Issued by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Information Services
Garden Road, 5th-8th Floors, Murray Building, Hong Kong. Tel: 2842 8777
Wednesday, July 16, 1997 CONTENTS ======== 1. Transcript of media session by CE 2. FS's transcript 3. Response to enquiries 4. Bills on CE's tax and excise duty obligations to be gazetted 5. Tariffs for broadband transmission services of HKTC approved 6. CE calls for more participation in voluntary service 7. 78 convicted pollution cases in June 1. Transcript of media session by CE ********************************* Following is the transcript of the media session by the SAR Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, after visiting Lutheran Church Martha Boss Community Centre in Ho Man Tin this (Wednesday) afternoon: Question: Mr Tung, if the labour laws are repealed, are frozen by Legco today, are you afraid you and .....tarnish Hong Kong's image? CE: I think a very harmonious working relationship within labour and employers is very important to Hong Kong. Hong Kong has been very very successful in the past because of this good relationship. Hong Kong also has a very well-established consultation process. In fact, if you look at it, Hong Kong's economy has been good, unemployment rate is very low. And one of the reasons is because of very good relationship we have and it is important that we continue this very good relationship and very good, harmonious labour-employer relationship. Now what has happened is that these laws were rushed through without proper consultation, without really very seriously studying into the implications so I think it is right for these laws to be frozen and that we would study them carefully, consult the public and do what is right in the long-term interest of Hong Kong. Question: Mr Tung, do you think the release of land announced yesterday will meet your target of deriving 85,000 flats a year? CE: Let me tell you, the Special Administrative Region Government has the greatest determination to make sure that 85,000 units ....become a reality and I have every confidence this will be done. This will just be what I announced yesterday was the first step about many things that need to be done to make sure 85,000 units will be available. End 2. FS's transcript *************** The following is the transcript of the press conference given by the Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang; the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, and the Secretary for Housing, Mr Dominic Wong, on the work of the Steering Committee on Land Supply for Housing today (Wednesday): Mr Tsang (in Chinese): Yesterday, my colleague, Mr Bowen Leung, already briefed you on the land sale programme for the next five years. Of course, land sale is a significant segment of housing supply. Today the Steering Committee finished it's meeting so I will now brief you on how we can tie in with the instructions given by the Chief Executive, that is we have a target of 85,000 flats a year. So we will elaborate on that. First, as you may be aware, about the Steering Committee, we have specific terms of reference, so you have the handouts about our terms of reference and the membership and the areas of work. About the membership, you can see that we have other members, the Policy Secretaries and other Directors and they are related to the work of housing supply. So you can see that we have people from the planning side, from the land side, from the building side. We have a very impressive line-up here of the Steering Committee. We hope that we can meet the target set by the CE, and it shows that we have the determination to meet the challenge, and we can meet the challenge and rise to the occasion. At the establishment of the SAR the CE said clearly that we have to meet certain targets. Actually he has given us 10 tasks. You can see an extract from his speech. Actually, there are 10 main tasks for us and the Steering Committee has to deal with them and we have to produce results. Perhaps generally I can mention these points. First of all, we have to have a 10 year housing plan. Second, we have to speed up reclamation and land formation. Third, we have to extend the mass transit system and infrastructure development. Fourth, we have to have a comprehensive review of the existing organisation and work procedures with respect to housing production. Fifth, we have to increase the production of home ownership flats and actively implement the sale of public rental flats to sitting tenants and address the needs of the sandwich class. Sixth, the target of housing supply is not less than 85,000 flats a year. Seventh, the aim is to achieve a home ownership rate of 70 per cent in 10 years. Eighth, we have to speed up urban redevelopment. Ninth, we have to clear all THA and cottage areas and re- house the dwellers of bedspace apartments. And tenth, we have to reduce the average waiting time for public rental housing to three years. So 10 points here. The Steering Committee is to focus on the fourth point, that is comprehensive review of the organisation and work procedures with respect to housing production. So this was the main focus of our meeting today. Of course, before the meeting I liaised with the Policy Secretaries and the Directors and about the papers we discussed today. We looked at the demand for the next 10 years the supply for the next 10 years, and how the two can tally. And we looked at our own procedures. We carried out a major review of our procedures. One thing can be seen, about our production capacity, I think we can reach targets of 85,000 flats a year. Now, every year the Housing Authority has been dealing with HOS and public rental housing, etc, and it produces 50,000 flats a year. And then for land disposal for private development, according to Mr Bowen Leung, yesterday, every year we can have 30,000. Then we have private land, dealt with by private developers. There can be redevelopment, there can be 16,000 there. And then we have sandwich-class scheme, so we have more or less about 100,000 a year. Maybe we have to have a certain discount, anyway we can reach the target of 85,000. As for the review of our long-term plans, today we issue something and you can see this table before you. Now, if we look at a span of eight years. For the first three years, it was from disposal - starting from 1994 and up to 1996/97 and then we have 97/98 and the year 2001 and 2002. And you have the numbers for the private sector and the public sector. And then for the bottom part, you can look at the next five years - you can see the production for different categories, starting from 94/95 up to 96/97 in terms of disposal, with respect to flat supply from 97/98 to 99/2000. On average every year the production was about 79,000. The CE mentioned 85,000, yes, it's still some way off for those three years, for the first two years, that is 97/98 completion and 98/99 completion. Well, it was less than 85,000. But for 1999/2000, it exceeds 85,000 and the average is about 79,000 per year. For the next five years, up to 2004/2005, on average the production should be 104,000. So it exceeds the target of 85,000. Therefore this is a rough scenario. The Steering Committee has to deal with a lot of issues. The CE has been quite clear. He does not want the average. He said every year there should be 85,000. So the Steering Committee has to pay regard to that 85,000 every year. We have to ensure even supply for land sales every year, the arrangement has to be even, and then for public housing, whether it is for HOS or rental housing, the supply has also to be stable, so that our long-term plan can be implemented. As for our work, well, we looked at the approval, the vetting procedures, our internal procedures and we carried out a review and that takes time. For the priority areas we have another handout. You can look at the areas of priority, so the details are set out there and we hope that we can deal with that and my colleagues and I have the confidence that we can meet the tasks given to us by the CE and for the long-term plan to resolve housing problem. We do have the confidence to tackle that. For the results of these considerations we hope to crystalise them so that at the Policy Address given by the CE, there can be further elaboration and in my Budget there will be further elaboration concerning the economic implications. So perhaps this is my way of opening remarks. So we are happy to take questions. The Financial Secretary welcomes questions from you. Question: Again, why do you think you can reach the target of 85,000? Could you give the breakdown of where it will come from ? Mr Tsang: Well, I can give it again, very roughly, it's something like this, if I get it wrong, Bowen and Dominic, you will help me on this. Very generally something like this: as far as the construction by the Housing Authority is concerned, they are quite capable of producing about 50,000 flats a year. From land sale, from land sale, which enables private developers to build flats, that is the sort of thing which Mr Bowen Leung yesterday outlined for the coming five years, private developers are capable of producing from the land sale another additional 30,000 flats a year. On top of that, private sector redevelopment scheme, that is through modifications, exchange and various other things, the private sector will be able to produce an additional about 16,000 flats a year. Furthermore, there is of course a sandwich class housing. That is a small number of a few thousand flats a year. So in total you can see that we are able, we should be able to produce about 100,000 flats every year. That's the target. But of course there might be some slippages. What I am trying to tell you is that even without some slippages, we should be able to meet a target of 85,000 flats a year as designated by the Chief Executive. Question (in Chinese): Miss WONG, from TVB. Will the SARG still consider taxation or administrative measures to prevent land from falling into the hands of speculators? And after yesterday it was anticipated that land prices may drop for about 10 to 20 per cent. Now with your announcement how will you think the impact on the property market be? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): In fact, we've all along been thinking about administrative measures ever since 1994, and administrative measures will only serve as a last resort. I think we are targeting speculators, not users. When the market doesn't warrant it, we will not adopt administrative measures. But for administrative measures to be effective we must be able to have other ancillary measures. But I must emphasise that administrative measures will only be used when it is absolutely necessary. As for taxation measures, they may bring about positive or negative long-term effects, and that's why we have to be very cautious and if we artificially suppress property prices there may be counter-productive results. So even if we are to adopt administrative measures, we will be very, very careful. Ultimately it's a question of supply. As I said, if there is sufficient supply, prices will be eased. We are talking about long- term supply. For property prices, I think they are already too high, so it is just normal for them to go down if there is sufficient supply. What we have to do is to reach the target set by the CE. That is, to maintain a supply of 85,000 flats per year. Hong Kong has a very flexible market. I think it's just normal for the market to respond and I believe that there will be more positive than negative responses. Question (in Chinese): I am from the South China Morning Post. Just now you said that administrative measures will only be used when it is necessary. So under what circumstances will you deem it necessary to use them? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): As I said, we are targeting speculators, not users. If speculation is heated to the effect that we may result in a bubble economy, then we may have to use such measures. Question (in Chinese): Have you ever seen evidence now? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): No, not yet. Question (in Chinese): Well, talking about this Steering Committee, I would like to know the extent of your work? How often will you have regular meetings to monitor the property market? And how are you going to boost the confidence of the public in you, and what about transparency? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): Well, this morning we had a meeting and now I am giving you this briefing so this proves that we are eager to explain our moves to members of the public. As I said, we have not completed our work yet so maybe next week we'll call another meeting. I think at least we'll meet once every month, because the Steering Committee is a Steering Committee. We may not dwell on the details but as you can see from the list here, we do have a division of labour. My colleagues and I will take up different duties and the subordinates of my colleagues will also have their own duties and then we'll also have some work to be done at the district level. Anyway, the target is the same, it's to produce 85,000 flats every year. Question (in Chinese): Will you periodically report to the public your progress, that is to what extent you have already met your targets? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): Definitely, every year I'll report to the public how many flats have been produced. Question: About the production of 85,000 a year, what would be the net gain in terms of -- that includes production for, on sites where flats have been demolished? What would be the net gain every year from this programme do you think? Mr Tsang: Well, that relates to how the private sector will accelerate the demolition programme. That is something which is out of my control. What I am saying is, we are producing 85,000 flats a year. As far as net gain is concerned, the bulk of that will be net gain. Demolition definitely will be a very small percentage of that. Question (in Chinese): Yesterday the Government announced the land sale programme for the next five years and it is anticipated that property prices will go down by 10 to 20 per cent. Is this what the government wants? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): No, we don't have any expectation on property prices. We just want to have a stable supply of flats. Hong Kong's market is very efficient. I think there will be self adjustment, but of course, the ultimate result is that property prices will be eased as a result of sufficient supply. Question (in Chinese): Mr Tsang, with such an increase in land supply, how much in terms of infrastructural costs will be involved? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): Well, in the past our financial capability has exceeded our expenditure on infrastructure, and again this time, we expect ourselves to be able to afford such a supply. Question (in Chinese): Can you give us the details? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): At this juncture of time I can't give you the details but I hope that I can give you more details when we come to the next Budget. Question (in Chinese): Mr Tsang, can you tell us something about your Steering Committee on the comprehensive review on the government structure and framework on the production of flats? I mean, I want to know more about organisation and work procedures and I'm not quite sure about items (F) & (G). Mr Tsang (in Chinese): Well, the Steering Committee will work on a territorial basis. We formulate policies. Our target is 85,000 flats per year. We will look at overall demand and supply and will also oversee the division of labour among government departments. And then during the vetting procedures we have the District Land Offices and District Planning Offices. So they are to take care of the day to day routines. So the division of labour is very clear. At the moment we do not have any strategic instruction. We are now looking afresh at the whole question of land and housing supply. The duties of our district colleagues may have to be changed. Turning to the Housing Department it needs a great deal of support before they can expand their housing production programme, including the expansion of the HOS. So I will try to delineate their duties in a more refined manner so that there won't be any duplication of effort. Question (in Chinese): As regards (G), what do you mean by initial task in (G)? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): Well, the Financial Secretary cannot in the long run shoulder the whole responsibility of the Steering Committee, I hope that ultimately, I can pass the responsibilities to Mr Wong. Question (in Chinese): At the District level, will staff members of District Land Offices in future not just look at land matters, but also at housing matters as well? Will they also be involved in strategic matters? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): I think the Project Managers will have to be involved. So we will review their terms of reference to make sure that they have sufficient powers to carry out their duties. Question (in Chinese): For the comprehensive review mentioned by Mr Tung, it seems that it is covering more than what you are saying here. Mr Tsang (in Chinese): Well, I don't think Mr Tung is talking about the Housing Authority. I am talking about the fourth item. Question: ...... what kind of message are you hoping to give to home buyers and what sort of impact are you expecting on speculation of the property market? Mr Tsang: My message is quite clear. We have full determination to produce 85,000 flats a year. A significant part of that will be devoted for private housing. In other words, there will be a steady supply, there will no shortage of supply and there will be no glut in the market. So there will be a steady flow of these very valuable commodities into the market. In other words, they can take a longer term view, they don't need to rush into things, nor should they sit back altogether. Question: Donald, you mentioned there are certain budgetary implications that you might address at a later date. Could you just illustrate those now? Mr Tsang: Well, you have to wait a bit. I have to look at how this overall programme impacts on the public works programme expenditure. I am pretty confident it may well be contained in the five per cent growth that we allowed ourselves for capital works. Furthermore, it would mean that we will have to look at resources for individual departments to implement this programme. Certainly some of them may need resources, additional resources. But I will be accounting for this and I will be looking at the overall economic impact on the economy too, but that will need a bit of time and I will be able to address this issue in February next year when I deliver my budget speech. Question: Now whether you believe the GDP growth will actually be revised downwards as a result of that? Mr Tsang: My GDP growth revised downwards? The answer is a flat no. We are doing very well at the moment. Question: My second question related to the impact you think it will have on the speculation on property markets. Mr Tsang: Sorry, say that again? Question: The effect of more land being available, what impact will that have on speculation on the property market? Mr Tsang: It will ...(inaudible) the market, I hope. But, of course, not entirely, speculators will be there. The only thing that we have to worry about is the level of speculative activities and I am quite sure with a steady supply of land, particularly with the undertaking to provide a steady flow of land, not only one year, not only three years, but five year and then 10 years. Then speculators' activities will be very much constrained. Question (in Chinese): Mr Tsang, just now you admitted that for the first three years the flat production targets might not meet 85,000, why is that so? Are you worried that if you say this, then you will give a message to the market that there will be a shortage and that in the short run the prices will be pushed higher, further? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): Well, you can see the market response, I don't think that is the case. Actually, we are very forthcoming, we have explained the present situation. Before 97/98 or 98/99 in terms of supply, well, they are related to the disposal in 94/95 and 95/96. We could not have a complete remedy for that, because after disposal we have three years of construction and now we are only seeing the results of the disposal two or three years earlier. For past disposal no doubt that the amount disposed of was smaller. But I can venture to say that from 1999 to 2000 it will exceed 85,000 flats. So for these three years we may not fully meet the targets of Mr Tung. It is more or less 80,000 per year, but I have explained this to Mr Tung and Mr Tung has understood that. Perhaps I can add to that, even for this sort of figure, if you compare it with the last few years, I guess it exceeds it by some 40 per cent already. Question (in Chinese): Mr Tsang, just now you said that the tasks will be reverted to the Secretary for Housing later on, but there has been criticism that the government has not done a good job in terms of housing because there is no high powered official to do the co- ordination. If the work of the task force is to be passed to Mr Dominic Wong, are you worried that co- ordination will not be done very properly? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): It's not fair to Mr Wong. It's not about individual officials. This time we are tackling complex issues. Different departments have different expertise. Say for environmental pollution, then they have their standards. For transport side, our colleagues have their own standards. For town planning the colleagues concerned have their own standards. We develop our own directions and do our own things, it is not easy to identify land for housing. So Mr Leung is here, Mr Wong is here, apart from them we have Mr Kwong Ki-chi who is relevant and Mr Gordon Siu, he is also relevant on the transport side, so all of them are relevant. So I am duty bound to take on the job here and of course we have to gauge the economic implications. Of course we will regularise and systemise things. In other words, the S for H can deal with that adequately. Question (in Chinese): Mr Tsang, you want to expedite the approval procedure. Do you have any targets about the shortening of the time needed and do the departments require more manpower? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): Well, I take on the job myself. Of course I am apprehensive of adding a lot of people. Of course, it is too early to say for many things. In terms of procedure we have a lot of steps, it's very complex. For town planning....... Mr Tsang: Well, I will take on the job myself. Of course I am apprehensive of adding a lot of people. Of course, it is too early to say for many things. In terms of procedure we have a lot of steps, it's very complex. For town planning, we have different sets of procedures, say section 16 applications, section 17 procedure. Section 17(a) sub-section 17(b), and there's the Town Planning Ordinance. So we have different sets of procedures, we have different days and deadlines, and apart from approval we have building procedures, we have land administration .... so it's very complex. But the only direction is this: we have to streamline things, we have to shorten the time required. This is our target. For the specifics you have to give us more time. Perhaps I myself, or Mr Leung can brief you when things are more firm. The target is very simple. If there is anything which obstructs the target of 85,000, it has to be removed. Question (in Chinese): How about the time from approval to building? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): Just now I didn't know what procedures were referred to, but, of course, I can't go into specifics here. But, of course, you know, that we hope to streamline different segments. But sometimes it's not just administration, sometimes we are talking about statutory procedures, we can't change them lightly. We have to go through LEGCO. Question: You say that you have produced a 10 year plan, this plan only goes up to 2005. What other measures are under consideration to take you beyond this? Mr Tsang: Let me tell you this, all I am going to do is in order to meet the 10 year plan mandated by Mr Tung, I am going to aim at a 13 year planning horizon. 13 year planning horizon. In other words, I am aiming at the three years which deals with land which have been disposed of over the previous three years, which will end up in production in the current year and the next two years, that's three years. Then I will have five years which will have quite a detailed site disposal and site allocation plan, similar to the ones which you saw from Mr Leung yesterday, which was a five year plan. In fact, some of them are sites specific. On top of that five years, I will work on an additional five years, following that five years, which will be an overall territorial plan matching supply with demand. We are looking at regional basis. We are looking at individual needs. We will determine the split between public housing and private housing. So, in other words, my task force will be aiming at a total working horizon, planning horizon, of 13 years. We will be monitoring this 13 years horizon of work. Question (in Chinese): Two questions. A member of the Executive Council, Mr Leung Chun-ying, has submitted a proposal to Mr Tung Chee Hwa. Are your proposals now already reflecting his proposals, and will the policy speech also cover those proposals? And then the Chairman of the HA Miss Rosanna Wong has already said that there's not enough land supply. So how will you go about the details in increasing land supply? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): Concerning Mr Leung Chun-ying, he is a member of the Executive Council, therefore he is at the highest policy making level. What we are doing now is under the direction of Mr Tung. Mr Tung has ready considered Mr Leung's proposals. In his inauguration speech Mr Tung has already explained that. The 10 tasks listed here have already covered Mr Leung's proposals and we will work on the 10 tasks here. As regards your second question, Mr Leung yesterday was only explaining the land sale programme. I can guarantee to Rosanna that we will satisfy her so that she will get enough land. But then she cannot be too selective. So which districts? Well, the land can be located in different districts, so some land may be easier to form, some more difficult. You see, Rosanna Wong has the same target as ours. Procedural wise there may be some difficulties. I hope that we can overcome those difficulties very shortly. Questions (in Chinese): Two questions, one is for Mr Tsang. Mr Tsang, you are already very busy, now you are already involved with the elderly problem, and now you are involved with the housing problem. As the Financial Secretary, can you handle so many problems? And then for Mr Wong, for Mr Leung, have you ever reserved any land for school facilities and educational facilities for full day primary schools? Mr Tsang (in Chinese): You know that for civil servants, I have been civil servants for 30 years, you have to arrange your time every day very well. If you have more duties, can you manage? Yes you can. The only thing is that you have to set your priorities right. A Fung Shui master can cheat you for say 8 to 10 years, but very soon you will be able to witness the result of our work. In fact you have not exhausted the list, I have to oversee tax issues as well. But it's not just me alone, I have Mr Leung, Mr Wong and others. Mr Leung (in Chinese): Concerning schools, in fact, we have been discussing with Mr Wong Wing-ping for quite some time already, so we now understand the demand of the full day primary schools. In our outline zoning plans, we have already reserved certain sites for such schools and we are now looking at new locations for these schools. And Mr Wong is also reviewing the design of such schools, so that we can whether or not we can have more flexibility. And when we announce new districts, when we dispose land, we have already got procedures to reserve land for schools. We are already in the middle stage of the review. I am sure after some time we will be able to resolve the issue completely with Mr Wong. Question (in Chinese): Well, it is a town planning policy that where there is population there will be schools? Mr Leung (in Chinese): Yes, for full day schools, we need to increase the number of schools. If there is a population growth, if there is a new development, district will also have to provide schools, but not just schools, we have to provide markets, playgrounds, etc. But, of course, the question just now was about schools, that's why I said that we have already started discussion with Mr Wong for quite some time. Question (in Chinese): What about the exact sites? Mr Leung (in Chinese): No, I think time is not mature yet for announcing the sites. End 3. Response to enquiries ********************* In response to press enquiries on the settlement yesterday between the Government and Rex International Development Company Ltd, an SAR Government spokesman today (Wednesday) clarifies that there is no question of any secret or under-table deal between the Government and the Company. "The settlement ensures that the Company will be liquidated within a short period of time," he said. After the liquidation of the Company, the net proceeds are distributed to the shareholders, as under the original order by the Executive Council. The spokesman said: "Our position on this case has not changed. The settlement completely meets the objectives of the original ExCo order under the Companies Ordinance. We firmly believe that the settlement is in the public interest." End 4. Bills on CE's tax and excise duty obligations to be gazetted ******************************************************* ** Two bills which seek to implement the decisions of the Executive Council regarding the salaries tax and excise duty obligations of the Chief Executive in respect of his remuneration package will be published in the Gazette on Friday (July 18). The Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No.3) Bill 1997 and the Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 1997 seek to provide for the legal basis for the Chief Executive to pay salaries tax and excise duty. "At a meeting in June 1997, the Executive Council decided that the emoluments of the Chief Executive should be subject to salaries tax. It also decided that the Chief Executive had to pay excise duty," a Government spokesman said. "We have to amend the Inland Revenue Ordinance and the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance so as to implement these decisions," he said. The two Bills will be introduced into the Provisional Legislative Council on July 23. End 5. Tariffs for broadband transmission services of HKTC approved ******************************************************* ** The Telecommunications Authority (TA) has approved the prices proposed by Hong Kong Telephone Company (HKTC) for