Issued by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Information Services
Garden Road, 5th-8th Floors, Murray Building, Hong Kong. Tel: 2842 8777
Tuesday, December 9, 1997
CONTENTS
========
1. CE on duty visit in Beijing
2. Transcript of CE's media session at the airport
3. ExCo endorses Ma On Shan Rail alignment
4. Government House put to more use
5. Housing (Amendment) Bill brings assorted improvements
6. Prison Sentences Review Regulation to be tabled
7. Election of Medical Council members
8. Island West Transfer Station opens
9. Blankets for street sleepers
10. Ad Hoc Committee to discuss housing for the elderly
11. Hong Kong Monetary Authority tender results
12. Water cut in Kowloon
1. CE on duty visit in Beijing
***************************
The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, arrived in
Beijing today (Tuesday) for his first duty visit since the
establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region.
Mr Tung will report developments in Hong Kong to
President Jiang Zemin at Zhongnanhai on Thursday (December
11) morning and to Premier Li Peng tomorrow (Wednesday)
morning. He will also meet Vice Premier Zhu Rongji
tomorrow morning.
In his meeting with President Jiang and Premier Li,
Mr Tung will report on the situation and developments in
the economy, finance, and the social and livelihood issue
in the Special Administrative Region.
This afternoon, the Chief Executive had a meeting
with Vice Premier Qian Qichen at the Diaoyutai State
Guesthouse. After the meeting, Mr and Mrs Tung attended a
dinner hosted by Mr Qian at the State Guesthouse.
During the meeting, Mr Qian was affirmative about the
work of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Government. He pointed out that the Special
Administrative Region Government had handled internal and
external affairs in accordance with the stipulations of
the Basic Law and in an orderly manner. This had
strengthened the confidence of both Hong Kong people and
the international community in the future of Hong Kong.
On his arrival in Beijing early this afternoon, the
Chief Executive was greeted at the hotel by the Director
of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Mr Liao Hui.
Mr Tung and Mr Liao took the opportunity to review and
discuss ways to strengthen the liaison between the Special
Administrative Region and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs
Office, which both agreed has been developing
satisfactorily.
Mr Tung will return to Hong Kong on Thursday
afternoon.
End
2. Transcript of CE's media session at the airport
***********************************************
Following is the transcript of a media session given
by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, at the airport
before leaving for Beijing on a duty visit this (Tuesday)
morning:
Reporter: Will you be discussing the recent financial
turmoil and the currency peg and the Vietnamese Boat
People?
Mr Tung: As I explained that I'll be there to make a full
report to President Jiang Zemin and to Prime Minister Li
Peng about all that has happened since July 1, whether it
is on economic, financial, livelihood issues as well as on
future development. So that there will be a full range of
meetings and discussions.
End
3. ExCo endorses Ma On Shan Rail alignment
***************************************
The Government announced today (Tuesday) that the
Executive Council has given agreement in principle on the
recommended alignment for the Ma On Shan to Tai Wai rail
link (MOS Rail), and an extension of the Kowloon-Canton
Railway (KCR) from Hung Hom to Tsim Sha Tsui (TST
Extension).
The council also agreed that the Kowloon-Canton
Railway Corporation (KCRC) be invited to submit a proposal
to implement the MOS Rail and the TST Extension as a
package.
A government spokesman said the MOS Rail and the TST
Extension together formed one of the three high priority
projects recommended in the Railway Development Strategy.
The other two priority projects were the West Rail and the
MTR Tseung Kwan O Extension.
He said the implementation of the project would
improve access to the North East New Territories, and
facilitate the further development of the region. The TST
Extension would be an underground extension of the KCR
East Rail. It would relieve the pressure on the Kowloon
Tong Station which was an interchange with the Mass
Transit Railway (MTR).
The recommended alignment for the MOS Rail comprises
nine stations (Tai Wai, Sha Tin Tau, Sha Kok Street, City
One, Shek Mun, Chevalier Garden, Heng On, Ma On Shan and
Lee On), and a depot at Tai Wai. The TST Extension will
run along the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade and Middle Road,
with a new station at the foot of Signal Hill.
