Issued by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Information Services
Garden Road, 5th-8th Floors, Murray Building, Hong Kong. Tel: 2842 8777
Wednesday, January 21, 1998
CONTENTS
========
1. CE meets British Foreign Secretary
2. Chief Secretary attends gala dinner in Toronto
3. Stringent rules against irresponsible motorists
4. Update on avian flu
5. Task Force committed to cleaning black spots goal
6. Plastic waste shipped out of Hong Kong
7. Secondary six admission procedures revised
8. CSD sets up Rehabilitation Division
9. Smithfield Extension opens to traffic
10. Artificial reefs project commences
11. Special clinic services during Lunar New Year holiday
12. Fire safety message for marine population
13. Healthy lifestyle promoted at Lunar New Year Fair
1. CE meets British Foreign Secretary
**********************************
The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, today
(Wednesday) met the visiting British Secretary of State
for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Mr Robin Cook.
The Chief Executive exchanged views with Mr Cook on a
wide range of issues which were of interest to both Hong
Kong and the United Kingdom, including the regional
financial turmoil and latest developments in Hong Kong.
On regional financial turmoil, the Chief Executive
told Mr Cook that Hong Kong was fully committed to
maintaining the linked exchange rate.
"The linked exchange rate system provides the
necessary certainty and stability for our economic
activities. We have the confidence and ability to
maintain this system. Market players who doubt our
determination in adhering to the link will no doubt be
disappointed," Mr Tung said.
"It is a difficult time for people in Hong Kong but
we will plough ahead resolutely. We are going to invest
$235 billion in infrastructure projects in the next five
years to prepare Hong Kong for future challenges," he
said.
"With our strong economic fundamentals, prudent
financial management, efficient market systems and
opportunities arising from the growing economy in the
Mainland, I believe that Hong Kong will be the first one
to bounce back in the region," he said.
Mr Tung told Mr Cook that the "One Country, Two
Systems" policy had been successfully implemented in Hong
Kong since the reunification.
"The Central People's Government is determined to
ensure that the principle of 'Hong Kong people ruling Hong
Kong' with a 'high degree of autonomy' is fully
implemented," he said.
Mr Tung told Mr Cook that elections to the first
Legislative Council of the HKSAR would be open, fair and
honest.
"We are committed to the development of democracy,"
Mr Tung said. "Our political process will evolve in
accordance with the Basic law. I believe this is in the
best long-term interest of Hong Kong."
"We have taken the views of different sectors in the
community into account in devising details of the
electoral arrangements for the coming elections," he
added.
Mr Tung also told Mr Cook that Hong Kong had put an
end to the Port of First Asylum policy for Vietnamese
people arriving in Hong Kong illegally in future. He
appealed to the UK Government to accept more Vietnamese
refugees and lobby other resettlement countries to do the
same.
"The United Kingdom is our largest investor and
eighth largest trading partner," Mr Tung said. "We attach
much importance to our bilateral relationship and look
forwards to greater cooperation in the future."
Mr Tung was pleased to note an improved Sino-British
relationship. "A mutually beneficial partnership between
China and the United Kingdom is good for Hong Kong," he
said.
End
2. Chief Secretary attends gala dinner in Toronto
**********************************************
The Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region Government (SARG), Mrs
Anson Chan, this evening (Canada time, January 20)
attended a glittering gala dinner at the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre - the finale of the "Hong Kong-Canada
'98" promotion.
The dinner, hosted by the Hong Kong Economic and
Trade Office, was attended by more than 600 people,
including the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto;
heavyweights of the Canadian Parliament, the Ontario
Provincial Parliament, and Council of the City of Toronto,
Presidents of the Toronto University and York University,
and many other celebrities from the commercial, banking,
academic, government, and media sectors.
The two-and-a-half hour dinner ended with a 20-minute
marvellous performance by the Hong Kong Ballet which was
very well received.
Earlier in the evening at the Toronto Club, Mrs Chan
met with the chief executives and presidents of more than
20 prominent Canadian corporations and financial
institutions, such as Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce, Sun Life Insurance Company of
Canada, Canadian Pacific, Alcan Aluminium Ltd., Manulife
Financial and NOVA Corporation.
At a breakfast meeting, Mrs Chan met with business
and corporate executives, leading academia and lawyers in
the exclusive York Club, hosted by the Canadian Institute
of International Affairs.
In all the occasions, Mrs Chan spoke in length about
Hong Kong's determination to maintain the US-HK dollar
linked exchange mechanism at all cost. She explained the
rationale behind the decision not to bow to speculation on
the link which was described as the bedrock of confidence.
Mrs Chan stressed that during the past 14 years in
which many upheavals and crisis experience in Hong Kong
and worldwide, the link had provided Hong Kong relative
stability and economic growth.
She reaffirmed that the link would be kept to
maintain public confidence, without which she added Hong
Kong would see a drain of talents and cash flow.
Later, the Chief Secretary also called on the
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House of Commons
on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Mr Bill
Graham. During the meeting, bilateral trade issues and the
latest developments in Hong Kong were discussed.
In the Concert Hall of the Royal York Hotel, Mrs Chan
delivered a keynote address to about 480 business and
community leaders, government officials, think tanks and
academics at a luncheon co-organised by the Canadian Club,
the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association (Toronto), the
Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, and the Hong Kong
Trade Development Council.
Mrs Chan also conducted several one-on-one media
interviews with the mainstream media and attended a press
conference held at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade
Office.
The Secretary for Trade and Industry, Miss Denise
Yue, the Director of Information Services, Mr Thomas Chan,
and the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade
Office, Mr Donald Tong, accompanied the Chief Secretary in
her busy schedule today.
Since January 10, Mrs Chan has led a delegation
visiting Los Angeles and Miami in the US, and Ottawa and
Toronto in Canada. She and her entourage will fly to San
Francisco tomorrow (Canada time, January 21). The 12-day
promotion to US and Canadian cities is also the first
promotion mounted in North America by the SARG since the
return of sovereignty last July.
The objectives of the promotion are to update the
Canadian community and business partners on the latest
situation after the handover and to promote business
confidence in Hong Kong.
End
3. Stringent rules against irresponsible motorists
***********************************************
Traffic offences within tunnel areas will be liable
to incur driving-offence points (DOPs) upon convictions
from Friday (January 23) onwards.
Amendments to Road Traffic (Driving-offence Points)
Ordinance (Chapter 375) with related new requirements were
passed by Provisional Legislative Council today
(Wednesday).
On the amendments, a spokesman for the Transport
Department said: "Motorists committed traffic offences of
speeding and crossing double white lines within tunnel
areas will carry DOPs in addition to the original
penalties.
"It will standardise penalties for offences committed
in tunnels and on roads."
The amended regulation will be applied to government
and private tunnels including Tsing Ma Control Area:
* Cross-Harbour Tunnel;
* Eastern Harbour Tunnel;
* Western Harbour Tunnel;
* Tate's Cairn Tunnel;
* Aberdeen Tunnel;
* Lion Rock Tunnel;
* Airport Tunnel;
* Shing Mun Tunnels;
* Tseung Kwan O Tunnel; and
* Tsing Ma Control Area.
The DOPs incurred for irresponsible driving behaviour
within tunnel areas will be the same as those on roads.
Details are as follows:
* Driving in excess of speed limit by more than 15
but not more than 30 km an hour -- 3 points
* Driving in excess of speed limit by more than 30
but not more than 45 km an hour -- 5 points
* Driving in excess of speed limit by more than 45 --
8 points
* Crossing double white lines -- 3 points
"To extend DOPs System to cover offences committed
within tunnel areas will have a deterrent effect on
potential offenders.
"It serves to promote traffic safety so as to reduce
overall accident rate for tunnels," the spokesman said.
The spokesman stressed that speeding offences within
tunnel areas have been increased in recent years.
In 1994, the number of prosecution for speeding
offences in tunnels was 740. It amounted to 2,110 in
1996.
At present, regular radar speed checks are carried
out in tunnels to ensure motorists do comply with driving
regulations.
"However, it's necessary to alert motorists of
traffic safety inside tunnels," the spokesman added.
The spokesman reminded all motorists that traffic
offences will result in incurring DOPs. When a total of
15 or more DOPs have been recorded within two years,
motorists will be disqualified from driving.
End
4. Update on avian flu
*******************
The Department of Health (DH) announced today
(Wednesday) that there was no new case of influenza A
(H5N1) today.
Meanwhile, the last suspected case, involving a three-
year-old girl who had recovered and was discharged from
hospital, has been deleted from the suspected case list.
This brings the total number of cases down to 18
confirmed cases.
The conditions of these confirmed cases remain the
same as of January 16.
End
5. Task Force committed to cleaning black spots goal
*************************************************
The Task Force (Black Spots) (TFB) of the Lands
Department is committed to continuing to clean up the
environmental black spots in the New Territories in the
coming year.
In a progress report submitted to the Special
Committee chaired by Mr Daniel Heung Cheuk-kei, the TFB
stated that more than 90 per cent of the 168 environmental
black spots on private land in Pat Heung Pilot Action Area
had completed the required improvement works.
These black spots have been chosen because industrial
and open storage undertakings had been carried out there
without proper drainage facilities or noise mitigation
measures.
"The improvement works aim to mitigate the
environmental impact generated from the operation of the
undertakings. Some operators have also had their
unauthorised structures demolished, or ceased activity
after being advised or warned by the TFB," the Government
Land Agent, Mr Ian MacNaughton, said today (Wednesday).
Owners and operators have spent sums ranging from
$10,000 to $100,000 on each site and contributed towards
resolving some of the environmental, visual, traffic and
safety problems.
Appropriate approach is being explored for taking
effective long-term subsequent control.
"Since most of the work has been completed in this
area, the focus of the TFB will now move on to the Open
Storage/Workshop Action Area in Ha Tsuen/Lau Fau Shan," Mr
MacNaughton said.
The Action Area in Ha Tsuen/Lau Fau Shan will consist
of 208 sites sprawling along the main carriageways such as
Tin Ha Road and Ping Ha Road.
On another front, in order to provide properly
planned sites for the parking of container vehicles and
related services, the TFB had taken the initiative to
apply to the Town Planning Board for approval to such uses
on a Government site in DD 88, Fu Tei Au.
"The Town Planning Board gave its approval in October
1997. It is expected that the site, providing a total
gross floor area of about 29,000 square metres, will be
sold by public tender in late 1998 following completion of
a clearance," Mr MacNaughton said.
"If successfully tendered, the development will be
the first of its kind to be provided in the New
Territories," he added.
A territory-wide survey conducted in April 1997
showed that Hong Kong was generally in lack of container
port back-up facilities.
"In view of the strong demand for container storage
and repair facilities, and the recent approval by the Town
Planning Board, the TFB will endeavour to look for more
suitable sites for similar use," Mr MacNaughton said.
In 1997, a total of 13 container depots covering some
35 hectares in Ha Tsuen and Lau Fau Shan have completed
environmental improvement works, in line with the Code of
Practice.
The code has been drawn up by the TFB in consultation
with the Hong Kong Container Depots and Repairers
Association Limited to regulate the operations within
container depots.
"The TFB is also actively persuading container depot
operators in Tuen Mun, Tai Lam Chung and So Kwun Wat to
carry out similar improvement works," Mr MacNaughton
added.
End
6. Plastic waste shipped out of Hong Kong
**************************************
In response to media enquiries, a spokesman for the
Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said today
(Wednesday) that the all the waste salvaged so far from a
sunken vessel in Mirs Bay was shipped out of Hong Kong on
Saturday (January 17) and taken to Yantian for recycling.
The shipment was arranged after EPD staff had
inspected the salvaged waste and found no indication that
the waste was contaminated, the spokesman said.
The vessel, Xing Yie 525, was reported to be carrying
38 containers of plastic scrap when it sank in Mirs Bay on
January 1, 1998. So far, 37 containers have been
recovered.
The spokesman said the waste, consisting mainly of
plastic bottles and bags, has been given permission for
recycling in the Mainland.
"The whole shipment had been previously inspected by
a mainland-approved agent whilst in transit in Hong Kong,
and found to be uncontaminated and suitable for import
into mainland China for recycling.
"Accordingly, it was not necessary for the waste
owner to obtain a permit from the EPD prior to shipping
the waste through Hong Kong.