broadband transmission services for Video-on-Demand (VOD). Details of the tariffs approved by the TA are given in the Annex. The Broadcasting, Culture and Sport Bureau is inviting applications for the licences to operate VOD services in Hong Kong. The closing date for the submission of applications is August 20, 1997. The VOD services will be transmitted through any of the four local fixed telecommunication networks. Under the licence conditions of HKTC, the charges of HKTC's services are subject to the approval of the TA. "During the initial period of the service, the charges of HKTC appear to be relatively high. This is not uncommon in new "high-tech" services due to the high initial investments in rolling out a broadband network and the initial small number of customers. In approving the tariffs, the TA has taken into consideration the full business plan of HKTC which forecasts that the monthly rental will drop by 35% to 45% per annum in real terms in the initial 2 to 3 years with a growth in volume per annum of 150,000 to 300,000 customers, and that it would approach the range of $100 to $120 in real terms per month when the demand reaches 1 million," said a spokesman for the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA). "HKTC is required to publish the approved tariffs and apply the tariffs to all service providers on a transparent, fair and non-discriminatory basis. This means that any service provider affiliated with HKTC will be required to pay the same charges for the transmission services provided by HKTC," OFTA's spokesman added. The TA will also monitor the profitability of the broadband transmission services of HKTC by requiring it to maintain separate accounts for the services. The TA may from time to time require HKTC to review and revise the charges if in the opinion of the TA the profitability of the services becomes excessive and has anti- competitive purpose or effect. End 6. CE calls for more participation in voluntary service **************************************************** The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, called for active public participation in voluntary service today (Wednesday) during his visit to two social service units run by non-governmental organisations in Kowloon. "This will not only help the needy, but also develop volunteers' social skills and sense of cooperation," he said in support of a community building project called "Volunteer Trail". Mr Tung was accompanied by the Director of Home Affairs and co-chairperson of the Organising Committee of the Volunteer Trail project, Mrs Shelley Lau; the Chairperson of the Organising Committee of Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) 50th Anniversary, Dame Rosanna Wong; and another co-chairperson of the Organising Committee of the Volunteer Trail project, Dr Marion Fang. One of the service units Mr Tung visited was the Lutheran Church Martha Boss Community Centre. He saw there some 100 able-bodied and mentally handicapped children exercising together with the aim of integration. He then met a group of volunteers, including senior citizens, parents and youth, to share the joy of voluntarism. Afterwards he spoke to about 200 volunteers and members of the community centre, stressing the importance of volunteer service and paid tribute to their contributions. Earlier, Mr Tung visited Cheung Sha Wan Integrated Children and Youth Centre of Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association and met about 10 newly arrived children to understand their problems and see how the Centre's adaptation class and English course could help them. He assured the new arrivals that the Government would endeavour to provide them with a range of services relating to employment assistance, education, welfare and housing to facilitate their integration into the community. "The young today will be our masters tomorrow. We need to cultivate their civic awareness and enhance their sense of responsibility towards their family, the society and our country," Mr Tung said. The "Volunteer Trail" project is jointly organised by the Home Affairs Department and HKCSS to complement the handover celebrations and to mark the latter's 50th anniversary. Under the project, 535 welfare services units in the territory committed themselves to remain open to the public from May 17 to August 2 to enhance their understanding of welfare services and encourage participation in voluntary work. End 7. 78 convicted pollution cases in June ************************************ A total of 78 convictions were recorded in the courts in June for breaching anti-pollution legislation enforced by the Environmental Protection Department. Of these cases, 15 were convictions made under the Water Pollution Control Ordinance (WPCO), 28 under the Noise Control Ordinance (NCO), 10 under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance (APCO), 21 under the Waste Disposal Ordinance (WDO), and four under the Ozone Layer Protection Ordinance (OLPO). The fines ranged from $400 to $75,000. The heaviest fine last month was imposed on China State construction Engineering Corporation which used powered mechanical equipment for construction work without a valid construction noise permit. Besides, Ling Yuk-yau, who ran Wah Sun Beancurd Factory, was convicted to four months' imprisonment suspended for 18 months in addition to a fine of $50,000 for contravening the provisions of a WPCO licence. End Wednesday, July 16, 1997 PROVISIONAL LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL MEETING SUPPLEMENT CONTENTS ======== 1. United Nations Sanctions Bill 2. Number of applications for SAR passports 3. Comprehensive programme to abate air pollution 4. Local construction workers are well-trained and protected 5. Guest list for SARG establishment reception 6. Measures to relieve traffic congestion in North-West NT 7. Comprehensive review on SLS is underway 8. Fire insurance on mortgaged property 9. Emergency transport arrangements for TM 10. Measures to further reduce the risk from landslides 11. Protection of the Harbour Ordinance unacceptable 1. United Nations Sanctions Bill ***************************** Following is the speech by the Secretary for Trade and Industry, Miss Denise Yue, in resuming the second reading of the United Nations Sanctions Bill in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): President, I am grateful to the House Committee for its agreement to waive the normal notice period for the resumption of the debate of the second reading of the United Nations Sanctions Bill. It is indeed important that we put in place, as soon as possible, the necessary legislative framework for implementing UN sanctions in the SAR. First and foremost, the People's Republic of China has to ensure that her obligations as a member of the United Nations Security Council are honoured. At the same time, our trading partners also need to have the assurance that Hong Kong will not be used to circumvent UN sanctions. The Central People's Government has already issued instructions to the Chief Executive to implement a number of UN sanctions in the SAR. It is necessary for the Chief Executive to be given the legislative means to carry out these instructions. This is what the United Nations Sanctions Bill seeks to achieve; and the Bill has been agreed with the Central People's Government. As soon as the Bill is passed, the Chief Executive will be able to make the necessary Regulations to carry out the specific directives regarding individual UN sanctions that he has received. President, subject to a translation-related Committee Stage Amendment to the Bill that I will move shortly, I recommend the Bill to this Council. Thank you, President. End 2. Number of applications for SAR passports **************************************** Following is a question by the Hon Howard Young and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Security, Mrs Carrie Yau, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: Will the Government inform this Council of the approximate number of applications for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports which have been received up to the end of the first week for receiving such applications and, out of these applications, the estimated number of such applications which have been identified as having been made by persons who have no other valid travel documents and/or whose travel documents will expire within 12 months? Reply: Mrs President, Immigration Department started accepting applications for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports submitted by post since 10 June 1997. In the first week (June 10-16, 1997) the Department received a total of 24,369 applications. By July 14, 1997, the total number of applications received by the Immigration Department was 125,660. Of the 47,472 applications which had been assessed, 24,369 applications (that is, 51%) were determined as having been submitted by persons who claimed to have no travel documents or whose travel documents would expire within 12 months. End 3. Comprehensive programme to abate air pollution ********************************************** Following is a question by the Hon Chan Choi-hi and a reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question : Will the Government inform this Council of the improvement measures in place to tackle the existing air pollution problems in the territory? Reply: Madam President, The Administration has implemented a comprehensive programme to abate air pollution within the statutory framework provided by the Air Pollution Control Ordinance. The programme comprises four key elements for dealing with different air pollution sources. (a) Control of Industrial Processes. 