are not eligible to be permanent residents under the amended Immigration Ordinance. These include foreign domestic helpers; and ii) those who are qualified as permanent residents of the SAR but who have not made a declaration to demonstrate that they have taken Hong Kong as their place of permanent residence. Many persons not of Chinese nationality who have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong belong to this group. Persons under category (ii) above may become eligible electors for the coming LegCo election if they can establish their permanent resident status before the end of the voter registration period early next year. To do so, a person will need to apply to the Right of Abode Section of the Immigration Department for verification of eligibility for permanent resident status. The entire process would take about six weeks. I would like to take the opportunity to remind all those persons concerned to submit an early application to the Immigration Department. End 4. Women health centres ******************** Following is a question by the Hon Mrs Peggy Lam and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Health and Welfare, Mr Gregory Leung, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: With regard to the woman health centres in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council of: (a) the total number of such centres at present; (b) the services provided by such centres and their operating hours; (c) the average attendance at these centres in each of the past three years; and (d) the average waiting time for a consultation appointment at these centres? Reply: Madam President, (a) The Department of Health (DH) currently operates three Woman Health Centres, which are located in Lam Tin, Chai Wan and Tuen Mun respectively. In addition to these centres, some voluntary organisations and medical institutions, such as The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong and the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, also provide similar physical check-up services for women. (b) Services provided by DH's Woman Health Centres include health education and counselling, physical examination and laboratory investigations. The centres are open from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm and from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm on Mondays to Fridays, and from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm on Saturdays. (c) The three Woman Health Centres of DH were opened in May 1994, March 1996 and March 1997 respectively. Since the first centre opened in 1994, the total number of attendances for consultation at these three centres up to end-July 1997 is 20,985. From May to December 1994, the number of attendances was 2,310. In 1995 and 1996, the number was 4,496 and 7,781 respectively. During the period from January to end-July 1997, the number was 6,398. These figures do not include the number of attendances for health education talks and related activities. (d) The average waiting time for the first attendance for consultation at DH's Woman Health Centres is about two weeks. End 5. Operating hours of boundary crossings ************************************* Following is a question by the Hon Wong Ying-ho and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, Mr Clement Mak, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: In view of the continued growth in the demand for sea, land and air transport as a result of the increasingly close links between Hong Kong and the Mainland following reunification, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether consideration will be given to extending the operating hours of the checkpoints at Man Kam To, Huanggang and other piers concerned, so as to facilitate cross-border transportation of travellers and goods; (b) whether it will discuss with the relevant departments in the Mainland with a view to enhancing the efficiency of the immigration service and streamlining the immigration procedures, through such measures as integrating the immigration departments of Hong Kong and the Mainland as well as replacing Re-entry Permits with SAR identity documents for entering the Mainland; and (c) given that the new airport is due to open next April and will operate round the clock, whether arrangements will be made with the relevant departments in the Mainland to increase the number of flights between Hong Kong and the Mainland, so that cross-border transportation of travellers and goods can be arranged more flexibly? Reply: Madam President, (a) The opening hours of the road check points at Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok and Lok Ma Chau were last reviewed in 1994. At that time, the Man Kam To and Lok Ma Chau Crossings were open from 7.00 am to 10.00 pm while the Sha Tau Kok Crossing was open from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm. Following the review, the opening hours of Lok Ma Chau Border Crossing have since November 1994 been extended to 24 hours each day to spread the flow of traffic and to match the 24-hour opening of container terminals in Kwai Chung. We are closely monitoring the traffic volume of the Man Kam To Crossing to see if it is necessary to extend its operating hours. On the Sha Tau Kok Crossing, we are discussing with the Guangdong authorities about a proposal to extend the opening hours for two more hours i.e. from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm to 7.00 am to 8.00 pm. We are also closely monitoring the traffic volume at the above boundary crossings and the Lo Wu Crossing and will review their capacity as well as operating hours from time to time to ensure a smooth flow of passengers and goods. As regards the operation of piers, there are two Ferry Terminals with passenger vessels going to Mainland China, namely, the China Ferry Terminal and the Macau Ferry Terminal. The operating hours of the former is 6.00am to 10.00 pm while the latter is round the clock. The existing operating hours for the China Ferry Terminal is sufficient to cope with the present demand and hence we do not have any intention to further extend the operating hour of the China Ferry Terminal for the time being. For cargo vessels arriving by sea, immigration, port health and customs clearance are already available 24 hours a day. (b) We are conscious