"The EPD and the Marine Department have been liaising
with the waste cargo owner, his shipping agent and other
parties concerned to ensure that the salvaged waste is
taken out of Hong Kong to its intended destination."
"The small quantity of remaining waste yet to be
recovered, if found to be uncontaminated, will also be
shipped to mainland China as soon as possible," the
spokesman said.
End
7. Secondary six admission procedures revised
******************************************
The Education Department has streamlined the
procedure for Secondary Six (S6) admission, shortening
Stages I and III of the procedure, to help reduce any
anxiety on the part of students looking for an S6 school
place.
The revised procedure, which will take effect from
1998, followed a review of the 1997 procedure, an
Education Department spokesman said today (Wednesday).
In reviewing the procedure, the Education Department
has collected views and suggestions from various sources,
including educational organisations, interested parties,
the public, the Provisional Legislative Council Panel on
Education, as well as press comments. Relevant school
councils, secondary school head associations and parents'
associations were consulted.
The revised procedure has been designed -
- to be fair and open;
- to ensure equity to students;
- to allow students to exercise their choice;
- to facilitate smooth and efficient operation for
schools; and
- to minimise uncertainty and anxiety to schools and
students.
The existing five-stage procedure will remain but
Stages I and III will be shortened to half-day operation.
Under normal circumstances, Stages II and IV will
last for one-and-a-half days and they will commence in the
afternoons of Day 1 and Day 3 respectively upon completion
of the previous stages.
"Such an arrangement will allow students who cannot
secure an S6 place in their own school to apply to other
schools earlier and therefore ease their anxiety," the
spokesman said.
In the 1998 admission procedure, District Education
Offices will display a list of schools with vacancies in
their own district for the information of students on Day
1 at 2 pm.
The territory wide vacancy situation, as in previous
years, will be announced in the mornings of Day 2 and Day
4 respectively through the media and at District Education
Offices.
To facilitate students to apply to other schools of
their choice in Stages II and IV, schools will be
requested to opt for one of the following methods of
admission:
a) admit and register students instantly upon
application; or
b) receive applications first and announce the whole
admission list before the end of the respective
stage.
District Education Officers will continue to conduct
random checks on schools to ensure that they comply with
the revised procedure.
The Education Department takes a serious view of any
breach of the procedure and will take action against
schools concerned, the spokesman said.
Schools are informed of the revised procedure by
circular today. A briefing session for school heads or
teachers in charge of S6 admission will be conducted in
March 1998. Leaflets and summary tables on the revised
procedure will be distributed to schools separately.
Private candidates will receive the leaflets and
summary tables from the Hong Kong Examinations Authority
when it sends out the Hong Kong Certificate of Education
Examination (HKCEE) Identification Forms.
End
8. CSD sets up Rehabilitation Division
***********************************
With the establishment of the Rehabilitation
Division, the Correctional Services Department (CSD) has
been restructured to reflect the growing importance of the
reformation of offenders, a spokesman for the CSD said
today (Wednesday).
The new division, with a staff of about 350, is
headed by Assistant Commissioner, Mr Pang Sung-yuen, who
was previously Assistant Commissioner (Operations).
"The Assistant Commissioner (Rehabilitation) will be
responsible for giving directives and formulating
strategies for the long-term development of the
rehabilitation services for inmates.
"He will also facilitate the smooth operation of the
relevant statutory prison sentence review boards and the
management of half-way houses, as well as to deal with
pressure groups and other concerned bodies on
rehabilitation matters.
"Additionally, he has to identify gaps and overlaps
in existing services, both within CSD and with other
delivery agencies, as well as establishing an action plan
and ensure its proper implementation.
"Organisationally, he will become the focal point at
which all the work relating to the rehabilitation and
aftercare services will be co-ordinated," said the
spokesman.
The Rehabilitation Division is supported by three
sections - Rehabilitation Section, which includes the Pre-
Sentence Assessment Panel, Aftercare Unit and Education
Unit; the Psychological Services Section, and the Chief
Executive Officer (Rehabilitation) which looks after
administration matters.
The current Operations Division will remain unchanged
except the titles of the two supporting posts of Senior
Superintendent (Young Offenders) and Senior Superintendent
(Adult Offenders), have been re-named Senior
Superintendent (Penal Administration) and Senior
Superintendent (Penal Operations) respectively.
This Division is now headed by Assistant
Commissioner, Mr H S Rutton, who was previously Assistant
Commissioner (Personnel).
The Personnel Division has been re-named Personnel
and Training, and is headed by Assistant Commissioner, Mr
Chan Kong-sang, who was previously Chief Superintendent of
Stanley Prison.
The Inspectorate and Management Services Division
remains unchanged.
End
9. Smithfield Extension opens to traffic
*************************************
Traffic conditions in Western District would be
further improved with the opening of the Smithfield
Extension on Saturday (January 24), the Assistant Director
of Highways (Major Works), Mr John Chai, said.
Announcing the opening of the new road section, Mr
Chai said today (Wednesday) that the extension would
provide additional capacity for traffic through Western
District from the Western Harbour Crossing to Pok Fu Lam
Road and Aberdeen.
Linking Pok Fu Lam Road with the existing Smithfield
in Kennedy Town, the Smithfield Extension is a 760-metre
long road which carries two-way traffic. It consists of:
* an underpass beneath Pok Fu Lam Road and Pok Fu Lam
Road Playground;
* an elevated road on the existing slope below Pok Fu
Lam Road; and
* an at-grade road.
Together with Belcher Bay Link and other local
traffic management schemes, the new road would relieve the
existing capacity problems at the section of Pok Fu Lam
Road between Western Street and Mount Davis Road.
Additional capacity for through traffic from Pok Fu
Lam Road heading Connaught Road West and the Western
Harbour Crossing will also be provided.
Starting from Saturday, motorists on Belcher's Bay
Link heading for Pok Fu Lam Road can travel via Belcher's
Bay Link, Sands Street, Rock Hill Street, Smithfield,
Smithfield Extension and Pok Fu Lam Road.
For motorists on Pok Fu Lam Road heading for
Belcher's Bay Link, they can route via Pok Fu Lam Road,
Smithfield Extension, Smithfield, Forbes Street, Cadogan
Street, Kennedy Town New Praya and Belcher's Bay Link.
The $370 million project, started in February 1995,
was designed and supervised by Pypun Engineering
Consultants Ltd as consultant to the Highways Department.
End
10. Artificial reefs project commences
**********************************
The sinking of a ferrocement barge at Hoi Ha Wan
today (Wednesday) marks the commencement of an artificial
reefs project implemented by the Agriculture and Fisheries
Department (AFD).
An AFD spokesman pointed out that this redundant
vessel was among the ten boats to be deployed as
artificial reefs (ARs) to serve as a habitat for marine
life in the first stage of the project.
"AFD had secured $100 million for the project and the
deployment of ARs in Hong Kong would take place over the
next three years," said the spokesman.
"The first stage, to be completed by April, will
deploy a total of 10 redundant vessels and wrecks as
artificial reefs in Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park and Yan Chau
Tong Marine Park."
These 10 vessels will include wooden fishing boats,
as well as steel and ferrocement river barges up to 42
metres in length.
The spokesman pointed out that ARs were very
effective in aggregating fish and would enhance existing
habitats and fisheries resources.
"Over the last two decades, Hong Kong's fisheries
resources and remaining ecologically important marine
habitat have come under increasing pressure from coastal
development, pollution and fishing.
"The deployment of ARs is one of the ways to
alleviate these adverse impacts on local fisheries," he
said.
The spokesman added that the success of the AR
project in Hong Kong would depend on effective management
and support from local fishing community.
"Discussions with the fishing community have been
very constructive. Fishermen are prepared not to fish on
these AR to ensure benefits to surrounding fisheries are
maximised," he said.
End
11. Special clinic services during Lunar New Year holiday
*****************************************************
The Department of Health today (Wednesday) announced
that special clinic services would be provided to the
general public during the Lunar New Year holiday.
A spokesman for the department said today
(Wednesday): "There will be no evening out-patient clinic
service on Tuesday (January 27) which is Lunar New
Year'Eve."
No clinic services will be provided on Wednesday
(January 28), Lunar New Year's Day.
"However, holiday clinic services will be
strengthened on Thursday (January 29) and Friday (January
30),
12. Fire safety message for marine population
*****************************************
The Fire Services Department (FSD) will launch its
annual fire protection publicity campaign for the fishing
community and boat dwellers with the approach of the Lunar
New Year period when a large number of fishing vessels are
expected to return to their bases.
This year, the campaign will begin tomorrow
(Thursday) at Aberdeen typhoon shelter which FSD's Marine
Division officers will visit on board fireboats to convey
the fire protection message. Fireboats will also later
visit typhoon shelters at Shau Kei Wan, Causeway Bay, Yau
Ma Tei, Tuen Mun and Cheung Chau.
The campaign is aimed at:
* patrolling typhoon shelters on fireboats to ensure
that the fairways and fire lanes are properly
maintained;
* educating fishermen and boat people on their
awareness of fire prevention and the proper
procedures to be taken during outbreaks of
emergencies; and
* conducting fire prevention broadcasts by fireboats
and distributing fire prevention pamphlets.
End
13. Healthy lifestyle promoted at Lunar New Year Fair
*************************************************
Members of the public will be able to know more about
healthy lifestyle by visiting a health education booth set
up by the Department of Health (DH) at the Lunar New Year
Fair at Victoria Park starting this Saturday (January 24).
Promoting the theme of "Healthy Lifestyle", the booth
is jointly set up by the Department's Central Health
Education Unit, the Oral Health Education Unit and the
AIDS Unit with an aim to arouse the interest of the
general public on the importance of healthy lifestyle in
health promotion and disease prevention.
Visitors to the DH booth will be able to obtain
educational materials such as pamphlets, spring festival
couplets and souvenirs.
The DH booth at the Lunar New Year Fair at Victoria
Park will operate from Saturday (January 24) to Tuesday
(January 27). Operating hours will be from 3 pm to 10 pm
on January 24 and 25, 5 pm to 10 pm on January 26 and 3 pm
to midnight on January 27.
End
PROVISIONAL LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL MEETING SUPPLEMENT
CONTENTS
========
1. Resolution on HK Bill of Rights (Amendment) Ordinance 1997
2. Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions) Ordinance
3. Hong Kong Bill of Rights (Amendment) Bill 1998
4. Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) (Amendment) Bill 1998
5. Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 1998
6. Foreshore and Sea-bed (Reclamations) (Amendment) Bill 1998
7. Consumer Protection
8. Progressive approach to promote mother-tongue teaching
9. Guidelines on fair and objective media coverage of
election campaigning to be published
10. Performance of consultancy firms monitored
11. Government efforts to rehouse bedspace apartment lodgers
12. Statistics on labour importation scheme for new airport
13. Land requirement of WR (Phase II) to be identified
14. Blankets distributed to needy people during cold spells
15. Fines for illegal parking on private roads
16. Data in respect of the Airport Core Projects Job Centre
17. Provision of facilities for disabled students encouraged
18. Government has no intention of splitting EMB
19. Means test for prospective public housing tenants
20. Co-ordination of cross-boundary infrastructure projects
21. Travel agent licence
22. Strategy developed for promotion of occupational health
23. Commercial information readily available
1. Resolution on HK Bill of Rights (Amendment) Ordinance 1997
**********************************************************
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Home
Affairs, Mr David Lan, in moving a resolution to extend
the suspension period of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights
(Amendment) Ordinance 1997 in the Provisional Legislative
Council today (Wednesday):
Madam President,
I move the resolution standing in my name on the
Agenda. The resolution is to be made under section 2(3)
of the Legislative Provisions (Suspension of Operation)
Ordinance 1997 and seeks to extend the period of
suspension for the operation of the Hong Kong Bill of
Rights (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 (the "Amendment
Ordinance").
On 29 October 1997, Members approved a resolution to
extend the suspension period of the Amendment Ordinance
until 31 January 1998 to allow the Administration more
time to examine the views of the Hong Kong Bar Association
on the Amendment Ordinance against the concerns we have on
the uncertainty it introduces into the law.
As I said earlier in moving the Second Reading of the
Hong Kong Bill of Rights (Amendment) Bill 1998, we have
now completed our detailed examination of the Amendment
Ordinance, having regard to the original intent of the
Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, the legal implications
of the Amendment Ordinance and the various views we
received from different quarters during this period.