30 types of polluting industrial processes such as concrete batching plants, power stations, steel works and chemical plants are subject to rigorous licensing controls. Their operators are required to comply with stringent emission standards and to adopt emission control measures based on the best practicable means. The construction of chimneys and furnaces also requires prior approval on their design to minimise their air quality impacts on the neighbourhood. (b) Clean Fuel Strategy. Our objective is to require the use of the cleanest practicable fuel to minimise emissions of air pollutants from combustion processes. We banned the use of high sulphur industrial fuel oil in 1990 and have progressively reduced the sulphur content of motor diesel from 0.5% to 0.2% in 1995 and further to 0.05% in April 1997. We introduced unleaded petrol in 1991. We are now examining the feasibility of introducing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a clean fuel alternative to diesel. (c) Control on Construction Dust. Regulatory control to require contractors to implement specified dust suppression measures came into effect in June 1997. We aim to reduce dust emissions from individual construction sites by up to 80%. (d) Control on Vehicle Emissions. Our established policy is to adopt the most stringent vehicle emission standards once they are technologically and practically feasible. The requirements that new petrol vehicles registered after 1992 have to be fitted with a catalytic converter and use unleaded petrol for first registration have effectively reduced tailpipe emissions from these vehicles by about 90%. The standards for diesel vehicles were upgraded in 1995 and were further tightened in 1997 for large diesel vehicles in line with technological advancement. We aim to introduce the more stringent Euro Phase II standards to small diesel vehicles in early 1998. In addition, we will also strengthen the annual inspection of commercial vehicles and the enforcement arrangements against smoky vehicles to minimise unnecessary smoke emissions from diesel vehicles. Despite these measures, high concentrations of harmful pollutants emitted from diesel vehicles remain a cause for concern. We will launch a trial of LPG taxis in late 1997 to ascertain their technical reliability and to gauge the operating cost data for devising a viable motor fuel strategy to improve air quality. End 4. Local construction workers are well-trained and protected ****************************************************** *** Following is a question by the Hon Cheng Yiu-tong and a reply by the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Joseph W P Wong, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: In view of the concern by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region about the housing problem in Hong Kong and his statement that the Government will be planning to achieve the goal of having 70% of the people in Hong Kong becoming home owners within the next ten years, the housing production is expected to increase. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether it has any plans to provide training to local construction workers, so as to meet the expected increase in housing production; if so, what the details are; (b) apart from the existing Supplementary Labour Scheme, whether the Government has any other plans to import construction workers into Hong Kong; if so, how it ensures that such plans will not affect the priority given to local workers in employment; and (c) whether the Government will issue visas for the importation of construction workers to meet the expected huge demand for housing production prior to conducting a review on the Supplementary Labour Scheme? Reply: Madam President, (a) In line with our policy objective of providing a well-trained workforce equipped to meet the needs of a dynamic economy, the Government will meet the demand for local construction workers arising from the expected increase in housing production mainly by providing vocational training and retraining through the Construction Industry Training Authority (CITA), Vocational Training Council (VTC), and the Employees Retraining Board (ERB). CITA expects that 1,144 and 424 trainees will be graduating this summer from its Basic Craft Course and the Construction Supervisor/Technician Training Programme respectively. Both are one-year full-time courses. In addition, as at 10.7.97, a total of 1,244 and 15,756 participants have been trained by CITA under its various full-time short and regular part-time courses in the current 96/97 training year. To support the Government's effort in increasing housing supply, CITA is expanding its training provision to meet the associated increase in labour demand for the construction industry. In the coming training year, i.e. 1997/98, the total training capacity of construction craftsmen, operators and technicians will increase by about 1,000. Looking further ahead, CITA plans to further expand its training programme to meet the future requirements of the construction industry. For example, the number of graduates from its short courses is expected to increase at an average rate of 10% per annum. Together with the full-time course graduates, CITA will have trained over 15,000 construction workers over the next five years. Turning to the VTC, this summer, some 323 and 1,281 trainees respectively will be graduating from their various craft and technician level training courses in the construction field, as well as the closely related electrical and mechanical trades. To cope with the increasing requirements of the industry, the VTC will be offering a total of 380 and 1,552 training places for the various courses in the construction field and for the electrical and mechanical trades in 1997- 98. Furthermore, the VTC has plans to: (i) review the relevant higher diploma and diploma courses in relation to such aspects as course plans, curricula and progression routes; (ii) consider the introduction of diploma and certificate courses in structural engineering; and (iii) seek to offer in 1998/99 a new Technician Foundation Course and a new Craft Foundation Course in Building Services with annual intakes of 16 and 108 students respectively. In keeping with the recently announced recommendations of the Strategic and Organisational review of the VTC, the Council will aim to be more market-responsive and flexible in adjusting its training capacity to meet Hong Kong's needs. The ERB provided retraining for 332 retrainees for the construction industry in 1996-97. In terms of work types, 124 retrainees graduated from assistant electrician training courses, 172 graduated from training courses for decoration and 36 were trained to be site administrators. 240 retraining places for assistant mechanics and assistant electricians will be produced by the end of this year. Given the flexible and market-driven approach of the ERB, additional retraining courses can be provided promptly through the retraining bodies to cope with any identified demand from employers in the construction industry. It is noteworthy that as a result of the recently announced recommendations of the review of the Employees Retraining Scheme, the scheme is better placed to meet the retraining needs of the economy. The outcome of this review and that of the Strategic and Organisational review of the VTC have provided a coherent basis for the Government to map out a strategy to meet Hong Kong's manpower training and retraining needs. The Government will continue to liaise closely with the relevant training bodies to ensure that any training needs of the industry can be met in an effective and timely manner. (b) Apart from the Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS), the Special Labour Importation Scheme for the New Airport and Related Projects (SLIS) is the only other labour importation scheme whereby contractors were allowed to bring in imported construction workers into Hong Kong. The objective of SLIS is to facilitate the timely completion of the new airport and related projects by allowing contractors of such projects to import workers for job vacancies which they are genuinely unable to fill by local workers within a specified works timeframe. In other words, only contractors who have been awarded contracts for the new airport and related projects are eligible to apply for imported workers under the Scheme. To ensure that local workers are given priority in employment, and that local workers will not be displaced by imported workers, several measures are in place under the Scheme. They include the requirements that imported workers are paid no less than the median monthly wages of local workers at comparable positions, that employers have to go through a four-week mandatory local recruitment period for the vacancies to be filled by imported workers, that imported workers are permitted to remain only under the direct employment by the same employer under the standard Employment Contract throughout their period of stay in Hong Kong, and that in the event of retrenchment, imported workers should be retrenched first. Employers who have either been convicted of offences under the labour laws or breached the conditions of the Scheme will be liable to sanctions under the Scheme, which include withdrawal of quotas and/or refusal of future quota applications. (c) The SLS operates on the twin cardinal policy principles on importation of labour--that local workers must be given priority in filling job vacancies available in the job market; and that employers who are genuinely unable to recruit local workers to fill their job vacancies should be allowed to bring in imported workers for such vacancies. Since it is not operating on an industry quota basis, it is open to applications from any industry sector including the building and construction contractors who are awarded housing construction contracts and each of their applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. As at July 10, applications for a total of 3,310 imported workers were approved under the SLS. Of these, 1,020 were for construction workers, and 486 visas were approved for these workers on June 30. Any employers whose applications for imported workers (including construction workers) have been approved under the SLS are given a period of three months to arrange for the workers to submit their visa applications to the Immigration Department, and that they can apply for imported workers including construction workers in accordance with the procedures of the SLS as and when their need arise. There is therefore no question of issuing visas for imported construction workers to meet any anticipated demand for housing production at this stage. End 5. Guest list for SARG establishment reception ******************************************* Following is a question by the Hon Chu Yu-lin, David, and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Michael Suen, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: Will the Government inform this Council: (a) which government department was responsible for compiling the guest list for the reception celebrating