of the need to enhance efficiency of the Immigration Service and streamline procedures to facilitate ease of travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland, but without compromising the integrity of our immigration control. To this end, we have maintained close liaison with the Mainland Authorities. However, under the terms of the Basic Law, the exercise of immigration control on entry into, stay in and departure from Hong Kong is a matter within the autonomy of the HKSAR. There is, therefore no question of "integrating" the Immigration Department of the HKSAR with the corresponding department in the Mainland, or any form of joint immigration clearance. On travel documents, most Hong Kong residents travel to the Mainland with a Home Visit Permit issued by the Mainland authorities, and a Hong Kong Identity Card. A Hong Kong Re- entry Permit is required in respect of children under the age of 11 and those who have lost their Identity Cards. We are not aware of any plans on the part of Mainland Authorities to dispense with the Home Visit Permit, although we believe they are considering improvements to the Home Visit Permit system. (c) At present there are substantial air services between Hong Kong and the Mainland. We have a total of about 350 round-trip flights with the Mainland every week. With the increasing links between Hong Kong and the Mainland, passenger and goods traffic will likely continue to grow. The matter will be pursued between the authorities concerned in the light of market demand and the opportunities that will arise with the opening of the new airport at Chek Lap Kok. End 6. Employment situation of graduates of HKIEd ****************************************** Following is a question by the Hon Mrs Tso Wong Man-yin and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: It is reported that the ratio between the number of applicants registered for teaching posts and the number of teachers' vacancies in primary and secondary schools this year is the highest in six years. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the employment situation of fresh graduates of the Colleges of Education, particularly the data in respect of the following: (i) the number of fresh graduates this year; (ii) the number of teachers' vacancies in primary and secondary schools this year; (iii) an up-to-date breakdown of the unsuccessful applicants for teaching posts according to the subjects in which they have been trained; (b) whether the Administration has any plans to assist fresh graduates of the Colleges of Education in securing teaching posts; if so, what the details are; if not, why not; and (c) whether the Administration has any plans to reduce the number of students in each class in primary and secondary schools; if so, what the details are and when the plans will come into effect? Reply: Madam President, According to information of the Education Department's Teacher Recruitment Information Service (the Service), from the period March 24 to September 5, 1997, the total number of intending teachers who have registered an interest in teaching jobs, and the number of vacancies registered by schools were 4,181 and 294 respectively. It should be noted that the 294 vacancies only reflect cases where schools wished to seek the assistance of the Service in recruitment. It does not represent the full picture of vacancies this year as aided and private schools are free to conduct their own teacher recruitment through other channels, including advertisements in local newspapers. Indeed, the total number of teaching vacancies in both primary and secondary schools this year stood at 3000. Of these, about 1980 were non-graduate teacher posts i.e. suitable for appointment of graduates of the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd). Against this background, my answer to the various parts of the Honourable Member's question is as follows:- (a) Regarding the employment situation of fresh graduates of the HKIEd: (i) There were 693 graduates of the Certificate of Education (Primary) course and 434 graduates of the Certificate of Education (Secondary) course in the 1996-97 academic year. (ii) There were about 1,650 teaching vacancies in primary schools this year, of which 1,580 were non-graduate posts; and 1350 vacancies in schools, of which about 400 were non-graduate posts. The total number of non-graduate teacher vacancies therefore was about 1,980 this year. (iii) The HKIEd conducted a preliminary survey on the employment situation of its fresh graduates on August 5 to 20, 1997. Of the 738 respondents, 185 (around 25 per cent) were still searching for jobs. Of these 185 graduates, only 179 have given information on their respective elective subjects. Briefly, of the 111 job seeking Certificate of Education (Primary) graduates, a broad picture of the elective subjects they took is as follows: 56 (around 50 per cent) Social Studies, 16 (around 14 per cent) English, 13 (around 12 per cent) Art and Craft, and 10 (around nine per cent) Science. Of the 68 job-seeking Certificate of Education (Secondary) graduates, 31 (around 46 per cent) were trained in Chinese/Chinese History, 11 (around 16 per cent) in English, six (around nine per cent) in Mathematics and four (around six per cent) in Geography. The rest took various other subjects which do not fall into any particular pattern. It should be noted that for the Certificate of Education (Primary) course, students are trained in a core curriculum consisting of three subjects including Chinese, Mathematics and General Studies, plus a fourth subject which is an elective. For the Certificate of Education (Secondary) course, each student is trained in two elective subjects. (b) In order to help intending teachers find jobs, the Education Department operates a Teacher Recruitment Information Service (TRIS) every year. Those interested in finding a teaching job can register their personal details and academic qualifications with the Service, which are put into a computer data bank. This service has been provided to HKIEd students. Aided and private schools with vacancies can obtain information about intending teachers through the Service and directly contact them for interview. It is important to note that aided and private schools are free to conduct their own teacher recruitment