To allow Members sufficient time to consider the
Bill, I now propose to seek a further extension of the
suspension period for the Amendment Ordinance by one more
month until 28 February 1998. We believe that the
extension, if approved, is in the interest of due
legislative process and the public interest.
Madam President, I beg to move.
End
2. Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions) Ordinance
************************************************
Following is a speech by the Secretary for the
Transport, Mr Nicholas Ng, in moving a motion to amend the
Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions) Ordinance under
(Cap. 237) in the Provisional Legislative Council today
(Wednesday):
Madam President,
I move the motion standing in my name on the agenda
concerning the Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions)
Ordinance.
Court costs are payable under section 20B of the
Ordinance by a person who, having initially disputed
liability for a fixed penalty and been served with a
summons, subsequently changes his mind and selects not to
pursue the matter in court. In order to terminate the
court proceedings, he has to pay a double fixed penalty
and $440 in court costs.
The existing court cost of $440 was set in May 1995.
In order to maintain their value in real terms, the court
c order to maintain their value in re real terms, the
court costs should be increased by 14 per cent accordingly
to the Government Consumption Expenditure Deflator from
1995/96 to 1997/98.
We therefore propose to increase the court costs from
$440 to $500 to recover these.
Madam President, I beg to move.
End
3. Hong Kong Bill of Rights (Amendment) Bill 1998
**********************************************
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Home
Affairs, Mr David Lan, in moving the second reading of the
Hong Kong Bill of Rights (Amendment) Bill 1998 in the
Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Madam President,
I move that the Hong Kong Bill of Rights (Amendment)
Bill 1998 be read the Second time.
The Bill seeks to repeal the two new subsections 3(3)
and 3(4) of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance as
added by the currently suspended Hong Kong Bill of Rights
(Amendment) Ordinance 1997, hereafter referred to as the
Amendment Ordinance.
We have now completed a detailed examination of the
Amendment Ordinance, having regard to the original intent
of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, the legal
implications of the Amendment Ordinance and the various
views we received from different quarters during this
period. To say that the legal arguments involved are
complex is probably an understatement, which explains why
it has taken us longer than we think it would to present
this Bill to the Council.
Let me assure Honourable Members upfront that the
present proposal is not, repeat not, about taking away any
rights of any individual. On the contrary, we seek to
ensure that the rights of the individual would not be
inadvertently compromised through the uncertainty and the
confusion that we think may have been added by the
Amendment Ordinance. To tackle the problem at source, we
must remove the uncertainty and the confusion; and we are
seeking to do so by repealing the Amendment Ordinance
altogether. Let me explain.
Honourable Members will recall that the Amendment
Ordinance was meant to reverse a Court of Appeal ruling in
1991 to make the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance
applicable to all pre-existing legislation, regardless of
whether that legislation affects legal relations between
the Government, public authorities and private persons or
whether it affects relations between private persons.
However, the newly introduced section 3(3), when read
with section 7 of the Ordinance which stipulates that the
law's binding effect applies to Government and public
authorities only, could give rise to more than one
interpretation, and could have inadvertently imposed
obligation on private citizens, contrary to the original
intent of the Ordinance. We believe that the existence of
legal uncertainty in our statute book is highly
undesirable and cannot be in the public interest.
Accordingly, we seek to repeal the Amendment Ordinance.
In the course of examining the matter, we have come
across the legal argument that as a general principle of
international law, a state should take positive steps,
including legislative measures, to prevent interference
with fundamental rights by private individuals. We have
no problem with this argument, but we do not think that
this obligation is derived from the Hong Kong Bill of
Rights Ordinance. More importantly, we have taken legal
advice that, whereas we have an obligation under the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) to prevent the interference with the fundamental
rights by private individuals, it is a matter for each
jurisdiction to decide what measures to take in the
implementation of the ICCPR obligation on inter-citizen
relations. In other words, it is not essential to enact
legislation along the lines of the Amendment Ordinance.
Our policy on the protection of inter-citizen
relations is clear. We have been making efforts since
1991 to amend any legislation inconsistent with the ICCPR
even where such legislation concerns only inter-citizen
relations. As such, the Court of Appeal ruling of 1991
has little or no practical significance. Moreover, the
human rights provisions in the Basic Law, Hong Kong Bill
of Rights, together with our track records of implementing
specific anti-discrimination and privacy protection
policies through enacting specific legislation should have
adequately met the requirements under the ICCPR.
More fundamentally, Article 39 of the Basic Law
provides that the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong
residents shall not be restricted unless as prescribed by
law and that such restrictions shall not contravene, inter
alia, the provisions of the ICCPR as applied to Hong Kong
through the laws of the HKSAR. In other words, the Basic
Law has guaranteed that Hong Kong residents will at least
enjoy the human rights standard prescribed under the
ICCPR.
What we now propose will therefore in no way water
down our protection of human rights. Our human rights
record has been good and can rival anywhere in the world.
I would go further to point out that what the Amendment
Ordinance set out to do has already been achieved through
the various Government measures and mechanisms. The Bill
will therefore do no more than seek to remove vestiges of
the unnecessary uncertainty the Amendment Ordinance brings
into the law.
To allow Members adequate time to consider the Bill,
I shall be moving a resolution later today to seek the
Council's agreement to further extend the suspension
period of the Amendment Ordinance for one month until the
end of February.
With these remarks, I commend this Bill to Members.
Thank you, Madam President.
End
4. Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) (Amendment) Bill 1998
*******************************************************
Following is the speech by the Secretary for
Security, Mr Peter Lai, in moving the second reading of
the Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) (Amendment) Bill
1998 in the Provisional Legislative Council today
(Wednesday):
Madam President,
I move that the Fire Safety (Commercial Premises)
(Amendment) Bill 1998 be read a second time.
Immediately after the Garley Building fire in
November 1996, the Buildings Department (BD) and Fire
Services Department (FSD) conducted a sample survey on
fire safety conditions in old commercial buildings. The
survey revealed that most of the buildings surveyed do not
have modern fire service installations (FSIs) and have
deficiencies in means of escape, means of access and fire
resisting construction. They recommended, and the
Administration agreed that there was a need to introduce
legislation to upgrade fire safety measures of old
commercial buildings.
The Bill seeks to extend the coverage of the Fire
Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance, which came into
operation in May 1997, to cover pre-1987 old commercial
buildings. The Bill will empower the Director of
Buildings and the Director of Fire Services, as the
enforcement authorities, to require owners and occupiers
of old commercial buildings to improve or upgrade the fire
safety measures in their buildings.
Similar to the requirements in the existing Ordinance
for commercial premises, owners and occupiers of old
commercial buildings will be required to provide or
improve one or more additional fire protection measures
including emergency lighting, automatic cut-off devices
for mechanical ventilating systems, manual fire alarm
systems, fire hydrant and hose reel systems and automatic
sprinkler systems. The new legislation will also require
improvements to building structures including means of
escape, means of access for firefighting and rescue and
fire resisting construction. In the light of the comments
received during the public consultation on our legislative
proposals and the subsequent discussions between BD and
the building professionals, the Department has refined its
proposed construction requirements. To adopt a pragmatic
and flexible approach, as requested by the building
professionals during their discussions with BD, the
Director of Buildings will accept other appropriate
alternative measures for improving building structures for
fire safety in place of any of the requirements in BD's
Codes of Practice.
The authorities may issue directions to require
owners or occupiers to improve fire safety measures with
reference to their Codes of Practice. A direction will
specify a reasonable time period during which the
requirement must be met. A pragmatic and flexible
approach will be taken in enforcing the proposed
legislation, with the emphasis on encouraging owners or
occupiers of affected buildings to comply with the
specified requirements. The authorities will take action
under the legislation only if the owners or occupiers fail
to comply with the direction issued by them. The
authorities may apply to a magistrate for a fire safety
improvement compliance order, directing an owner or
occupier to comply with the requirements in a direction,
if he fails to do so without a reasonable excuse.
If an owner or occupier failed to comply with a
direction or a fire safety improvement compliance order,
the authorities may apply to the District Court for a
Prohibition Order to prohibit the occupation of the
commercial building.
We plan to implement the legislation by phases to
lessen the impact on the public. Our first priority is to
deal with the some 400 commercial buildings with their
building plans first submitted to the Building Authority
on or before 23 March 1973. The installation of
sprinklers was not a mandatory requirement on these
buildings at that time. We aim to complete the first
phase in three years after the commencement of the
legislation. Based on the experience gained from the
first priority group, we will conduct a review to cover
the remaining pre-1987 commercial buildings. Our second
priority will be to deal with the 1,000 or so commercial
buildings whose building plans were first submitted before
a substantially revised edition of the Code of Practice on
Minimum Fire Service Installations and Equipment took
effect on 1 March 1987. Such buildings were not
constructed or designed to the fire safety standards laid
down in the 1987 Code of Practice which require modern
FSIs of standards that are very close to current ones.
During the consultation exercise on the legislative
proposals which took place from May to July 1997, concerns
were expressed in some submissions on the costs and
practical difficulties in complying with the fire safety
requirements. To assist owners of commercial buildings
and premises to finance upgrading works, we are planning
to set up a $200 million Fire Safety Improvement Fund to
provide practical assistance to those affected by the
existing Ordinance for prescribed commercial premises and
the Bill.
We intend to put forward a submission to request for
the funds to the Finance Committee in March 1998.
The new Home Affairs Department Building Management
Resource Centre, to be set up in mid-1998, will provide
information and advice to building management bodies on
ways to improve the fire safety facilities of their
buildings. We are planning to set up a display unit and a
library with information on registered contractors, the
legislative requirements that they need to comply, and
practical advice on the installations and works that are
necessary to comply with those requirements.
The Provisional Legislative Council Panel on Security
was briefed on 16 October 1997 on the proposed
legislation, and Members were supportive of the objective
of improving fire safety of old commercial buildings.
Early enactment of this Bill is essential for the
authorities to take action to improve the fire safety
standards of old commercial buildings in the territory. I
urge Honourable Members to give this Bill speedy
consideration.
Thank you, Madam President.
End
5. Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 1998
****************************************
Following is the speech by the Secretary for
Security, Mr Peter Lai, in moving the second reading of
the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 1998 in the
Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Madam President,
I move that the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill
1998 be read a second time.
The Bill seeks to amend the Criminal Procedure
Ordinance to provide for the determination of minimum
terms of imprisonment for prisoners who were under the age
of 18 when they committed murder and were sentenced to
mandatory life imprisonment. There are four such cases.
The new section 67C of the Criminal Procedure
Ordinance, enacted in June 1997, provides for the
determination of minimum terms for prisoners serving
discretionary life sentences and prisoners being detained
at Executive discretion, which was called Her Majesty's
pleasure or HMP before 1 July 1997. Due to a technical
omission, the current legislation does not apply to
mandatory life imprisonment cases. It was believed at the
time of the law drafting process that the scope of the
legislation has already covered those four mandatory life
cases.
It has always been our policy intent to treat
mandatory lifers who committed murder under the age of 18
in the same way as those detained at Executive discretion.
The prisoners in the four above-mentioned cases were
sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment because they were
convicted of murder and were sentenced after section 70 of
the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, which provided for
detention at HMP, was repealed in 1993 and replaced by
mandatory life imprisonment terms. In nature, those four
mandatory life imprisonment cases were no different from
Executive discretion cases.
Therefore, we propose to amend the Criminal Procedure
Ordinance so that the same minimum term arrangements will
apply to prisoners who committed murder when they were
under 18 years of age, no matter whether they were
sentenced before or after 1993. We also propose that the
Chief Justice be required to recommend minimum terms for
those four mandatory life cases within six months from the
commencement of the amended legislation, and the Chief
Executive to make a determination as soon as practicable,
after taking into account the Chief Justice's
recommendations and the prisoners' written
representations. The proposed procedures will be the same
as those applicable to the determination of minimum terms
for discretionary life prisoners and Executive discretion
prisoners.
Thank you, Madam President.