the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on July 1, 1997; and (b) whether all members of the three-tier system of assembly of the last term before the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region had been invited; if not, what criteria were adopted when deciding on the list of guests to be invited? Reply: (a) The guest list for the cocktail reception celebrating the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) on July 1, 1997 was compiled by the Special Administrative Region Chief Executive's Office. (b) As the reception was to be held after the establishment of the SAR, the SAR Chief Executive's Office had invited members of the three-tier councils basing on the membership lists of the three-tier provisional councils after the establishment of the SAR. All members of the three-tier provisional councils were invited to the reception. Other guests, including members of the three- tier councils before the establishment of the SAR, were invited having regard, inter alia, to the other public offices that they were holding. End 6. Measures to relieve traffic congestion in North-West NT ****************************************************** Following is a question by the Hon Ho Chung-tai and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport, Mr Gordon Siu, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: As a result of the recent torrential rains, traffic in the Northwestern New Territories has again come to a standstill. As the population of the Northwestern New Territories is expected to increase to 1.43 million by 2011, the traffic problem in the district will be further aggravated by then. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether, in order to alleviate the current traffic congestion problem in the Northwestern New Territories, the Government will adopt any transitional measures prior to the completion of Route 3, the Western Corridor Railway and the extension of Tuen Mun Highway, such as stepping up police patrols on highways and prosecution actions to ensure compliance with traffic regulations by motorists and reduce congestion caused by traffic accidents, as well as shortening the time needed to clear traffic accident sites so as to minimise the effect on traffic; and (b) of the measures adopted by the departments concerned to ensure the early completion of urgent maintenance works on slopes on the highways in the Northwestern New Territories, so as to prevent traffic congestion caused by landslides? Reply: Madam President, Before the opening of Route 3 (Country Park Section) in mid-1998, the following measures will be introduced to relieve traffic congestion in the North-West New Territories: (i) a 1-km long climbing lane along Tuen Mun Highway (Kowloon bound) near Ting Kau will be completed and opened to traffic in October 1997. This will increase road capacity and reduce congestion caused by slow-moving vehicles. (ii) 7 new traffic incident indicator signs will be installed by October 1997 in Yuen Long and Kwai Tsing Districts, on top of the 3 existing signs in Tuen Mun District. This will help alert motorists to the occurrence of serious incidents on Tuen Mun Highway which have disrupted traffic flow, so that they can make early decisions in choosing alternative routes to their destinations. (iii) Ting Kau Bridge and its approach slip roads will be partially opened to traffic in early 1998. It will connect Tsing Yi Island to Tuen Mun Highway at Ting Kau. Should the section of Tuen Mun Highway between Ting Kau and Tsuen Wan be blocked, the new road/bridge system will serve as an alternative route connecting Tuen Mun Highway to west Kowloon via Cheung Ching Tunnel, Rambler Channel Bridge, Kwai Chung Viaduct and West Kowloon Expressway. (iv) In order to maintain smooth traffic flow in Tuen Mun Highway, the Police has accorded high priority in the deployment of regular police patrols and enforcement patrol resources to ensure compliance with the Road Traffic Ordinance in particular, safe driving within the speed limit. In the last three years, traffic police resources in the New Territories have increased 20 per cent so that Police operations can be more speedily mobilised. (v) In cases of accidents or other incidents which affect traffic flow or require road closures, the Police have their own contingent of tow trucks for removal of vehicles and clear the road so that normal traffic can resume as soon as possible. In addition, they have a contract with a private operator to provide speedy recovery service for Tuen Mun Highway. (vi) During emergency situations such as landslip of roadside slopes, Highways Department (HD) will mobilize emergency teams to clear the roads and keep the roads open as far as possible. At the same time, joint inspections with geotechnical engineers from Geotechnical Engineering Office on the failed slopes will be carried out to identify urgent repair and stabilisation works, which are carried out immediately and round-the-clock for major routes. The progress of such urgent repair works is monitored on a daily basis to ensure completion and re-opening of the roads within the shortest time-span possible. As regards the closure of Tuen Mun Highway on July 3, 1997, the sequence of events was as follows. After persistent rain during the night on July 2, 1997, some sections of the catchwaters above the Tuen Mun Highway were blocked, resulting in an extraordinarily large quantity of water running down the natural stream course and overspilling onto Tuen Mun Highway, thereby causing damage to the road surface of the carriageway with deep potholes and rubbles scattering all over the road surface. Emergency clearance of the debris and repairs to the road surface were immediately undertaken during the early hours of July 3. HD has stepped up the inspection and cleansing works to road drains along Tuen Mun Highway to prevent flooding. The Department has also been carrying out daily inspection to the road drains and arranging urgent cleansing works if necessary. Because of the seriousness of the incident on July 2 and 3, HD is now urgently looking into appropriate measures to avoid recurrence of the incident. As regards the slopes along Tuen Mun Highway, HD employed a Consultant in 1994 to carry out Engineer Inspection on roadside slopes in the territory including those on Tuen Mun Highway. The study concluded that no section of the roadside slopes along Tuen Mun Highway was classified as having a high risk of landslides. Except for the rockfall incident in August 1995 which was related to the works of the Tuen Mun Highway Improvement project, no major landslides along Tuen Mun Highway have occurred in recent years. Notwithstanding this, HD carries out routine inspection on all roadside slopes maintained by HD at least once a year to identify defects in accordance with the requirements of the Geotechnical Engineering Office. Inspections on major routes have been increased to twice a year in the last few years. To ensure that defects identified in the inspections are rectified speedily, HD will immediately issue works orders to contractors for the necessary works, most of which are completed within 2-4 weeks' time. Between January and June this year, HD issued 1,600 works orders totalling $63 million to carry out maintenance and improvement works to roadside slopes in the whole of the New Territories. Priority has been given to the roadside slopes of major routes such as Tuen Mun Highway, Castle Peak Road, Route Twisk, etc. Furthermore, Phase 2 of the Engineer Inspection which is conducted once every five years for about 1,300 roadside slopes commenced in March 1997 for completion by September 1998. A consultancy for the investigation of underground services affecting the safety of fill slopes and retaining walls has also commenced in September 1996 and works for CCTV inspections of services will commence in a few months' time for completion by end 1998. The investigations for underground services in cut slopes are also underway and the consultancy is now scheduled to commence by end 1997. End 7. Comprehensive review on SLS is underway *************************************** 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 is learnt that the Immigration Department has issued more than 2,000 visas under the Supplementary Labour Scheme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) in relation to the above visas issued, of the breakdown by industry and type of work; and (b) whether a review of the Supplementary Labour Scheme has been conducted; if so, what the details are; if not, why not? Reply: Madam President, (a) As of June 30, 1997, 2,009 visa applications were approved for imported workers under the Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS). (b) When the SLS was launched in February 1996, the Government undertook to conduct a review of the scheme when 2,000 visa applications have been approved. As this trigger point has already been reached, we have now embarked on this review. This will be a comprehensive exercise, which seeks to assess whether the SLS has achieved its twin cardinal policy objectives, i.e.- (a) Local workers must be given priority in filling job vacancies available in the job market; and (b) Employers who are genuinely unable to recruit local workers to fill their job vacancies should be allowed to bring in imported workers for such vacancies. The review will cover all the operational aspects of the Scheme, including the application procedures, eligibility criteria, the vetting and approval mechanism, as well as the conditions and requirements of employment of imported workers. End 8. Fire insurance on mortgaged property ************************************ Following is a question by the Hon Law Cheung-kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Service, Mr Rafael Hui, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: It is learnt that in providing home mortgage loans, the banks in Hong Kong currently impose an additional condition requiring mortgagors to take out fire insurance with coverage equivalent to the amounts of the loans offered, and to designate the lending banks as the beneficiaries so as to safeguard the banks' interests. As the average construction costs of residential units will not exceed 20 per cent of property prices, the imposition of such a requirement on mortgagors far exceeds the actual need. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the specific details of the above additional condition imposed by the major banks in Hong Kong (including the Bank of China, the Hongkong Bank, the Hang Seng Bank, the Bank of East Asia, the Bank of America, the First Pacific Bank, etc.) when providing home mortgage loans; (b) of the policy adopted to monitor the imposition of the above additional condition by these banks; (c) of the total amount of fire insurance premiums paid by residential property owners, as well as the corresponding amount of related insurance claims paid, in each year from 1992 to 1996; and (d) whether the Government will ask these banks to review the above additional condition; if so, what the details are; if not, why not? Reply: (a) We understand that all major banks require mortgagors to take out fire insurance policies on the mortgaged property as a collateral. This is to protect banks against the credit risks associated with these loans. At present, the loan value is commonly taken as the sum insured. Some individual banks allow customers to use the reinstatement cost as the sum insured. In the latter case, customers have to pay for the valuation fee to ascertain the reinstatement cost. (b) The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) supports the requirement for fire insurance on mortgaged properties as one of the prudent lending criteria for property loans. It does not seek to dictate how the insured amount should be calculated, but believes that customers should be given a choice in this respect (see (d) below). (c) The statistical information on premiums submitted to the Insurance Authority by authorised insurance companies under the Insurance Companies Ordinance relating to fire insurance are subsumed under the category of "Property Damage". This category covers all types of property, whether landed property or otherwise, and whether caused by fire or other perils such as storm or theft. No separate statistics specifically on fire insurance premiums are therefore available. (d) The practice of requiring customers to purchase a fire insurance policy for the mortgaged property is addressed in the Code of Banking Practice (Code) recently issued by the two industry associations, namely, the Hong Kong Association of Banks and the Deposit-taking Companies Association. According to the Code, the amount and the nature of risks to be insured should be reasonable and should be a matter of mutual agreement between institutions and their customers. Institutions should also provide an option for the customers to choose whether the insured amount should be based on the loan value or the reinstatement value. The Code has become effective since July 14, 1997. Members of the Associations are expected to comply with the Code and the HKMA will monitor compliance as part of its regular supervision. End 9. Emergency transport arrangements for TM *************************************** Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yuen-han and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport, Mr Gordon Siu, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: The recent rainstorms have caused landslides in many parts of the territory. A section of Tuen Mun Highway was closed temporarily due to landslides, causing serious traffic congestion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether: (a) it will conduct a review to ascertain if the recent arrangements to divert the traffic following the partial closure of Tuen Mun Highway were adequate; (b) it has assessed the impact on Tuen Mun Highway in the event of a landslide occurring on the Highway; if so, of the specific details of such an assessment and the sections of Tuen Mun Highway which have been assessed as having a high risk of landslides; and (c) it has adopted measures to prevent the occurrence of serious traffic congestion on Tuen Mun Highway during heavy rains? Reply: Madam President, On the night of July 2, 1997, due to the persistent rainfall, the catchwaters above the Ting Kau and Yau Kom Tau section of Tuen Mun Highway were blocked resulting in an extraordinarily large quantity of water running down the natural stream course and overspilling onto Tuen Mun Highway. This caused damage to the surface of the carriageway with deep potholes and rubbles scattering all over the road surface. This section of the road was then closed. Emergency clearance of the debris and repairs to the road surface were immediately arranged. By 5:30 am on July 3, 1997, the Tuen Mun bound carriageway was reopened to traffic. One lane of the Kowloon bound carriageway was reopened at 7:45 am and the remaining two lanes were reopened at 3:30 pm on the same day. As soon as the Transport Department was informed of the need to close a section of the Tuen Mun Highway, it immediately activated the Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre at 1:00 am on July 3, 1997 and made the following emergency public transport arrangements:- (a) Ferry service (1) Ferry services between Central and Tuen Mun improved from 7 minute interval to 5 minutes. Those between Central and Tsing Lung Tau were strengthened by advancing commencement of the services from 7:00 am to 6:45 am. (2) A special service plying between Tsuen Wan and Tuen Mun was introduced to operate from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm at a frequency of 15-minute interval. (b) Bus service (1) All bus services between Tuen Mun and the urban area were re-routed to go via Tolo Highway before one lane of the Kowloon bound carriageway of Tuen Mun Highway was reopened to buses at 7:45 am. (2) A special bus service was arranged to run between Tuen Mun town centre and Sheung Shui KCR Station from 6:30 am to 8:00 pm at 20-minute interval. (3) Another special bus service operated between Tsuen Wan ferry and Tsuen Wan MTR Station from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm at 10-minute interval. (4) When one lane of the Kowloon bound carriageway of Tuen Mun Highway was reopened at 7:45 am, it was designated as a bus-only-lane so as to facilitate bus movements. (c) Mini-buses As Castle Peak Road near Ting Kau was also closed, mini-buses were rediverted to use the Tuen Mun Highway. A special shuttle bus was arranged between Sham Tseng and Ting Kau. (d) Strengthening KCRC/MTRC/LRT The services of MTRC, KCRC and LRT were also strengthened. The number of train services on the KCRC during the morning peak increased from 39 to 48. The capacity of the LRT was increased by 20% by adding cars to existing trains. The Transport Department has reviewed the emergency transport arrangements. Given the condition of the road and the availability of buses, the enhancement of ferry services was effective in conveying passengers from Tuen Mun to the urban area. During the morning peak before 9:30 am, instead of the normal 32 ferry trips provided, a total of 66 trips were operated carrying 14,000 passengers, compared with the normal 2,000. Throughout the day, a total of 31,000 passengers used the ferry service, compared with a daily average of 6,500 passengers on a normal working day. In the review, the Transport Department has concluded that if there are similar incidents in future, improvement in the transport arrangements could be made in the following areas:- (a) Berthing facilities at Tuen Mun Ferry Pier should be increased. Although ferries were available to be deployed on this occasion, the embarking and disembarking capacity was constrained by the number of ferry berths. There are four existing berths in Tuen Mun. Transport Department is now pursuing the provision of standby temporary berthing facilities close to the existing Ferry Pier. This will increase embarking and disembarking capacity and enable more passengers to be carried by ferries from Tuen Mun. (b) With additional berthing facilities, it would be possible to consider providing a special ferry service, if necessary, to Tung Chung, where commuters could continue their journey to the urban area via the North Lantau Expressway/Lantau Link, or the airport railway in due course. (c) Before the opening of one Kowloon bound lane at 7:45 am on Tuen Mun Highway, express bus services from Tuen Mun to the urban area were diverted to Tolo Highway, but they were also held up by the congestion along Tolo Highway. Transport Department will review the appropriateness of this arrangement vs feeding passengers to KCR stations. (d) The ferry service between Tuen Mun and Central started operation from 6:30 am. They could have been advanced to 6:00 am. Since the onset of this rainy season, to prevent flooding, Highways Department has stepped up inspection of the road drains along Tuen Mun Highway on a daily basis and arranges urgent cleansing works if necessary. In view of the seriousness of the incident on July 3, the Department is now urgently looking into appropriate measures to avoid recurrence of the incident. As regards the slopes along Tuen Mun Highway, an Engineer Inspection (EI) conducted by a consultant in 1994 concluded that no section of the slope along Tuen Mun Highway would be classified as having a high risk of landslide. Except for the rock incident in August 1995, no major landslide along Tuen Mun Highway has occurred in recent years. Phase II of the Engineer Inspection of road side slopes commenced in March 1997 for completion by September 1998. Apart from Engineer Inspection which is conducted once every five years, Highways Department also carries out routine inspection on all road side slopes at least once a year. Inspection on major routes are more frequent at twice a year in the last few years. Works Orders are immediately issued to contractors for rectification of any defects identified and the works are mostly completed within 2-4 weeks' time. Priority has been given to road side slope of major carriageways including Tuen Mun Highway. When Route 3 (Country Park Section) is completed and opened to traffic in mid 1998, it will provide a relief carriageway to Tuen Mun Highway if there is any incident on Tuen Mun Highway. Before Route 3 (Country Park Section) is in place, the following measures will be introduced to relieve traffic congestion on Tuen Mun Highway:- (a) A 1 km climbing lane of 3.3m wide on the Kowloon bound side Tuen Mun Highway near Ting Kau will be completed and opened to traffic in October 1997. This will improve road capacity and reduce traffic congestion during vehicle breakdown or emergency. (b) 7 new traffic incident indicator signs