without going through the TRIS or the Education Department. The Student Affairs Office of HKIEd also provides employment service to its students. Letters were sent to all principals in Hong Kong in early 1997 requesting information on teaching vacancies and the information collected was subsequently made available to all students. To assist graduates who are still searching for jobs, the Student Affairs Office is continuing its effort to explore teaching vacancies in both educational and social service organisations and provide the graduates concerned with up- to-date job information. (c) To improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools, in the 1993/94 school year the number of pupils per class for Primary One level has been reduced to 35 for traditional classes and to 30 for those adopting the activity approach. This has since been extended to other levels. In the 1997/98 school year, the reduction in class size is being extended to Primary Five. It must be stressed that the prime objective of smaller classes is to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in schools, not to tackle the supply and demand situation of teachers. End 7. Publicity efforts for labour legislation stepped up *************************************************** Following is a question by the Hon James Tien Pei-chun and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: Recently, many employers have intimated that they do not quite understand the contents and implications of the various labour-related Ordinances passed by the former Legislative Council - such as the various Employment (Amendment) Ordinances, as well as the Ordinances relating to occupational safety and health and anti-discrimination - and that this may easily result in their contravening labour legislation inadvertently. In view of this, will the Government inform this Council whether the relevant government departments have any specific plans to explain to the industrial and commercial sectors the contents and implications of these new legislation; if not, whether the Government will take corresponding measures as soon as possible so as to assist the industrial and commercial sectors in understanding the contents and implications of the new legislation? Reply: Madam President, As has been the practice for many years, the Labour Department organises a wide variety of promotional activities to publicise any newly enacted labour-related legislation or amendments to existing legislation. The main targets are employers, personnel practitioners and representatives from trade unions. The Labour Department has already stepped up its publicity efforts for the several important pieces of labour legislation that were passed by the former Legislative Council in the past few months. For example, to promote the awareness and understanding of the new Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (OSHO) and the major amendments to the Employment Ordinance (EO), the Labour Department has - * printed over half a million copies of information leaflets on various topics of the new legislation or amendments for distribution at Labour Department's offices and for direct mailing to employers' associations, trade unions and concerned parties; * launched two radio/TV Announcements of Public Interest on the subject of OSHO and conducted six radio/TV interviews on the recent amendments to the EO; * organised seven seminars and 20 briefings on the legislative changes for over 3,000 employers or their representatives and representatives from trade unions; * publicised the newly-enacted legislative provisions in the Labour Department's newsletter "Labour Focus" and the first two issues of "Occupational Safety and Health Bulletin". Copies of the two publications have been sent to all employers with five or more employees by direct mail; and * responded to, in past three months alone, over 630,000 calls including those on labour legislation through its General Enquiry Telephone Service. Apart from the above, the Department is planning to organise a series of activities to promote the new Occupational Safety and Health Regulation (OSHR) which will come into effect later this year. These will include a major seminar for the retail, banking/financial services and education sectors and a series of guide books on various housekeeping and fire prevention topics for the non- industrial sectors. The Occupational Safety and Health Council has been working hand in hand with the Labour Department on many such activities. The Council has also been promoting the OSHO and the OSHR in its publication "Green Cross" and in many of its own public events and promotional activities. For instance, the OSHO will be the main theme in the Council's major annual event, namely the Occupational Safety and Health Week, to be held in October this year. The Council has also organised a series of training courses, for instance, courses on manual handling operation, to tie in with the introduction of the OSHO and OSHR. As for the recent amendments to the EO, the Department will organise a major seminar with around 500 participants and launch a radio programme with Radio Television Hong Kong by the end of this year. With regard to the employment-related provisions in the Sex Discrimination Ordinance and the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, the Equal Opportunities Commission has also organised a series of education and promotion programmes including the publication of Code of Practices on Employment, Good Management Practice Series and newsletters, and the organisation of talks and seminars to business and employers' organisations. These activities aim to familiarise the employers and employees with their rights and obligations under these two Ordinances. End 8. Policy on private housing development projects explained ******************************************************** Following is a question by the Hon Lau Wong-fat and a reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: In view of the present strong demand for housing in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council whether it will, in the context of increasing housing supply, review the existing criteria for vetting development projects, so that certain development projects previously rejected for environmental reasons, such as the one