End
6. Foreshore and Sea-bed (Reclamations) (Amendment) Bill 1998
**********************************************************
Following is a speech by the Secretary for Planning,
Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, to move the Second
Reading of the Foreshore and Sea-bed (Reclamations)
(Amendment) Bill 1998 in the Provisional Legislative
Council today (Wednesday):
Madam President,
I move that the Foreshore and Sea-bed (Reclamations)
(Amendment) Bill 1998 be read the Second time. The Bill
aims to amend the Foreshore and Sea-bed (Reclamations)
Ordinance (Cap 127) to stipulate a general time limit of 9
months for dealing with objections that are lodged under
the Ordinance in respect of a proposed reclamation.
At present, any person who considers that he has an
interest, right or easement in or over the foreshore and
sea-bed that is subject to a proposed reclamation may
object to the proposed reclamation under the Ordinance,
but there is no time limit for processing such objection.
We have become increasingly concerned that some
objectors have deliberately deployed a delaying tactic in
their discussion with Government on their objections by
producing seemingly new arguments at the last word stage.
Whilst we uphold the principle of allowing objectors a
fair and reasonable opportunity to elaborate on their
objections, we should not inadvertently allow such
discussions to protract to such an extent that the
interests of the community will be compromised as a result
of a delay in the commencement of the proposed
reclamations.
It is essential that the proposed legislative
amendments be put in place now so that any objections to
proposed reclamations will be dealt with more efficiently
and effectively. Reclamations are a means to provide land
for various housing projects, the implementation of which
will help the Government to achieve its flat production
commitment. In addition, certain urgent infrastructure
improvement, in particular those related to transport,
will need to be constructed through reclamations.
Notwithstanding a statutory time limit, the
Administration will continue to be obliged to deal with
all objections in a fair manner. The limit would be a
clear signal to objectors that Government is determined to
resolve objections within a reasonable time. If
justified, the time limit may be extended.
Madam President, the Bill is an essential one in the
interest of the community and I commend the Bill to
Honourable Members for early passage into law.
End
7. Consumer Protection
*******************
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Law Cheung-kwok
and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Trade and
Industry, Mr Tam Wing-pong, in the Provisional Legislative
Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Will the Government inform this Council :
(a) whether it knows the current number of unredeemed
cake coupons sold by cake shops and video rental coupons
sold by video rental shops in Hong Kong and the respective
amount of money involved;
(b) of the protection which the consumers have in
respect of the purchase and redemption of such coupons;
and
(c) whether there are any existing legislation
regulating the sale and redemption of such coupons and
providing for the ways of handling unredeemed coupons by
the companies concerned in the event of their impending
closures; if not, how the authority can safeguard the
interests of consumers?
Reply:
(a) Our bureau does not compile the information that
the Hon Law Cheung-kwok is looking for, concerning
unredeemed cake coupons sold by cake shops and video
rental coupons sold by video rental shops.
(b) Prepayment is a very common practice in Hong
Kong. Other than cake shops and video rental shops,
transportation companies, department stores, health clubs,
beauty salons, mooncake clubs, gold clubs, hotels,
restaurants, magazine publishers, and concert or, drama
organisers, etc. also offer this form of payment method.
Consumers will generally obtain coupons/cards/stored
value tickets which they can redeem at a later time to
receive the goods or services in return for the advanced
payment. Advanced payment arrangements are becoming more
popular because they offer flexibility and convenience and
often price discounts for consumers. Issuing
organisations can also obtain cashflow benefits to help
them develop their business. Prepayment is mutually
beneficial for and hence very popular among businessmen
and consumers.
Apart from the issue of multi-purpose stored value
cards, which is regulated under the Banking Ordinance, and
the regulation and control of outbound package tours under
the Travel Agents Ordinance, Hong Kong does not have
specific legislation to regulate prepayment. However,
Hong Kong has a number of consumer protection legislation
to protect consumers in the course of general trade
transactions. For example, the Sale of Goods Ordinance
provides that where the seller wrongfully neglects or
refuses to deliver the goods to the buyer, the buyer may
maintain an action against the seller for damages for non-
delivery. The Supply of Services (Implied Terms)
Ordinance stipulates that service suppliers must provide
services within a reasonable time. The common law also
has similar provisions.
(c) Currently, Hong Kong does not have legislation on
the issue and use of cake coupons or video rental coupons.
We do not see the need to regulate the arrangement for
consumers to prepay for goods and services because -
First, innovative business practices are essential to
the development of Hong Kong's vibrant economy. If we
adopt an all-embracing method to regulate prepayment, it
may stifle such creative practices and reduce their
flexibility in financial management and ultimately limit
consumer choice. We must strike a proper balance between
the need for more regulatory measures to protect consumers
on the one hand and the need to avoid imposing undue
burden on the business sector and reducing consumer choice
on the other.
In addition, the costs of regulation may outweigh the
benefits. The problem arising from prepayment for goods
and services is not widespread and the amount of money
involved is usually relatively limited. On the other
hand, regulation will likely generate administration costs
which the trader will inevitably pass on to consumers. We
must therefore examine the cost-effectiveness of any
proposal to regulate.
If businesses close down before providing prepaid
goods or services, consumers generally have several
channels to seek compensation -
(i) in case the company is liquidated, consumers
can file their claims with the liquidator under the
Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32), and be entitled to
compensation as normal creditors. Their priority is
behind the government and employees but before
shareholders;
(ii) consumers can also take civil action under
common law or other relevant legislation. The Consumer
Council's Consumer Legal Action Fund can assist consumers
in this; and
(iii) in case unscrupulous trading practices are
involved, relevant government departments can also take
criminal action under various consumer protection
ordinances. The Police will also be involved in cases
with commercial fraud element.
Supplementary Information
1. complaint statistics
Please see attached table. (Updated statistics to
the end of December will be available Monday
morning.)
2. reasons for not regulating prepayment across-the-
board
- complaint statistics does not indicate a widespread
issue
- regulation will generate administrative costs for
businesses which will either pass them onto
consumers or refrain from the prepayment practice
altogether
3. regulatory options as suggested by the Consumer
Council
- escrow account : requiring companies to keep a
portion of the total prepayment amount in an escrow
account; to be monitored by the auditors
- central fund : holding prepayment money in a
centrally administered fund
- third party insurance : requiring coupons to be
guaranteed by a third party such as a bank or
insurance company
- levy fund scheme : companies contributing a portion
of the prepayment intake to a central fund to help
consumers in the event of a company failing
4. difference between multi-purpose stored value cards
(e.g. Mondex) and single-purpose prepaid coupon e.g.
rental coupons
- Mondex plays the role of cash by involving goods
and services provided by third parties; able to
affect the stability of the banking and payment
system much more than single purpose prepaid
coupons
5. differences between the travel agent industry and
cake shop and video rental industries
- all three industries involve a lot of consumers but
the money involved per person is usually much
higher in the travel industry
- travel agent industry is a regulated industry
involving central licensing; no such requirement
for cake shops or video rental shops
6. benefits of prepayment
- to businesses :i. cash flow
ii. collateral-free form of
financing
iii. guaranteed business
iv. build up customer loyalty
- to consumers : i. convenience
ii. very often involves discount
7. overseas experience of prepayment regulation
- UK Minister of Consumer Affairs has a proposal to
require prepayments for pre-paid funerals be put
into a trust fund subject to strict rules on
withdrawal, investment, etc.
- (still researching on other regulatory measures in
practice)
End
8. Progressive approach to promote mother-tongue teaching
******************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Lo Suk-ching and a
reply by the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr
Joseph W P Wong, in the Provisional Legislative Council
today (Wednesday):
Question:
The Education Department has announced a list of 100
secondary schools which may use English as the medium of
teaching ("English-medium secondary schools") in the next
academic year. In this connection, will the Government
inform this Council:
(a) whether, in allowing a quarter of the secondary
schools in Hong Kong to use English as the medium of
teaching, it has assessed its negative effect on the
authorities( efforts to promote the policy of mother-
tongue teaching;
(b) of the criteria adopted for assessing the need
for 100 English-medium secondary schools; whether the
number of English-medium secondary schools will be revised
in accordance with such need, or increased when more
secondary schools are capable of using English as the
medium of teaching in future;
(c) of the respective numbers of the so-called Band 1
schools among these 100 English-medium secondary schools
and other secondary schools adopting mother-tongue
teaching; and
(d) whether it has any plan to implement mother-
tongue teaching in all secondary schools in Hong Kong; if
so, what the implementation timetable is?
Reply:
Madam President:
I would like to point out that the aim of the
Government's language policy is for our students to be
biliterate and trilingual. We expect them to be able to
master written Chinese and English and speak fluent
Cantonese, Putonghua and English. Mother-tongue teaching
is an effective means to help students achieve this
objective.
May I briefly explain the background to the policy on
medium of instruction. Researches worldwide and in Hong
Kong have clearly shown that the appropriate medium of
instruction for most students is their mother tongue.
Students will be better able to understand what is being
taught, analyse problems, express views, develop an
inquiring mind and cultivate critical thinking. In order
to help our students learn all academic subjects
effectively, including language subjects, the Government
has been advocating mother-tongue teaching since early
1980s. Following last year's extensive consultation with
educational bodies and the public, the Government
published the Medium of Instruction Guidance for Secondary
Schools, requiring most public sector schools to adopt
Chinese for teaching all academic subjects, starting with
their 1998/99 Secondary 1 intake and progressing each year
to a higher level of secondary education.
I would now like to respond to the Honourable Lo Suk-
ching's question.
(a) During the public consultation on the above
Guidance, some respondents were of the view that mother-
tongue teaching should be fully implemented at once.
However, there were also arguments for allowing some
schools to use English as the medium of teaching so long
as they satisfied the necessary requirements. Having
carefully considered and balanced the views of different
quarters, the Government has decided to adopt a
progressive approach whereby schools that intend to
continue to use English as the medium of instruction could
be allowed to do so provided they fulfil the requirements
regarding student ability, teacher capability, and support
strategies and programmes to give sound school-based
assistance to students.
When the implementation of the Guidance commences in
the 1998/99 school year, the number of Chinese-medium
schools will increase from about 70 to over 300. This
reflects significant progress in the promotion of mother-
tongue teaching.
(b) In accordance with the arrangement mentioned
above, 124 schools applied to the Vetting Committee for
Medium of Instruction Guidance for Secondary Schools to
use English as the medium of teaching in the coming
academic year. The Vetting Committee approved
applications from 100 schools taking into account such
criteria as student ability, teacher capability and
support strategies and programmes. Among those schools
whose applications were not approved by the Vetting
Committee, 20 schools have appealed to the Appeals
Committee for Medium of Instruction. The Appeals
Committee is currently processing these cases.
I must emphasise that the Government has not
predetermined any quota for English-medium secondary
schools. The Government will monitor the implementation
of the policy on mother-tongue teaching and review the
situation in three years' time. Our goal is to have more
and more secondary schools adopting mother-tongue
teaching.
(c) The quality of education in a school does not
depend on whether English is used as the medium of
teaching. It depends on factors such as the school's aims
and tradition, the quality of teachers, the learning
environment and school management. In fact, the
distinguished schools in Hong Kong include both English-
medium and Chinese-medium schools. Most of the new
Secondary 1 students in the schools approved by the
Vetting Committee to teach in English are Band 1 and Band
2 students. There are also Band 1 and Band 2 students in
Chinese-medium schools.
(d) We will continue to encourage more secondary
schools to adopt mother-tongue teaching, and will provide
supporting measures to enhance English language teaching
and learning in schools which adopt mother-tongue
teaching. We will consider additional measures to further
support these schools. In the next three years, we will
review the situation, and study the best way to achieve
the ultimate goal of mother-tongue teaching.