will be installed by October 1997 in Yuen Long and Kwai Tsing Districts, on top of the 3 existing signs in Tuen Mun District. This will help alert motorists to the occurrence of serious incidents on Tuen Mun Highway which have disrupted traffic flow, so that they can make early decisions in choosing alternative routes to their destinations. (c) Ting Kau Bridge and its approach slip roads will be partially opened to traffic in early 1998. It will connect Tsing Yi Island to Tuen Mun Highway at Ting Kau. Should the section of Tuen Mun Highway between Ting Kau and Tsuen Wan be blocked, this new road/bridge will serve as an alternative route connecting Tuen Mun Highway to West Kowloon via the completed Cheung Ching Tunnel, Rambler Channel Bridge, Kwai Chung Viaduct and West Kowloon Expressway. (d) In order to maintain smooth traffic flow in Tuen Mun Highway, the Police has accorded high priority in the deployment of regular police patrols and enforcement patrol resources to ensure compliance with the Road Traffic Ordinance in particular, safe driving within the speed limit. In the last three years, traffic police resources in the New Territories have increased 20% so that Police operations can be more speedily mobilised. (e) In cases of accidents or other incidents which affect traffic flow or require road closures, the Police have their own contingent of tow trucks for removal of vehicles and clear the road so that normal traffic can resume as soon as possible. In addition, they have a contract with a private operator to provide speedy recovery service at Tuen Mun Highway. End 10. Measures to further reduce the risk from landslides *************************************************** Following is a question by the Hon Ho Chung-tai and a written reply by the Secretary for Works, Mr Kwong Hon-sang, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: In late May of this year, the Slope Safety Technical Review Board appointed by the Civil Engineering Department declared that after years of efforts made by the Administration, the overall safety condition of slopes in Hong Kong had improved and that there were no signs indicating that any large-scale landslides would occur in this rainy season. However, there have been over 100 cases of landslides and floodings resulting in casualties following the continuous torrential rains in recent days. In view of this, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether it will review the existing criteria for the appointment of geotechnical experts; whether priority will be given to appointing local experts who are more familiar with the situation in Hong Kong; and (b) whether the Government has formulated a set of short-term, medium-term as well as long-term measures to prevent the occurrence of landslides; if not, why not? Reply: Madam President, The current Slope Safety Technical Review Board (the Board) was appointed in 1995 for a term of 3 years. Besides the selection criteria requiring professional competence relating to slope safety and a high international standing in the geotechnical field, it was considered that the appointed Member should have no involvement with commercial projects in Hong Kong in order to avoid any conflict of interest. We have placed suitable weight on the candidates' knowledge of Hong Kong's environment by requiring that the candidates should have previous working knowledge of slope stability problems in Hong Kong. All three appointed Members met our selection criteria. Two out of the three experts appointed were in fact members of the 1976 Independent Review Panel on Fill Slopes in Hong Kong following the second tragic Sau Mau Ping landslide. We are reviewing the appointment criteria for the next term. Regarding the candidate's familiarity with local situation, it is already part of our requirement that one should have relevant local knowledge and experience, and appointment will always be made on such basis. It is however also important that Board Members are truly experts in the geotechnical field, who possess sound knowledge of relevant international practice and standards, so that they can assist us to keep abreast of developments elsewhere. I am confident that any advice from the Board will be carefully considered and taken forward by our professional staff with due regard to local situation. We have a series of measures which are being implemented or planned to further reduce the risk from landslides. As short term measures to minimise damage and casualties when landslides occur, we will continue to liaise among relevant departments and policy bureaux to ensure that proper and effective co-ordination is in place, and to maintain efficient operation of the various rescue and support service provided by our departments. For the medium to long term, preventive measures include the following: (i) continue to check the design and construction of all newly formed slopes to the required safety standards; (ii) continue to implement the Landslip Preventive Measures (LPM) programme; (iii) improve the geotechnical control of private developments through the Buildings Ordinance and step up the enforcement of Dangerous Hillside (DH) Orders issued on private slope owners; (iv) continue to work on the SIMAR project for the Systematic Identification of Maintenance Responsibility which will clarify the maintenance responsibility for each slope feature; (v) step up the maintenance of all government slopes to ensure their continued stability; (vi) continue our work on the inspection of all buried pipes and drains which may affect slopes, and to take action where necessary to repair and rectify any damage that exists; (vii) continue to inspect squatter structures and arrange for clearance on slope safety grounds as necessary; (viii) consider to introduce legislation to put in place mandatory slope safety inspection schemes for private owners; (ix) continue to publish professional guidance documents and provide education and assistance to the general public through information services, safety campaigns and issue of landslip warnings; (x) conduct research and improve the methods of slope stability assessment and site characterization; and (xi) assess the risk posed by natural hillsides and arrange for preventive measures where necessary. All the above measures have been depicted in our Information Paper submitted to the Panel on Planning, Lands and Works of the former Legislative Council in May 1997. In order to support our long-term landslip risk reduction strategy, and to speed up progress of the LPM programme, we are seeking to increase our resources. We are considering the possibility of converting the 160 temporary posts in the Geotechnical Engineering Office and the Buildings Department for implementing the 5-year accelerated LPM programme into permanent posts for launching a new 10- year LPM programme. We are also considering to create more posts in various works departments to step up the maintenance of government slopes. End 11. Protection of the Harbour Ordinance unacceptable ************************************************ Following is a question by the Hon Law Cheung-kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, in the Provisional Legislative Council today (Wednesday): Question: With regard to the Protection of the Harbour Bill which was introduced by Miss Christine Loh Kung-wai and passed by the former Legislative Council at its last meeting held at the end of June this year, will the Government inform this Council of: (a) the specific impact which the Bill may have on the Government's long-term planning on land development; (b) the specific effects which the Bill may have on the decision-making process of the Town Planning Board; and (c) the concrete plans at present for the implementation of reclamation projects in the Victoria Harbour? Answer: Madam President, (a) The Protection of the Harbour Ordinance severely constrains Government's ability both to plan and undertake projects to provide land and infrastructure in the central harbour area. The Ordinance establishes a principle of presumption against reclamation in the central harbour and a public law duty requiring all public officers and public bodies to have regard to that principle for guidance in the exercise of their powers. The scope of the Ordinance is such that it is likely that any actions (including the planning and proposal process) for projects or plans above, within and underneath the central harbour area will be affected, instead of merely the filling in of the sea by reclamations. The Ordinance is also silent on implementation and enforcement, as well as the criteria and process by which the "presumption against" principle can be alleviated or met. Issues such as who should and how to judge whether the principle is applied or not, and what the sanctions are are extremely unclear. Such ambiguities create unacceptable uncertainty to the operation of public officers and public bodies. They may also give rise to numerous disputes in the courts if a public officer or public body is challenged by way of judicial review that he or it has disregarded or not adhered to the principle. This could cause serious uncertainties, disruptions and delays to almost any projects in the central harbour area such as Central Reclamation Phase 3, Wan Chai Reclamation Phase 2, Central and Wan Chai Bypass, and other projects or proposals which may take place in the geographical area. (b) The Ordinance establishes a "presumption against" principle covering the acts of all public officers and public bodies. The Town Planning Board is therefore also affected by the Ordinance. Since the Ordinance is silent on how it can be implemented, such as who and how to judge whether the principle is applied or not, the Town Planning Board will face great uncertainty in its consideration of and decisions on issues and projects which involve the central harbour area, including the preparation of town plans. (c) The Ordinance will affect three projects which are in various stages of proposal formation, study or planning, namely Kowloon Point Development, Central Reclamation Phase 3, Wan Chai Reclamation Phase 2, as well as the infrastructural projects to be provided in association with these proposals or plans. As there is a significant extent of uncertainty on how and whether the Ordinance will affect these plans, it is doubtful as to how much and what further actions should be taken on them. End