at Sha Lo Tung in Tai Po, can be approved under the new vetting criteria? Answer: Madam President, I would like to thank Mr Lau Wong-fat for raising this question because it gives me the opportunity to explain the Government's policy on private housing development projects, particularly when they involve environmental considerations. To put it simply, the Government's policy is to facilitate private sector housing development while ensuring that the planning, environmental, transport, land administration and building safety requirements are met. To put the policy into practice, we have, over the years, promulgated a substantial body of approval procedures and criteria in the form of legislation and administrative guidelines. We are aware of the need to keep these procedures and criteria up to date so that they reflect the current aspirations of the community. As the Chief Executive pointed out in his speech on July 1, 1997, we will "increase the efficiency of housing production through a comprehensive review of the existing organisation and working procedures." I am glad to say that we are making good progress. We will announce the results soon. To answer Mr Lau's point about housing development projects being rejected because of environmental reasons, I wish to say clearly that environmental consideration is only one of many factors in vetting a development proposal, albeit a very important one, given Hong Kong's unique circumstances of housing more than 6 million people in a small place. What we should aim for is a balance between the need for development and environmental and ecological preservation. There is also no reason why we should not try to achieve a quality environment and development together. Indeed there are many examples in Hong Kong where this can be and have been done. Mr Lau has quoted Sha Lo Tung as an example. I would like to clarify that the development proposal has not been rejected. The publication of the draft Development Permission Area plan in January 1997 only means that the proposed land use pattern in the area has been delineated, and that a development proposal is subject to the plan and where appropriate, permission by the Town Planning Board. Persons interested to develop in the area may make an application to the Town Planning Board, if they wish to do so. End 9. Enough school places for child immigrants ensured ************************************************* Following is a question by the Hon Choy Kan-pui and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: It is learnt that more schools will be built to cater for the schooling need of children who have newly arrived in Hong Kong from the Mainland. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the districts in which the new schools to be built will be located and the reasons for selecting the districts concerned; and (b) how it ensures that there will be no excess or shortage of school places in some districts so that students will not have to study in schools outside their districts? Reply: Madam President, (a) To cater for the educational needs of child/young immigrants newly arrived in Hong Kong, the Government has planned to build 7 more primary schools and 9 more secondary schools under the School Building Programme. The scheduled completion dates of these schools fall between the academic years of 97/98 and 99/00. Their planned locations are as follows: Primary Schools District/ Sai Kung Kowloon Tsuen Kwai Kwun Sub- Academic City Wan Tsing Tong total year 1997/1998 1 2 1 1 0 5 1998/1999 1 0 0 0 1 2 Secondary Schools District/Tuen Sai Outlying Yuen Sha Northern Tai Hong Sub- Academic Mun Kung Islands Long Tin District Po Kong total year East 1999/2000 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 9 In selecting the above locations for building schools, the Education Department took into account the past distribution pattern of newly arrival child/young immigrants, the demand and supply situation of school places in the related districts and whether suitable school sites are available in the area concerned. It is estimated that the number of these child/young new immigrants will soon increase to 66 000. So plans are in hand to build another 6 primary schools and 10 additional secondary schools in the 2001/2002 academic year to meet the growing demand. The Government will closely monitor the latest position of the newly arrival child/young new immigrants in order to decide the appropriate locations for the 16 schools. (b) In view of the dynamic changes in the territory's population distribution due to such factors as district development plans and the relocation of population the Education Department conducts annual exercises to review the demand and supply of primary/secondary school places and their geographical distribution. The Education Department will used the most up to date information available on newly arrival child/young immigrants. In the event of excess or shortage of school places, generally or in a particular district, the Education Department will rectify such imbalance by increasing/cutting the number of classes and through adjusting the priorities under the School Building Programme so as to reduce the need for student to attend schools outside their district. End 10. HA training programme for nurses ******************************** Following is a question by Dr the Hon David Li Kwok-po and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Health and Welfare, Mr Gregory Leung, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: It is reported that a student nurse in the intensive care unit of the Prince of Wales Hospital mistakenly connected a nutrition pack to a tube in the patient's neck, resulting in milk being pumped into the patient's veins instead of his stomach. In this connection, does the Government know: (a) whether the Hospital Authority will conduct a review of the training programme for nurses to ensure that no similar incident will recur in future; if so, what the details are; (b) how the Hospital Authority will ensure that nurses, especially those working in intensive care units, are up to the standard required and under sufficient supervision whilst at work; and (c) whether additional provision will be allocated for recruiting more qualified nurses in public hospitals, especially in intensive care