End
9. Guidelines on fair and objective media coverage of
election campaigning to be published
****************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Wong Siu-yee and a
reply by the Acting Secretary for Constitutional Affairs,
Mr Clement Mak, in the Provisional Legislative Council
today (Wednesday):
Question:
To ensure that there will be fair, objective and
balanced media coverage of the political views and
activities of the candidates in this year's Legislative
Council elections, will the Government inform this
Council:
(a) whether currently there is legislation to ensure
that the relevant media coverage is carried out in
accordance with the principles of fairness, objectivity
and balanced reporting; if so, what the details are;
(b) whether it has planned to issue guidelines to the
media, requiring that their relevant coverage be carried
out in compliance with the above principles;
(c) of the role and tasks which Radio Television Hong
Kong (RTHK) will perform in regard to the elections; and
of the specific measures to ensure that the relevant
RTHK's programmes are hosted by presenters who are known
for their neutral stance;
(d) whether it has plans for setting up a mechanism
for handling expeditiously complaints about unfair media
coverage, with a view to completing and publishing the
results of the relevant investigations as soon as possible
before the election day?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) & (b) In order to ensure that there will be fair,
objective and balanced media coverage of the political
views and election activities of the candidates in the
Legislative Council elections, the Electoral Affairs
Commission (EAC) will issue guidelines in accordance with
the Electoral Affairs Commission Ordinance to provide for
matters such as election broadcasting, media reporting and
election fora, etc. Last December, the EAC held public
consultation on the specific details of the above
guidelines. According to the consultation paper, election
broadcasting should follow the "equal time" principle,
i.e. there should be equal time in a programme for
candidates of the same constituency or for lists of
candidates in the same geographical constituency.
Besides, it is also pointed out in the proposed guidelines
that no unfair advantage should be offered by anybody,
including broadcasters and publishers, to any candidate
over others regarding election campaigning. Nor should a
candidate obtain any unfair advantage.
The EAC calls on the mass media professionals to
adhere to the above principle so as to ensure that
election campaigning will be conducted in a fair and equal
manner.
Guidelines on Election-related Activities in respect
of the 1998 Legislative Council Elections will be
published in late February or early March this year. The
public can have access to the Guidelines at the
Registration and Electoral Office (REO) or various
district offices. The REO will also distribute the above
Guidelines to radio stations, TV stations, the press and
various media organisations.
(c) RTHK has been promoting wider interest in
elections among citizens and encouraging them to vote. In
the 1998 Legislative Council elections, apart from
producing programmes to promote voter registration and
encourage voters to cast their votes, it will, after the
close of nomination period, produce a series of programmes
to present the platforms of the candidates systematically.
In addition, election fora will be held to enable voters
to have a better understanding about the candidates. In
order to collect more ideas on how the programmes should
be produced, a seminar was organised by the RTHK last week
to listen to the views of people from all walks of life
and of the political parties.
The guidelines issued by the Electoral Affairs
Commission which I mentioned just now apply also to RTHK.
The Director of Broadcasting, being the Chief Editor of
RTHK, has the responsibility to ensure that RTHK's
programme production adheres to the principle of fair,
balanced and objective reporting, and that all candidates
are fairly and equally treated. As for specific
arrangements for programme production, including the
choice of programme presenters, they are matters within
the area of RTHK's programme production and will be
decided by RTHK in accordance with laid down procedures.
(d) Regarding the handling of complaints about
election-related matters, including complaints about
unfair media coverage, the EAC will set up a Complaints
Committee consisting of 3 members of the EAC and 1
District Court Judge. Members of the public may lodge
complaints about unfair media coverage with the REO or the
Complaints Committee. After a complaint has been
received, the Complaints Committee will take prompt
actions to deal with the complaint or refer it to the
relevant authorities as appropriate.
According to the proposed guidelines formulated by
the EAC, if the EAC comes to know of unfair or unequal
treatment of candidates by any mass media professional,
publisher or forum organiser, it may consider adopting the
following measures:
(1) to request that remedial measures be taken
by the organisation concerned to address the complaints
lodged; or
(2) to issue a warning to the persons concerned
to terminate the activities being complained of; or
(3) to make a reprimand or censure in a public
statement which may include the names of the candidates
favourably and unfavourably treated and the broadcaster,
publisher or forum organiser concerned; and
(4) the EAC may also refer the matter to the
Broadcasting Authority or other relevant authorities for
appropriate action to be taken.
All complaints about unfair media coverage will be
dealt with by the Commission expeditiously. However,
whether investigations can be completed and results
published before the election day will depend on the date
the complaint is lodged and the complexity of the case.
Any complaints about elections should be lodged as soon as
possible so that the Commission can handle them
expeditiously and take appropriate action.
End
10. Performance of consultancy firms monitored
******************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Choy So-yuk and a
reply by the Secretary for the Treasury, Mr Kwong Ki-chi,
in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Will the Government inform this Council :
(a) of the reasons for government departments
commissioning consultancy studies;
(b) of the established criteria for government
departments to assess and review the effectiveness of the
work undertaken by the engaged consultancy firms;
(c) whether there is any standing mechanism for
reviewing these criteria regularly; if so, what the
details are; and
(d) whether there were cases in the past 3 years in
which government departments terminated their contracts
with consultancy firms on grounds of poor service quality
or ineffective work; if so, of the number of such cases?
Reply:
Madam President,
My answers to the question raised by the Hon CHOY So-
yuk are seriatim as follows -
(a) Government departments would consider engaging
consulting firms for consultancy studies in the following
circumstances -
(i) where studies are required in areas in which
Government does not have the necessary expertise or
qualified staff; or
(ii) where the qualified staff for the studies
are not available, or cannot be deployed for the purpose,
within the required timeframe; or
(iii) where it is more appropriate for the
assignment be undertaken by an independent third party, or
consultants of renowned academic credentials or expertise
in the area.
(b) Government has established three consultants
selection boards, namely the Architectural and Associated
Consultants Selection Board (AACSB), the Engineering and
Associated Consultants Selection Board (EACSB), and the
Central Consultants Selection Board (CCSB), to advise on
the appointment of consulting firms and its procedures for
consultancy studies costing more than $500,000.
These three boards have laid down procedures and
guidelines for the assessment and monitoring of the
performance of the consultants in the conduct of
consultancy studies. Departments have to assess the
performance of the consultants and report to the relevant
consultants selection board on a regular basis. The
reports include assessments by the departments concerned
of the individual aspects of performance of the
consultants. As the nature of consultancies covered by
each of the three boards is different, the assessment
reports required by the three boards also differ.
However, the main aspects which are assessed are common.
They include the competence of the consulting team, the
quality of the deliverables produced by the consultants,
the practicability and effectiveness of the
recommendations and proposals forwarded, application of
professional knowledge, and the effectiveness of the
consultancy.
(c) The consultants selection boards, being
responsible for laying down the guidelines and procedures
for assessing the effectiveness of the work undertaken by
the consulting firms, are also responsible for reviewing
the monitoring systems and the assessment criteria in the
light of experience. CCSB last reviewed its procedures in
November 1997, while AACSB and EACSB last reviewed theirs
in 1995.
(d) No consultancy has been terminated in the past
three years on grounds of poor service quality or
ineffective work.
End
11. Government efforts to rehouse bedspace apartment lodgers
********************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Chan Choi-hi and a
reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr David Lan, in
the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question :
Regarding accommodation for single persons, will the
Government inform this Council :
(a) of the measures in place to prevent people
(including operators of "cage homes") from partitioning
one flat into 11 or less small rental cubicles in an
attempt to circumvent the Bedspace Apartments Ordinance;
and
(b) whether it has plans to :
i. increase the number of singleton hostels; and
ii. build singleton hostels with supportive
rehabilitation facilities;
if so, what the details are; if not, why not ?
Reply :
Madam President,
I wish to thank the Honourable CHAN Choi-hi for
raising this question. It gives me an opportunity to
briefly explain the Administration's efforts to rehouse
the bedspace apartment lodgers affected by the Bedspace
Apartments Ordinance.
(a) Under the Bedspace Apartments Ordinance, bedspace
apartment means any flat in which there are 12 or more
bedspaces used as sleeping accommodation under rental
agreement for individuals. No matter how an operator
decorates or alters his bedspaces, including positioning
the 12 bedspaces inside a few small cubicles, it is still
regarded as bedspace apartment and is subject to the
control of the Ordinance. On the other hand, "small
cubicle" is generally not regarded as bedspace and is not
subject to the control of the Bedspace Apartments
Ordinance.
The objective of the Bedspace Apartments Ordinance is
to provide for a statutory licensing scheme to regulate
the fire and building safety of bedspace apartments (or so
called "cage homes"). After the enactment of the
Ordinance, the bedspace apartment operators have been
given a period of exemption to allow them to carry out
upgrading works in order to obtain licences. The
exemption period will expire in July and thereafter the
Authority will step up enforcement of the Ordinance. Any
bedspace apartment which does not conform with the
statutory safety standards will not be issued with a
licence. The operator of an unlicensed bedspace apartment
will be prosecuted.
(b) Upon full implementation of the licensing scheme
under the Bedspace Apartments Ordinance, we anticipate
that some operators will reduce the number of bedspaces
for the purposes of obtaining licences. Some may choose
to close down because they are unable or unwilling to
upgrade the safety standards. As a result, some lodgers
may have to move out from the bedspace apartments.
Government has undertaken that no bedspace apartment
lodgers will be rendered homeless as a result of the
licensing scheme. The displaced lodgers will be assisted
with rehousing if they so require. The various channels of
rehousing are described below :
(i) Displaced lodgers aged below 60 may apply for
admission into Home Affairs Department's singleton
hostels. At present there are 38 hostels with a capacity
for 538 lodgers. These hostels are in the urban
districts. In addition, a purpose-built hostel with a
capacity for 300 singletons is being constructed at Shun
Ning Road, Shum Shui Po. It is progressing well and is
scheduled for completion in mid-1998 to tie in with the
full implementation of the licensing scheme under the
Ordinance. The Home Affairs Department will continue to
purchase suitable flats for use as singleton hostels.
(ii) Lodgers aged 60 or above, or with
medical/health problems and in urgent need of housing will
be considered by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) for
admission into public housing units or welfare
institutions through compassionate rehousing. In the past
three years, about 900 bedspace apartment lodgers were
rehoused by SWD.
According to the Housing Department (HD), ordinary
single persons including bedspace apartment lodgers may
apply for public housing through the Waiting List.
Applicants aged 58 or more will be eligible for
consideration under the "Elderly Persons Priority Scheme"
or "Single Elderly Persons Priority Scheme" and will
normally be offered housing units within two years. HD
plans to provide about 44000 units for single or elderly
persons in the next five years.
In each Housing for Senior Citizens project which is
designed for the elderly, a 24 hours warden service is
provided by HD. The staff will organise social activities
to promote mutual care amongst the residents. However,
warden service is not provided at other housing units for
the singletons/elderly but some special facilities for the
elderly and the wheelchair bound such as grab-rails,
enlarged entrance doors and modified bathing facilities
will be provided.
A survey by the then City and New Territory
Administration in 1994 revealed that there were 160
bedspace apartments with a total population of about 4000.
The Home Affairs Department inspected all registered
bedspace apartments at the end of 1997. The number of
bedspace apartments in operation is 105 (including 30 new
bedspace apartments since the 1994 survey) and the
population is about 2300. The reduction in the number of
bedspace apartments and lodgers is mainly due to
Government's efforts to rehouse the lodgers (e.g. 900
lodgers rehoused as described above).
By July 1998, all bedspace apartments will have
completed the upgrading works and will meet the statutory
fire and building safety standards. The displaced lodgers
will be assisted with rehousing as described in the above
paragraphs.
Thank you.
End
12. Statistics on labour importation scheme for new airport
*******************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Chan Wing-chan and
a written reply by the Secretary for Education and
Manpower, Mr Joseph W P Wong, in the Provisional
Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
With regard to the "Special Importation of Labour
Scheme for the New Airport and Related Projects", will the
Government inform this Council of:
(a) the number of persons who came to work in Hong
Kong under the Scheme in each of the years from 1990 to
1996; and
(b) a breakdown of the data in respect of these
persons on a yearly basis by:
(i) sex and age;
(ii) sex and education level;
(iii) age and education level;
(iv) education level and positions held in Hong
Kong;
(v) age and positions held in Hong Kong?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The breakdown of the number of imported workers
admitted under the Special Labour Importation Scheme for
the New Airport and Related Projects (SLIS) by the year of
their arrival from 1990 to 1996 is at Annex A.
It should be noted that the figures refer only to the
number of imported workers who arrived in Hong Kong in
each of these six years. As these workers have to leave
Hong Kong on expiry of their employment contracts, these
arrival figures are not the same as the number of imported
workers who were working in Hong Kong at any one time
during this period.
(b) We are not able to provide the requested
breakdown of the data in respect of the imported workers
who were admitted under the Scheme because we have not
captured the statistics on the particulars of these
workers in the detailed manner set out in the question.
Nevertheless, we can provide a breakdown of all the
workers admitted from 1990 to 1996 by major job titles at
Annex B.
Annex A
-------
Arrival Statistics of Imported Workers Admitted
Under the SLIS
(as at 31 December 1996)
Year Number of Arrivals
1990 0
1991 34
1992 203
1993 1,738
1994 2,429
1995 4,764
1996 4,708
Annex B
-------
Imported Workers Admitted Under the SLIS
Breakdown by Post
(as at 31 December 1996)
Job Titles Number of Workers
Admitted
Unskilled Labourer 1,751
Carpenter (Formworks) 1,013
Concretor 663
Electrician (Building Contractor) 590
Rigger 519
Plant and Equipment Operator 472
Leveller 355
Construction Plant Mechanic 342
Welder 327
Precast Operative 296
Metal Worker 287
Metal Scaffolder 283
Tug Master/Crew 281
Precast Erector 239
Heavy Dump Truck Driver 230
Vessel Operator/Coxwain/Marine Operator 211
Drainlayer 195
Plant Operator 166
Foreman 163
Deckhand 140
Fitter 138
Mould Installator 138
Plasterer 136
Crew 133
Insulator 132
Plumber 128
Construction Plant Operator 128
Dredger Operator/Mechanic 111
Laboratory Technician 103
Carpenter 99
Erector 96
Oiler 96
Mechanical Engineering Technician 96
Mechanic 94
Driller 91
Structural Steel Worker 91
Paving Block Layer 79
Demolition Worker 68
Pipe Line Civil Worker 65
Diver 64
Electrician (Building Construction) 61
Plant Mechanic 59
Technician 53
Painter 51
Surveying Technician (Land) 50
Precast Labour 50
Others (e.g.Precasting Cell Operator, 2,943
Hydraulic Plant Operator,
Dump Truck Driver and
General Assistant
(Accommodation))
End
13. Land requirement of WR (Phase II) to be identified
**************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Ho Chung-tai and a
written reply by the Secretary for Transport, Mr Nicholas
Ng, in the Provisional Legislative Council today
(Wednesday):
Question:
It is reported that some pieces of land in the West
Kowloon Reclamation Area, originally reserved for
municipal and social service facilities, will be taken
over by the West Rail project. In this connection, will
the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the planned municipal and social service
facilities have been affected or delayed; if so, what the
details are; and
(b) how it will ensure that the municipal and social
welfare facilities planned for the district will be
completed as scheduled, for the enjoyment of the
community?
Reply:
Madam President,
The section of West Rail (WR) from Yen Chow Street
southwards through the West Kowloon Reclamation forms part
of Phase II of the project, the implementation of which is
dependent on the outcome of our further studies on cross-
boundary passenger and freight services and our continuing
discussions with the Mainland authorities.
The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) has
been carrying out engineering studies on this section of
WR in order to identify its land take requirement and
potential interfaces with the existing and planned
facilities along the proposed rail route.
As regards the specific questions raised, the answers
are as follows:
(a) The relevant government departments are at the
preliminary stage of drawing up the schedule of
accommodation and conceptual layout for the planned
municipal and social service facilities within the
Government/Institution/Community (G/IC) sites in the West
Kowloon Reclamation which include an Indoor Recreation
Centre, a multi-storey carpark, a complex incorporating a
home for the aged, a care and attention home, a family
service centre and other uses. The rail alignment
currently proposed by KCRC may take up a small portion of
the land along the edges of the planned G/IC sites. Since
both the WR alignment and the planned community facilities
are preliminary, it would be premature to say at this
stage which facilities would be affected.
(b) The relevant government departments, including
the Urban Services Department and Social Welfare
Department will liaise with KCRC to ensure that the impact
of WR on the planned municipal and social welfare
facilities is kept to a minimum and that such facilities
can be provided in a timely manner.
We have briefed a Working Group under the auspices of
the Yau Tsim Mong Provisional District Board regarding the
possible interface issue and will keep its members updated
regularly on the latest development.
End
14. Blankets distributed to needy people during cold spells
*******************************************************
The following is a question by the Hon Choy Kan-pui
and a written reply by the Secretary for Health and
Welfare, Mrs Katherine Fok, in the Provisional Legislative
Council today (Wednesday):
Question :
In early December 1997, the authority gave out
blankets to street sleepers when the temperature dropped.
In this connection, will the Government inform this
Council:
(a) of the total number of street sleepers and their
distribution in various districts in the territory at
present;
(b) of the number of staff deployed in each district
to give out blankets to street sleepers and the total
number of blankets given out during that period;
(c) whether there was a stipulation that each street
sleeper should only receive one blanket;
(d) whether the authority had received requests from
non-street sleepers for blankets during that period; if
so, whether such requests were granted; and
(e) whether there were any deaths caused by the drop
of temperature during that period, if so, of the number of
the deceased and the number of street sleepers among them?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) According to statistics kept by the Social
Welfare Department (SWD), there were 1026 street sleepers
in Hong Kong as at 30 November 1997. The distribution of
street sleepers throughout Hong Kong is set out at Annex
I.
(b) During the cold spell in early December last
year, 488 blankets were distributed to street sleepers by
104 SWD staff. Some street sleepers might have moved to
more sheltered locations or cold shelters because of the
low temperatures and thus were not readily accessible
during the blanket distribution exercise. 34 persons were
accommodated in the shelters operated by the Home Affairs
Department on 8 December 1997. The number of staff
mobilized in each district is set out at Annex II.
(c) Depending on the needs or circumstances of the
individual, more than one blanket may be distributed to a
street sleeper. According to SWD records, 431 street
sleepers received a total of 488 blankets during the
blanket distribution exercise on 8 December 1997.
(d) Apart from street sleepers who are the principal
target beneficiaries of blankets distributed by SWD during
cold spells, social workers of the Department also
distribute blankets to those who are in genuine need of
warm clothing or blankets. For example, during the cold
spells in December last year, blankets were also
distributed to 18 elderly persons who made such requests
through SWD's Hotline Service. The Hotline is manned by
SWD staff on a 24-hour basis to answer enquiries and
provide immediate assistance to persons in need, when the
temperature drops below 12ºC.
(e) According to information from the Department of
Health, there were no deaths caused by hypothermia, (i.e.
low body temperature as the underlying cause of death),
among the cases referred to the Forensic Pathology Service
between 1-10 December 1997.
End
Annex I
Distribution of the Location of Street Sleepers
(as at 30.11.1997)
District No. of Street Sleepers
Yau Tsim Mong 286
Sham Shui Po 275
Central and Western 109
Kowloon City 107
Wan Chai 69
Eastern 48
Tsuen Wan 44
Wong Tai Sin 33
Kwun Tong 21
Northern 12
Sha Tin 6
Tai Po 6
Kwai Tsing 5
Yuen Long 3
Southern 1
Tuen Mun 1
Total : 1,026
Annex II
Distribution of Blankets During Cold Spell in
December 1997
(8.12.1997)
District No. of Blankets No. of Staff
Yau Tsim Mong 100 11
Sham Shui Po 39 12
Central and Western 42 8
Kowloon City 90 18
Wan Chai 60 10
Eastern 40 10
Tsuen Wan 22 2
Wong Tai Sin 14 3
Kwun Tong 14 4
Northern 30 4
Sha Tin 6 3
Tai Po 12 4
Kwai Tsing 8 1
Yuen Long 6 5
Southern 5 5
Tuen Mun 0 4
Total : 488 104
15. Fines for illegal parking on private roads
******************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Tang Siu-tong and
a written reply by the Secretary for Transport, Mr
Nicholas Ng, in the Provisional Legislative Council today
(Wednesday):
Question:
Will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it knows that there are private housing estates
which impose a higher amount of fines than that stipulated
in the Road Traffic (Parking on Private Roads) Regulations
for unauthorized parking on their private roads; if so,
what the existing situation is;
(b) there is any penalty for not following the
Regulation and not charging the stipulated amount of fines
for unauthorized parking on private roads; if not, what
the reasons are; and
(c) it has plans to step up control on private
housing estates imposing fines on unauthorized parking?
Reply :
Madam President,
(a) Schedule 2 of the Road Traffic (Parking on
Private Roads) Regulations, Cap. 374 specifies the fees
for impounding, removal and storage of vehicles illegally
parked in private roads. Transport Department received
two complaints in 1997 about overcharging for illegal
parking on private roads. However, since the information
provided was incomplete, the complaints could not be
substantiated.
(b) The owner of any private road has the authority
and responsibility to manage the road. They can take any
reasonable measures within the law to prevent and stop
illegal or unauthorised occupation of the road, including
illegal parking. Nevertheless, such action may be subject
to disputes, and the Road Traffic (Parking on Private
Roads) Regulations provide the explicit legal authority
for private roads owners to impound, remove and store any
vehicle which is illegally parked on the private roads.
Schedule 2 of the regulation specifies the fees which a
private road owners can charge the vehicle owners for such
enforcement action. Vehicle owners are not obliged by law
to pay any amount other than those fees specified in the
Schedule. By refusing to release the vehicle when a
vehicle owner is willing to pay the amount of fees
prescribed in the law, the private road owner is liable to
be sued in tort for wrongful detention of the vehicle.
(c) It is up to a land owner of a private road, if he
so wishes, to try to recover, within the legal remedies
available to him, any costs or damages he may have
incurred as a result of illegal parking committed in the
private road. Schedule 2 aims to provide a simple
mechanism for a remedy. We aim to set the fees in
Schedule 2 generally at a level sufficient to recover the
costs of enforcement actions and we have proposed to this
Council to increase the impounding, removal and daily
storage fees to bring them in line with the corresponding
fees in respect of illegal parking on public roads
generally. The revised fees will reflect more closely the
costs incurred by the management companies concerned.
With these new rates, we hope to avoid unnecessary
disputes between road owners and vehicle owners/drivers.
We have written to the Hong Kong Association of Property
Management Companies, asking them to remind their members
of the level of fees set out in the law. When the
proposed new fees are approved, we shall ask the
management companies concerned to display the new scale of
fees prominently on private roads for public information
and compliance.
End
16. Data in respect of the Airport Core Projects Job Centre
*******************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Chan Wing-chan and
a written reply by the Secretary for Education and
Manpower, Mr Joseph W P Wong, in the Provisional
Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Will the Government provide this Council with the
following data in respect of the Airport Core Projects Job
Centre during its operation, by job categories:
(i) the number of registered vacancies;
(ii) the number of registered job-seekers;
(iii) the number of eligible job-seekers;
(iv) the number of persons who were given
interviews;
(v) the number of persons who were selected for
employment; and
(vi) the number of persons who were not selected for
employment?
Reply:
Madam President,
The Airport Core Projects (ACP) Job Centre was
jointly run by the Airport Authority and the Mass Transit
Railway Corporation from January 1996 to August 1997. It
provided a series of employment services to facilitate ACP
contractors to recruit local workers for their works
projects and to place local workers in the relevant job
vacancies.
My replies to the specific parts of the question are
as follows:
(i) The monthly breakdown of the number of registered
vacancies by major job titles from June 1996 to June 1997
is at Annex A. (The same data for the period of January
to June 1996 and July to August 1997 are not available.)
(ii) & (iii) The monthly breakdown of the total
number of job seekers registered from January 1996 to
August 1997 are at Annex B. The breakdown of such
statistics by major job titles is not readily available.
(iv), (v) & (vi) A comprehensive table showing a
breakdown of the referral results by major job titles is
at Annex C. This covers the number of persons:
(a) interviewed (column 1);
(b) selected for employment (column 3);
(c) not selected for employment (column 6);
(d) who failed to turn up for interviews (column 2);
(e) who accepted job offers (column 4); and
(f) who declined their offers (column 5).
End
17. Provision of facilities for disabled students encouraged
********************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Henry Wu and a
written reply by the Secretary for Education and Manpower,
Mr Joseph W P Wong, in the Provisional Legislative Council
today (Wednesday):
Question:
In order to encourage and assist eligible disabled
persons to pursue studies in the tertiary institutions and
earn their degrees, will the Government inform this
Council whether:
(a) it knows the total number of disabled persons
studying in the local tertiary institutions over the past
three years, and the respective numbers of those enrolled
in full-time courses and in part-time courses;
(b) it is aware of any improvements made by the
tertiary institutions to their physical facilities during
the same period in order to assist disabled students in
their studies and facilitate their attendance at classes;
and
(c) it has granted subsidies to the tertiary
institutions for the improvement of their physical
facilities for disabled students; if not, why not?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The total number of disabled students studying in
the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded institutions
and the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) over the past
three years is:
Academic Year
1995-96 1996-97 1997-98
UGC-funded Institutions
Full-time 27 32 38
Part-time 9 8 6
Sub-total 36 40 44
OUHK*1 59 64 86
TOTAL 95 104 130
OUHK*1 The Open University of Hong Kong provides
higher education through distance learning.