units? Reply: President, (a) The Hospital Authority (HA)'s nursing schools provide a three-year training course for student nurses in accordance with the requirements of the Nursing Board of Hong Kong. The course covers a comprehensive range of theoretical aspects and practical experience of nursing in both acute and extended care areas. The curriculum in the nursing course is under regular review in line with advances in medical technology and new developments in nursing and health services. Student nurses are required to reach expected competence in specific aspects of nursing care and procedures, including competence in patient feeding either orally or through a nasal-gastric tube. Only those who have been assessed as being competent in feeding patient are assigned the job. The incident mentioned in the Question took place in a medical ward. A full investigation into the matter is being conducted. The result of the investigation will assist the HA in identifying improvement measures required to prevent recurrence of similar incidents in the future. (b) To ensure that nurses, especially those working in critical care services, are up to the required standard and are under sufficient supervision at work, the HA has adopted the following measures - (i) Professional competence HA will ensure professional competence through recruitment of nursing staff with appropriate professional qualifications and through programmes of continuing education and training. The latter are currently provided by the HA's Institute of Advanced Nursing Studies and tertiary institutions which offer training programmes in specialised nursing areas. In 1997/98, a total of 350 nurses will attend HA's certificate and other training courses in critical care services. (ii) Clinical supervision HA will ensure that qualified senior nurses are available to supervise the work of junior nursing staff in hospitals. There is already in existence a structured system for this purpose. For student nurses, clinical supervision is provided by nurse tutors and clinical supervisors in hospitals. There are other systems and mechanisms in place in the public hospitals to ensure proper monitoring of clinical services and to safeguard professional standards. Examples of these systems include clinical audit, quality assurance system, critical incident reporting system, clinical practice guidelines and complaint management system. Due to rapid advances in technology and the increasing complexity of clinical procedures and treatment, these systems are being regularly reviewed in HA. Following the recent clinical incidents, HA has initiated a comprehensive review of various monitoring systems, including clinical audit and clinical supervision. (c) HA regularly reviews the nursing manpower situation in public hospitals and is now in the process of assessing the workload of nursing staff in pressure areas such as intensive care units. Meanwhile, HA will continue to provide training opportunities for nursing staff to enhance their professional knowledge and expertise in critical care services, including intensive care. End 11. Classification of schools by students' academic performance *********************************************************** Following is a question by the Hon Leong Che-hung and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: Will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether secondary schools in Hong Kong are currently classified into five bands, namely Band One to Band Five; if so, of the criteria for such a classification as well as the numbers of schools and students in each band; and (b) if the answer to (a) above is in the negative, whether there are any internal guidelines on the classification of schools according to the performance of their students; if so, of the details of such guidelines and the numbers of schools and students in the various categories under such a classification system? Reply: President, (a) The Government does not classify secondary schools on the basis of the academic performance of their students. Under the Secondary School Places Allocation System, every year the Education Department allocates Secondary 1 places to pupils, in order, by net, by band, by parents' choices of schools and by the computer-generated random number allotted to each pupil. Every year, the Education Department will scale the internal assessments of Primary 6 pupils in each school according to the Academic Aptitude Test results of the pupils. Primary 6 pupils in each Secondary School Places Allocation Net are divided into five equal bands based on the scaled assessments. The top 20% of the pupils are included in Band 1, the next 20% in Band 2, and so on. After such banding, all pupils in the same band are considered to have similar academic performance. Pupils in Band 1 are allocated Secondary 1 places according to their parents' choices first, then Band 2 pupils and so on. If the demand for places in a school exceeds the supply, the school places will be allocated to pupils in the same band in the order of their computer-generated random numbers. After allocating school places to pupils in Band 1, the allocation process will repeat for pupils in Band 2, until all Primary 6 pupils in the net have been allocated a Secondary 1 place. (b) The Education Department does not have internal guidelines on the classification of schools according to the academic performance of their students. End 12. Movement records at Immigration control points ********************************************** Following is a question by the Hon Ngan Kam Chuen and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Peter Lai, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: According to the data of the Census and Statistics Department, the "balance of arrivals and departures" has increased by 8.3 times from 1991 to 1996. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the actual numbers of arrivals in the past three years, as well as the projected figures for 1997 and 1998, in respect of the following categories: (a) holders of One-way Exit Permits; (b) emigrant returnees; (c) foreign domestic helpers; and (d) other categories? Reply: 1. Relevant figures are tabulated below: (a) (b) (c) (d) One-way Net movement Net increase Net increase Permit HK residents in foreign in other holders holding domestic categories permenant ID helpers cards/HK travel documents Actual figures 1994 38 200 20 400 20 800 25 200 1995 46 000 50 100 15 600 23 100 1996 61 200 63 900 7 300 -1 200 Projected figures 1997 54 750 87 000 * 36 900 1998 54 750 22 000 * 16 100 * Please see paragraph 3. Figures for part (b) of the question cannot be provided. The figures on the balance of arrival and departures are compiled on the basis of movement records captured at immigration control points. Holders of Hong Kong Identity Cards may leave or enter Hong Kong using their identity cards without being asked the purpose of their departure or arrival. Returned emigrants cannot therefore be identified from those entering Hong Kong with their identity cards. The projected figures for question (c) are not provided separately. They have been subsumed into the projected figures in category (d). The figures provided in (d) cover, among others, the number of emigrants who return to Hong Kong using foreign passports. End 13. Betting on football matches *************************** Following is a question by the Hon Chim Pui-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr David Lan, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: It is reported that football pools will be introduced in Macau. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether: (a) it is an offence under the law in Hong Kong to place bets on these pools through making telephone calls to Macau; and (b) the Government has carried out any studies on the feasibility of introducing football pools in Hong Kong as well as the effects of their introduction on the community; if so, what the details are? Reply: Madam President: (a) Under the Gambling Ordinance (Cap. 148), it is possible that people in Hong Kong who place telephone calls to Macau to bet on football matches might contravene Section 8 of the Ordinance, i.e. "betting with a bookmaker". (b) It is Government's policy not to encourage gambling but to allow limited, controlled gambling outlets to exist. In line with this policy, the Administration has not considered nor studied the possibility of expanding the authorised gambling channels to include betting on football matches. End 14. Land use criteria at Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate **************************************************** Following is a question by the Hon James Tien and a written reply by the acting Secretary for Trade and Industry, Mr Tam Wing-pong, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: In view of the scheduled completion of the road works and construction of other support facilities for the second phase of the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate in September this year, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the area of land in the second phase of the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate that has already been granted to date; and (b) whether the principle of "establishing industrial estates in order to offer land to manufacturing industries which cannot operate in multi-storey factory buildings" will be relaxed and whether the applications lodged by high- technology companies will be considered, so as to expedite the granting of land at the above Industrial Estate? Reply: Madam President, The second phase of the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate has a planned development area of 47.4 hectares. As at September 3, 7.4 hectares have been granted. Given that land is a scarce commodity in Hong Kong and that the industrial land at our industrial estates is offered at development cost, we have to ensure the optimum use of such industrial land. It is therefore important to maintain the principle that the land at the industrial estates must be used for industrial operations which cannot be carried out in multi-storey factory buildings. Those industrial operations which can be carried out in multi- storey factory buildings can be accommodated in other types of industrial premises available in the market. We greatly welcome high technology companies with new or improved products or technologies to the industrial estates, provided that the above land use condition is met. At present, the land at our industrial estates is being taken up steadily. We estimate that on present trends, the remaining land bank of the existing industrial estates will be exhausted by 2004. This has resulted in a policy decision to build a fourth industrial estate. We therefore do not see a need to relax the present land use criteria just in order to expedite the grant of land at the industrial estates. End 15. "Calling Number Display" to be introduced into 999 hotline ********************************************************** Following is a question by the Hon Ngan Kam-chuen and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Peter Lai, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: Will the Government inform this Council whether the Calling Number Display (CND) service is currently available on the telephone network of the 999 police hotline; if not, why not, and whether there is any plan to introduce the CND service on the network as soon as possible? Reply: Madam President, At present, the 999 Police hotline is not equipped with the Calling Number Display (CND) Service. The Police will upgrade the computer systems of the 999 Police hotline to enable it to receive CND signals. The CND service is expected to be introduced into the 999 Police hotline at the Hong Kong Island Regional Command and Control Centre (RCCC) in November 1997, and the Kowloon RCCC as well as the New Territories RCCC in March 1998. End 16. Employment of former SFC staff ****************************** Following is a question by the Hon Chim Pui-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services, Mr Rafael Hui, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: In view of some former officials of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) taking up appointments as senior executives of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK) and the Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited (HKFE) respectively, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the Government's stance on the above situation; and whether there are any regulations requiring former SFC