Most of the students are working adults
studying part-time.
(b)&(c) It is Government's policy to encourage the
tertiary institutions to provide adequate facilities for
disabled students. For UGC-funded institutions, minor
improvement works for disabled students costing less than
$2 million each can be met from the recurrent grants
allocated to the institutions. We have also provided
additional capital funding for the institutions to carry
out large-scale improvement works on campus to facilitate
access by disabled students.
In City University of Hong Kong, a purpose-built room
with special equipment for disabled students/users and
with a seating capacity of 13 has been set up in the
university library at a cost of $250,000. The University
will be granted a further $9.2 million for additional
improvement works to be started in 1998-99, which include
an accessibility audit on campus building, installation of
audible signal and tactile markings to lifts and
escalators, visual fire alarm, etc. Subsequent phases of
the improvement works will be undertaken subject to the
accessibility audit and the approval of funding by the
Legislature.
A special room is provided in Hong Kong Baptist
University's library for visually impaired users. The
Government has granted $4 million to the University in
1997-98 to improve the facilities for disabled students in
the campus. These include ramps in lieu of staircases,
verbal enunciators and operation panels in lift cars, hall
buttons for the blind and audible signals for lifts in
lobbies, etc. The University will be granted a further
$2.6 million for carrying out these works in 1998-99.
The new campus of Lingnan College in Tuen Mun,
including the Main Building, Academic Building, Library,
Gymnasium and Auditorium (still under construction) and
the student hostels were designed to facilitate movement
of wheel-chair and visually-impaired users. Existing
provisions include:
* elevator cars serving all major floors are equipped
with a secondary low-level control button panels
for wheelchair users. The dwell time and the
closing speed of the elevator doors have been
adjusted to facilitate these users. The entrance
width and the car sizes are sufficient to
accommodate wheel-chairs;
* all the major floors are linked up by covered
walkways, elevators and ramps. All these floors
are provided with disabled toilets;
* at the back of each lecture theatre, a couple of
designated spaces are designed for the use by
wheelchair users;
* flush threshold is provided in most of the doorways
and gateways; and
* disabled toilets and additional ramp for wheel-
chairs users are provided in student hostels.
Shower cubicles and student bedrooms are
specifically modified for wheelchair users.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong was granted $9.6
million in 1997-98 by the Government to carry out the
first phase of improvement works for the disabled. These
include the provision of lifts in three buildings hitherto
without lift service. The University was also granted
some $3 million in 1997-98 for the purchase of equipment
for disabled students. These include library tables with
adjustable height for wheelchair users, special equipment
for the library system for translating screen information
from computer into braille, software to enable voice
output of information displayed on a computer screen for
visually impaired students and the setting up of a special
study room for disabled students in the Main Library. The
University will be granted a further $12 million over the
next two years to provide elevators with added lift shaft
structures at more buildings.
All the facilities provided for disabled students at
the Hong Kong Institute of Education's new Tai Po campus
are in compliance with the latest statutory requirements.
Over the past three years, the Hong Kong Polytechnic
University has acquired various facilities and equipment
for the disabled at a cost of $400,000. These include
learning aids for visually impaired students, book
trolleys in the library, transfer tier, lifeguard lift for
disabled users in the swimming pool, designated disabled
car parking spaces and access ramp, special access in
lecture theatres, special signs and additional lighting.
The University was also granted $4.84 million in 1997-98
to improve accessibility for the disabled on campus. The
scope of works includes the provision of hydraulic lifts,
mobile elevating platforms, audible announcement in lifts,
tactile guide paths, additional signs, ramps, railings and
disabled toilets.
A number of improvement works have recently been
undertaken in the Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology to facilitate disabled students, such as the
provision of dropped kerbs, removal of obstructions on
pavements and improved lighting. In addition, the
University assists disabled students by providing
listening equipment for the hearing impaired and
magnification equipment and large computer monitors for
the visually impaired.
An Action Committee was set up in the University of
Hong Kong in 1996 to look into the needs of disabled
students. The Committee has carried out a pilot access
audit on the main administration building and planned to
fully implement the recommendations of the access audit
which will cost $1.4 million. This pilot study will form
the template for similar access audits of other buildings.
The University has also introduced and upgraded facilities
throughout the campus, e.g. new handrails to staircases,
voice synthesizers to lifts and ramps on a regular basis.
Over the next two years, the University will be granted an
additional $4.63 million to carry out improvement works to
the access of and to install lifts and bridge links
between buildings.
The Open University of Hong Kong is a self-financing
tertiary institution but the construction of its campus is
financed by the Government. Facilities are provided at
the university campus to facilitate access by disabled
students. These include special toilets, buzzers and
ramps for wheelchair access on every floor, brailled keys,
electronic speaking floor announcer and lower control
panels in all lifts, and chairlift and automatic sliding
doors in the library. There is also a Disabled Students
Centre in the library where special equipment is available
for disabled students.
End
18. Government has no intention of splitting EMB
********************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Lee Kai-ming and a
written reply by the Secretary for Education and Manpower,
Mr Joseph W P Wong, in the Provisional Legislative Council
today (Wednesday):
Question:
It has been reported that the experts commissioned to
review Hong Kong's education-related executive and
advisory structure indicated in their preliminary report
that there are contradictions in the existing arrangement
of placing the Education and Manpower Bureau in charge of
both manpower and education policies, and proposed that
the Government should study the issue in detail. In this
connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has any plan to split the Education
and Manpower Bureau into two separate bureaux; if so, when
the plan will be implemented; if not, why not; and
(b) of the strategies adopted by the Education and
Manpower Bureau to reconcile the differences between the
two policy areas, and the deployment of manpower within
the Bureau in order to simultaneously fulfil its duties in
both policy areas?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) In November 1997, the Education and Manpower
Bureau (EMB) invited three education experts to assist in
the review of education-related executive and advisory
bodies. While they were in Hong Kong, they had heard
about views on splitting the EMB into two separate
Bureaux, dealing with education and manpower policies
respectively. The three experts have not made any firm
recommendations in this respect. They have, however,
acknowledged the important links between education and
manpower policies.
Education is the key to a high-quality workforce in
the community. It covers not only basic but also higher
education. Tertiary institutions produces professionals
like teachers, doctors and engineers etc. to cope with the
demand in the labour market. The important interplay
between education and manpower policies is also reflected
in areas like vocational training, continual and
professional education, and training and retraining for
the workforce.
By overseeing both education and manpower, EMB
commands a macro view of manpower demand and supply,
changes in the labour market and the corresponding
education, training and retraining requirements. This
facilitates co-ordination among various executive agents
such as the University Grants Committee, the Education
Department, the Vocational Training Council and the
Employees Retraining Board in the implementation of
education and manpower policies. Therefore, we have no
intention of splitting the EMB into two separate bureaux.
(b) The Secretary for Education and Manpower (SEM) is
assisted by different Deputy Secretaries (DS) and
Principal Assistant Secretaries (PAS) who look after
education and manpower issues respectively. Regular
meetings are held among SEM and the DS and PAS to ensure
that the work of the Bureau is carried out in a co-
ordinated manner. SEM also maintains close contacts with
the heads of relevant departments e.g. the Director of
Education and the Commissioner for Labour to ensure that
the relevant policies are well implemented. He is also
advised by professionals of various disciplines as well as
members of the community through different education and
manpower-related advisory bodies.
End
19. Means test for prospective public housing tenants
*************************************************
Following is a question from the Hon Chan Choi-hi and
a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Housing, Mr
Leung Chin-man, in the Provisional Legislative Council
today (Wednesday):
Question:
In his Policy Address, the Chief Executive stated
that the Government would introduce in 1998 a means test
of income and assets for all prospective public housing
tenants in order to ensure that public rental flats are
allocated to those in genuine need. In this connection,
will the Government inform this Council whether
prospective public housing tenants include people living
in temporary housing areas?
Reply:
Madam President,
At present, residents of Temporary Housing Areas
(THAs) affected by clearance exercises are eligible for
public rental housing provided that they meet the
following criteria -
(a) they must be authorised occupants registered with
the Housing Department; and
(b) they must be eligible under the "Direct Offer
Exercise" for public rental housing; and
(c) they must not, during the period of 24 months
prior to the date of Notice of Clearance served on
individual clearees until the date of intake -
(i) have owned or co-owned any domestic property;
(ii) have entered into any agreement to purchase
domestic property; or
(iii) have owned more than 50% share in a company
which owns domestic property.
THA residents are not at present subject to means
test of income or assets. Other applicants for public
housing are, however, subject to a means test on income in
addition to other eligibility criteria.
In his Policy Address on 8 October 1997, the Chief
Executive said that we will introduce in 1998 a means test
of income and assets for all prospective public housing
tenants. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that
public rental housing units go to those in genuine need.
It is fair and equitable to apply the same eligibility
criteria to all prospective public housing tenants,
including residents of Temporary Housing Areas.
The Government is working with the Housing Authority
on the details of implementing this policy.
------------
* Authorised residents in THAs in September 1995, and
persons who are affected by clearance operations with
announcement dates in or before September 1995 but are
subsequently rehoused to THAs thereafter, are eligible for
"Direct Offer Exercise" for public rental housing.
End
20. Co-ordination of cross-boundary infrastructure projects
*******************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Mrs Miriam Lau and
a written reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment
and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, at the Provisional Legislative
Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
The Zhuhai Municipal Government recently announced
that the Zhuhai Lingdingyang Bridge project had been
formally approved by the State Council. In this
connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the Hong Kong Special Administrative
(HKSAR) Government had known the announcement before it
was made;
(b) of the progress made by the Hong Kong and
Mainland Major Infrastructure Projects Co-ordinating
Committee in its study of the project; whether the Black
Point in the Tuen Mun has been identified as the bridge's
landing point in Hong Kong; and
(c) how the HKSAR Government and the Zhuhai Municipal
Government will co-ordinate with each other in the
project?
Reply:
Madam President,
At the outset it must be clarified that the recent
approval given by the State Council to the Zhuhai
Lingdingyang Bridge, as well as the Shenzhen Western
Corridor, was to create project items in the Mainland's
public works programme on these two proposals to enable
further studies to be made on them. The approval was not
on the allocation of funds or construction for the
projects. The situation is probably similar to the
creation of a Category C item in the Public Works
Programme of the HKSAR.
With regard to the three parts of the Question, the
situation is as follows:
(a) The HKSAR Government was informed of the creation
of the project items related to Zhuhai Lingdingyang Bridge
and Shenzhen Western Corridor through the liaison network
of the Hong Kong and Mainland Cross-Boundary Major
Infrastructure Co-ordinating Committee (ICC) in advance of
the announcement made by Zhuhai.
(b) Both the HKSAR Government and the relevant
authorities in the Mainland represented on the ICC have
been studying, amongst other proposed projects, the
Lingdingyang Bridge and the Shenzhen Western Corridor.
Special working groups and consultancies have been
established by both sides respectively. The parties have
also been exchanging information with each other on the
progress and findings of the studies. As we briefed the
Legislative Council previously, Hong Kong's studies will
take three stages. The first two stages will be completed
in mid-1999, and include in-depth assessment of cross-
boundary traffic demand, environmental implications,
economic and financial valuation, land use planning, land
acquisition and pre-project feasibility. The Government
will then be in a position to take a decision on Stage 3
of the study which would involve detailed engineering
feasibility studies, including designs and costings on the
new road network on Hong Kong's side to respond to the two
proposed road projects from the Mainland, and take into
account the findings of the further studies by Zhuhai and
Shenzhen. The latest progress made by the ICC was
announced through a press release after its last meeting
on 16 October 1997. A copy of the press release is
attached. We also agreed that Lan Kok Tsui at Tuen Mun
should be taken as the traffic landing point for the
proposed Lingdingyang Bridge on Hong Kong's side.
(c) Detailed co-ordination of the progress of the
work of the parties concerned with regard to major cross-
boundary infrastructure projects between Hong Kong and the
Mainland will continue to be undertaken by the ICC. This
would take the form of various discussions of technical
groups, the four panels, and the plenary sessions of the
Committee itself. Contacts of experts of both sides are
also held informally outside meetings.
End
21. Travel agent licence
********************
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Law Cheung-kwok
and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Trade and
Industry, Mr Tam Wing-pong, in the Provisional Legislative
Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
It is reported that recently some travel agents have
only been granted renewal of their business licences for a
period of less than 12 months. In this connection, will
the Government inform this Council of :
(a) the criteria adopted in determining the duration
of renewed licences;
(b) the names of the travel agents which licences
have been renewed for a period of less than 12 months
during the past six months and the respective duration of
their renewed licences;
(c) the reasons for renewing the licences of these
travel agents for a period of less than 12 months; and
(d) the ways of regulating the operation of these
travel agents in order to protect the interests of
consumers?
Reply :
Madam President,
The Travel Agents Ordinance, which first commenced
operation in 1985, provides a licensing regime for
operators of outbound package tours in order to facilitate
Government monitoring and reduce the risk of abscondment
or default by travel agents. The Ordinance authorizes the
Registrar of Travel Agents to reject a licence application
if the applicant is not a fit or proper person or if he is
involved in a bankruptcy, liquidation or winding up order.
To facilitate monitoring, the Ordinance also authorizes
the Registrar to grant licences of up to 12 months and to
attach conditions to any grant or licence renewals. The
practice of granting or renewing licences of terms up to
12 months is thus long standing and the discretionary
power conferred upon the Registrar is in keeping with the
regulatory role expected of him under the Ordinance.
(a) In determining how long a licence should be
granted or renewed, the Registrar will invariably have
regard to the performance history and record of the agent,
his current financial position, as well as a number of
other case-based, including technical, considerations.
(b) Within the six-month period until 13 January
1998, the Registrar had issued or renewed a total of 996
licences, involving 851 travel agents, of which 537 were
granted licences of less than 12 months. Details on the
names and licence duration of all licensees are updated
and published in the Gazette twice a year, and are
available from the Travel Agents Registry. The Registry
is also arranging for these to be made available through
the Internet.
(c) The exact reasons for granting licences of less
than 12 months to travel agents are varied but can be
generalized as covering the following considerations -
(i) Performance history and record of the agent.
New applicants or first renewals are normally granted six-
month licences. Licensees against whom complaints have
been substantiated might also be given shorter terms.
(ii) Financial position of the agent. As a
matter of course, the Registrar examines the accounts of
all applicants, as well as any financial updates as may be
requested. Having regard to such factors as the financial
performance of the applicant, the agent's scale of
operation, type of clientele and readiness to improve its
financial position, the Registrar may grant licences of
varying terms to the applicant. Agents which are
financially constrained, which have a higher turnover,
which specialize in arranging package tours, or which are
less ready to improve their financial position will be
subject to closer scrutiny. The exact length of the
licence to be granted or renewed depends on the merits of
each individual case.
(iii) Other case-based, including technical,
considerations. Some operators, especially small scale
ones, may have technical difficulties producing audited
accounts or financial statements in time. Others who have
undergone share holding restructuring may not have applied
for approval in time. The Registrar may give short-term
licences in these circumstances if he is satisfied that
consumer interest would not be compromised.
It has to be emphasized that, the tenure of a travel
agent's licence is not necessarily an index of the
financial standing or, indeed, the overall performance of
the agent.
(d) The existing licensing regime, reinforced by the
travel industry's self-regulatory mechanism, already
provide high degree of protection for consumers. First,
no agent will be allowed to obtain or renew a licence in
the first place unless he is a fit and proper person and
unless he is clear from financial encumbrances like a
bankruptcy, liquidation or winding up. Secondly, as a
precondition to obtaining a licence, the agent must join
and be bound by the regulations of the Travel Industry
Council. The latter governs the conduct of its members
and maintains discipline to uphold the credibility of the
industry. Thirdly, through regular financial
surveillance, the Registrar of Travel Agents may assess
whether a licensee is capable of meeting its obligations
to consumers and may require improvements by way of, for
example, minimizing debt exposures and seeking additional
bank guarantees. He may consider revoking or suspending a
licence if the situation warrants. Fourthly, in the event
of a travel agent default, the Travel Industry
Compensation Fund offers a safety net. Consumers of
services not rendered or only partly rendered may seek
compensation from the Fund of up to 90% of the value of
the package tour paid, on the basis of a franked levy.
This compensation scheme also enables the Travel Industry
Council to arrange for affected travellers to undertake
similar tours organised by other travel agents if the
travellers so wish. This has proved to be a welcomed
arrangement and is now a standing practice.
The Government keeps under constant review the extent
to which the travel agent regulatory regime may be
refined. However, it would not be realistic to assume
that all risks of defaults or abscondments can be
eliminated through the licensing or self-regulatory
mechanism. It would also be necessary to balance the
interests of travel agents against those of consumers and
avoid the tendency of over-regulation stifling the
industry and compromising the public interest at large.
End
22. Strategy developed for promotion of occupational health
*******************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Hui Yin-fat and a
written reply by the Secretary for Education and Manpower,
Mr Joseph W P Wong, in the Provisional Legislative Council
today (Wednesday):
Question:
The Report of the Working Party on Primary Health
Care published by the Government in December 1990
recommended a comprehensive review of Hong Kong's
occupational health services and made seven specific
recommendations to improve workers' occupational health.
However, two reports published by the Occupational Safety
and Health Council in December last year (namely the
Report on the Study on Occupational Safety and Health
Problems in Small Scale Manufacturing Industry in Hong
Kong, and the Report on the Survey of Office Environment
and the Occupational Health of Visual Display Terminals
Users) indicated that there was a lack of knowledge and
awareness of occupational safety among the employers and
employees of small manufacturing establishments in Hong
Kong, and the poor designs of office furniture would lead
to muscle and tendon troubles for employees working on the
computer for long hours. In this connection, will the
Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has followed up the recommendation of
the Working Party on Primary Health Care on undertaking a
review; if so, which department is responsible for
undertaking the review and when it has undertaken such
review; and the details in respect of the results of the
follow-up review, the recommendations made as a result and
the progress of implementing these recommendations;
(b) of the progress to date in the implementation of
the seven specific recommendations contained in the Report
of the Working Party on Primary Health Care;
(c) of the existing policies and working plans for
promoting occupational health;
(d) of the criteria adopted for assessing the actual
effectiveness of existing policies and working plans for
promoting occupational health; and
(e) of the amount of funds allocated by the
Government for promoting occupational health in each of
the past three years?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The Report of the Working Party on Primary Health
Care published in December 1990 recommended that another
overall review of occupational health should be carried
out, which should take into account changing practices in
industry and the modern-day concepts of occupational
health. Subsequently, the Director of Health established
the Expert Working Group on Occupational Health Services
with representatives from the medical profession of the
two universities, the Labour Department and the
Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC) to undertake
the review. The Expert Working Group published its report
in September 1992. Details of the recommendations made
and the progress of their implementation are given in
reply to question (b).
(b) On the basis of the seven recommendations by the
Working Party on Primary Health Care, the Expert Working
Group made 39 recommendations covering such aspects as
medical assessment of occupational injuries and diseases,
legislative and regulatory control, health education,
research and training, and the future development of
occupational health services in Hong Kong. The
Occupational Health Service of the Labour Department has
put in hand actions for implementing these
recommendations.
The Expert Working Group's recommendations in respect
of an extension of legislative and regulatory control to
cover all occupations, expansion of the list of notifiable
occupational diseases, occupational health education,
research and training and the future development of
occupational health services in Hong Kong have been fully
implemented. An example is the enactment of the
Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance and its first set
of Regulation in 1997. The recommendations to require
workers engaged in hazardous occupations to undergo pre-
employment and periodic medical examinations by Appointed
Medical Practitioners and to require proprietors to
undertake regular environmental monitoring at the
workplace will be implemented by introducing two new
regulations in the 1998/99 legislative session. These
regulations are the Factories and Industrial Undertakings
(Medical Examinations) Regulations and the Factories and
Industrial Undertakings (Safety Management) Regulations.
The purpose of the recommendation on the decentralization
of medical assessment of occupational injuries and
diseases is to reduce the waiting time. This has been
implemented by the arrangement of extra assessment boards
by payments of overtime allowances.
(c) We have developed a new strategy for the
promotion of occupational health and publicity efforts
have been intensified to raise the awareness of workers
and management. These include a series of campaigns on
the new Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance and its
Regulation and on specific occupational health hazards.
The "train the trainers" approach has been adopted to
disseminate occupational health messages to achieve a
multiplier effect; and networking with our partners in the
medical profession and tertiary institutions have been
developed and extended. We have also followed the
international trend in occupational health promotion by
placing more emphasis on a healthier life-style and the
general aspects of workers' health.
As a matter of priority, compliance standards for the
non-industrial sector will be published in guide books.
In the past six months, six publications have been issued.
These include one on the diagnosis of notifiable
occupational diseases, two on first-aid, and three on
occupational health risks in an office environment. Some
more publications on compliance standards, in particular
on manual handling operations in various trades and
industries, will soon be published.
In areas which have attracted more public concern, we
will launch large-scale promotion campaigns, for example
occupational deafness awareness, and implement a hearing
conservation programme. There are also plans to raise
public awareness of musculoskeletal disorders and
ergonomic problems at work. We shall intensify our
enforcement of dust control on construction sites and
quarries with a view to eliminating silicosis.
Two more facilities, namely a second occupational
health clinic and a pilot occupational safety and health
service centre, will be set up in 1998/99 which will
provide more occupational health services to workers.
(d) The effectiveness of the existing occupational
health policies may be assessed by comparing ourselves
with the best practices in other countries, such as the
United Kingdom and Singapore, on issues such as
occupational safety and health legislation, inspection
priorities and enforcement strategies. It may also be
assessed by comparing our present performance with
previous performance in occupational health.
The effectiveness of the promotion on occupational
health could be assessed by the attitude and practices
adopted by employers and employees in occupational health,
their knowledge on the subject, the public's demand on
occupational health publications and health talks, their
attendance of training courses in occupational health, and
awareness of and attendance at the Occupational Health
Clinic.
(e) In the past three years, the Department of
Health's expenditures on occupational health were $15.6
million in 1994/95, $16.2 million in 1995/96 and $17.1
million in 1996/97. The expenditures by the Labour
Department on the occupational safety and health at work
programme, which includes the promotion of occupational
health, were $134.7 million, $145.2 million and $181.9
million in the 1994/95, 1995/96 and 1996/97 financial
years respectively. In addition, the Government, as an
employer, made a total contribution of $5.5 million in
lieu of Employees' Compensation Insurance Levy to the OSHC
in the past three years for the general promotion of
occupational safety and health in Hong Kong.
End
23. Commercial information readily available
****************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Kennedy Wong Ying-
ho and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial
Services, Mr Rafael Hui, in the Provisional Legislative
Council today (Wednesday)
Question:
Recently, several South-east Asian countries have
successively experienced financial turmoil, with some of
their enterprises and financial institutions subjected to
immense pressure or even facing financial crisis. In this
regard, will the Government inform this Council whether
the authority has established channels (such as
information centres and homepages on the Internet) for
businessmen of relevant trades in Hong Kong to learn about
the latest position of these enterprises and financial
institutions; if so, what the details are; if not, why
not?
Reply:
Madam President,
The Government does not see the need to establish any
channel for disseminating information about overseas
enterprises and financial institutions. Nor does the
Government consider it appropriate to duplicate or compete
with the private sector in providing such service on a
commercial basis.
With free and efficient flow of information, the
private sector can gather first-hand commercial
information they need more efficiently and effectively
than the Government. Apart from the financial press,
there are many credit information agencies in the market
as well as electronic information service companies which
provide real-time round-the-clock information to their
customers.
Furthermore, disclosure standards vary from country
to country. A Government sponsored information centre may
present a misleading picture as to the reliability of the
data. The issues of commercial confidentiality and
liability also make it difficult for the Government to
establish such an information centre.
End