officials to obtain prior approval from the Government before taking up appointments with SEHK and HKFE; and (b) whether the above situation is an indication that there is a shortage of qualified personnel suitable for appointment as senior executives of SEHK and HKFE? Reply: Madam President, (a) The Government neither encourages nor discourages the appointment of former executives of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) by the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) and the Hong Kong Futures Exchange (HKFE) as their senior executives. These appointments are made by the Exchanges concerned independently. To the extent that the SFC has a part to play, prior approval from the Commission is required only in respect of the Chief Executive positions of the two Exchanges in accordance with the Stock Exchange Unification Ordinance (Cap 361) and the Commodities Trading Ordinance (Cap 250). There are no legal requirements or contractual condition between the SFC and its employees governing the future career of SFC's staff upon their departure. Nonetheless, all members of SFC staff are governed by the secrecy provisions in the SFC Ordinance (section 59) in respect of information they obtained during their engagement with the SFC even after they have left the Commission. It should be noted that most of the SFC staff have had financial services background before joining the SFC and it is only natural that when they leave the SFC they may choose to remain in the profession. In fact there have also been cases of former staff of the Exchanges joining the SFC. These personnel movements are the result of individual decision by the personnel and the employer concerned, rather than any deliberate policy on the part of Government, the SFC or the Exchanges. (b) The fact that a few former staff members of the SFC took up senior executive positions in the Exchanges is a result of individual recruitment exercises by the two Exchanges which looked for the most suitable and qualified personnel available at the time. The appointments were all made after extensive searches in the market encompassing a very wide range of highly qualified candidates. End 17. Measures to tackle vehicle emissions ************************************ Following is a question by the Hon Paul Cheng and a written reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: It is learnt that the number of pollution-related respiratory illnesses are on the rise, particularly among the young. Moreover, the air quality has worsened recently as indicated by the Air Pollution Index (API) and the Environmental Protection Department has also acknowledged that air quality at street level is about 20 per cent worse than what the API indicates. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the reasons for the long time taken to implement the proposal to change the fuel for taxis and light buses from diesel to LPG; (b) whether there are plans to develop a more stringent policy to ensure that all vehicles are roadworthy, particularly in regard to setting more stringent standards concerning emission of pollutants; and (c) whether there are plans to review the policies and enforcement actions relating to environmental issues in the entire Pearl River Delta in conjunction with the relevant authorities in the Mainland, bearing in mind that most manufacturing activities have shifted to the southern part of the Mainland? Reply: Madam President, (a) Unlike diesel and petrol vehicles, LPG vehicles require a new supporting infrastructure which needs some time to develop. To achieve the highest safety and performance standards, we are now examining the practical issues involved in the large scale introduction of LPG vehicles. These include fuel supply and distribution, the types of LPG vehicles to be used, the number and location of LPG filling stations required, and the regulatory framework to ensure the safe operation and satisfactory repair and maintenance of LPG vehicles. The above also require consultation with fuel suppliers, vehicle suppliers and taxi operators. We shall launch a trial of LPG taxis later this year to ascertain their technical reliability in Hong Kong and to gauge the operating cost data for devising a practicable motor fuel strategy to improve air quality. (b) Our policy is to adopt the most stringent vehicle fuel and emission standards once they are technologically feasible. Under the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations, vehicles unable to comply with the specified stringent emission standards will not be registered. All vehicles, except private cars, trailers and motor cycles, are required to attend annual roadworthiness inspections during which they have to pass an emission test before their licences can be renewed. We will extend the annual inspection scheme to cover trailers in early 1998. In addition, the Transport Department is considering upgrading the vehicle exhaust smoke testing standards by reducing the maximum permitted smoke level from the current 60 Hartridge Smoke Units to 50 Hartridge Smoke Units in 1998. (c) A Hong Kong and Guangdong Environmental Protection Liaison Group has been set up since 1990 to co-ordinate and deal with environmental issues of mutual concern. Various environmental issues have been discussed and reviewed at the Liaison Group and its technical subgroup. The last Liaison Group meeting in December 1996 agreed to set up a study group to address the air pollution issues in the Pearl River Delta Region. End 18. Flood protection scheme in NT making progress ********************************************* Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Hon-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: Slow progress is being made in land resumption, and only two out of the twelve flood prevention projects under the flood prevention programme for the New Territories have been completed on schedule. In addition, there are complaints that the work procedures adopted in these projects have disrupted the flood-discharge function of the existing watercourses, which in turn leads to flooding. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the progress to date of the flood prevention projects mentioned above, and provide a timetable for the completion of these projects; (b) how the progress of these projects is monitored by the relevant departments; and (c) of the effects brought about by delays in these projects? Answer: Madam President, Difficulties in land aquisition have been overcome and construction has commenced on site for the flood protection scheme in all the 12 villages. We expect to complete works in Tai Tau Leng and Tsung Pak Long in June 1998; in Sha Po Tsuen in September 1998; in Ha Mei San Tsuen and Chau Tau Tsuen in April 1999; in Tsing Lung Tsuen, Fan Tin Tsuen, On Lung Tsuen, San Lung Tsuen, Tung Chun Wai, Wing Ping Tsuen and Yan Shau Wai in May 1999. The progress of the flood protection scheme is closely monitored by site supervisory staff either directly employed by Government or through consultants. Reports are made to the Drainage Services Department and Territory Development Department on a regular basis. No significant flooding impact has been observed in the twelve villages despite previous delays. Government will endeavour to ensure that the outstanding works are completed as soon as possible. End 19. Government plans to clear five cottage areas ******************************************** Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yuen-han and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Mr Dominic Wong, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: The Chief Executive had said that the Government would clear all cottage areas in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the details of the plans for clearing the few remaining cottage areas as well as rehousing the affected residents, and the timetable for the clearance operations; and (b) whether it will offer any compensation to the affected residents; if so, of the criteria used for calculating such compensation? Reply: Madam President, The Government plans to clear the five remaining cottage areas in Hong Kong, namely, Fo Tan, Tung Tau, Lai Chi Kok, Mount Davis and So Kon Po. We are now identifying the rehousing resources required with a view to drawing up a clearance programme soon. Affected residents will be granted ex-gratia allowances for domestic removal. Commercial operators will be given ex-gratia allowances to help them overcome temporary financial hardship resulting from the clearance. Under existing policy, no other compensation is payable. Residents who are eligible for public rental housing upon clearance will be so accommodated. They may opt to buy Home Ownership Scheme/Private Sector Participation Scheme flats with second priority green form status, or apply under the Home Purchase Loan Scheme for loans to buy flats in the private sector. Residents who are not eligible for public rental housing but are in need of accommodation will be given interim housing. No one will be rendered homeless as a result of clearance of cottage areas. End 20. Singaporean officials to serve on advisory bodies ************************************************* Following is a question by the Hon Law Cheung Kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr David Lan, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: It is reported that four officials of the Singaporean government have been appointed as members of the Action Committee Against Narcotics, Employees Retraining Board, Vocational Training Council and Standing Committee on Language Education and Research in Hong Kong respectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of: (a) the criteria adopted by the relevant authorities in inviting officials of foreign governments to serve on advisory boards and committees in Hong Kong; (b) the advisory boards and committees in Hong Kong which currently have officials of foreign governments in their membership; and (c) the advisory boards and committees in Hong Kong which currently have officials from the Mainland and Taiwan in their membership? Reply: Madam President, (a) In appointing officials from Singapore to the four advisory and statutory bodies referred to in the question, Government believes that these bodies will benefit from the experience and knowledge of the officials from overseas. Also, such arrangement will enhance greater understanding and cross fertilisation of ideas and initiatives between the officials of Hong Kong and Singapore. (b) Except for the four advisory and statutory bodies referred to in the question and the Advisory Council on the Environment, there is no other advisory bodies in Hong Kong having officials of foreign governments in their membership. (c) The current membership of the advisory bodies in Hong Kong do not have officials from the Mainland and Taiwan. End 21. Figures on registration of tutorial schools ******************************************* Following is a question by the Hon Yeung Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: The operator of an unlicensed tutorial school has recently been arrested and is now under investigation by the police. The incident indicates that there is a prevalence of tutorial schools operating without a licence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the respective numbers of tutorial schools which are registered under the relevant legislation and those whose applications for registration are still awaiting approval? Reply: Madam President, As at September 3, 1997, there were 226 tutorial schools registered or provisionally registered as a school under the Education Ordinance. Of these, 134 have been issued certificates of registration and 92 have been issued provisional certificates of registration. At present, we are handling applications for registration from 148 tutorial schools, of which 26 supplied the supporting documents to the Education Department. Their applications will be processed as soon as possible. The remaining 122 tutorial schools have not yet obtained the supporting documents required for making an application for school registration (including safety certificate issued by the Fire Services Department and documents issued by the Buildings Department or Housing Department certifying that the premises at issue are suitable for the purposes of a school). These tutorial schools are now applying for these documents from the relevant departments. Once all the documents are available, the Education Department will process the applications as soon as possible. End



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