The estimated construction costs in 1995 prices
(excluding land and financing costs) for the MOS Rail and
the TST Extension are $6.7 billion and $2.4 billion
respectively. Taking into account the time required for
project initiation and construction, it is anticipated
that the MOS Rail can be completed in mid-2004, and the
TST Extension in late 2003.
The spokesman said the Government would make a formal
invitation to KCRC to undertake the MOS Rail and the TST
Extension as a package. The estimated project costs and
the programme might need to be fine-tuned in the light of
discussions with KCRC.
The Government expects the KCRC to present proposals
on the implementation of the MOS Rail and the TST
Extension in about six months.
End
4. Government House put to more use
********************************
The Government House (GH) will be open to the public
for a total of four times a year instead of one from next
year, a Government spokesman said today (Tuesday).
The spokesman said that the Chief Executive (CE) made
known earlier his intention to make the GH more accessible
to the public and he has now decided that in addition to
the past practice of opening the GH for public visit once
very year in March, the GH will be open to the public for
another three days in a year.
With effect from January 1, 1998 the Ballroom in the
GH will also be reserved for use by charitable and public
organisations for hosting major community events three
times a month. Details will be announced shortly, the
spokesman said.
The Administration in the meantime is still
considering the long-term uses of the GH and a decision is
expected in the first quarter of 1998.
The spokesman rejected allegations that public money
has been wasted at GH since July 1. He said that since
the reunification, the GH has been regularly used as a
venue for official functions of the SARG involving
visiting foreign dignitaries, retired leaders from the
Mainland, local and overseas businessmen, political and
community leaders; and for functions organised by non-
profit making organisations such as the Community Chest,
the Hong Kong Tourist Association, the Lord Wilson
Heritage Trust and the Antiquities Advisory Board.
"Simply looking at the 18 receptions and 18
breakfasts, lunches and dinners held between July 1 and
November 30 does not tell the whole story," the spokesman
said.
"We have to consider the scale of these functions,
some of which were quite large and involved different
sectors of the community. We have made good use of the GH
for holding such large scale functions," he noted.
As regards the domestic staff, the spokesman
explained that they not only provide support to functions
held at GH, they also provide domestic services to the CE
and Mrs Tung and support to functions held at the CE's
Office, the CE's official residence and the Fanling Lodge.
He stressed that there is no question that either the GH
is under-utilised and the domestic staff underemployed.
The spokesman also confirmed that the 45-year-old
Government launch Lady Maurine will be taken out of
service as the Marine Department has, after a thorough
inspection of the structure of the vessel in October 1997
which lasted about a month, advised that it is no longer
seaworthy.
For official functions that require the use of a
Government VIP launch, the CE will share the use of the
Government VIP launch, Tin Hau, with other senior
Government officials.
The Finance Committee has already approved in
November 1996 a replacement for Tin Hau and the new vessel
is expected to be available in the middle of 1998. There
is presently no intention to purchase another additional
VIP launch.
End
5. Housing (Amendment) Bill brings assorted improvements
*****************************************************
Public housing tenants and applicants will be
deterred from making false declarations of income and
assets by an additional fine under the Housing (Amendment)
(No. 3) Bill 1997 to be introduced into the Provisional
Legislative Council in early January 1998.
At the same time, the Bill will seek to empower the
Director of Housing to contract out the premium assessment
work of subsidised home ownership flats to qualified
private estate surveyors to meet the anticipated workload
and to shorten the time required when these flats can be
disposed of in the open market after the expiry of the
10-year resale restriction period.
A government spokesman today (Tuesday) explained that
to ensure scarce public housing resources are used to
benefit those in genuine need, statutory declarations were
required from families applying for public rental housing
to furnish information to establish eligibility as well as
from families with 10 years of residence in these housing
flats to declare their income and assets.
Currently, a person who makes such false declaration
commits an offence with a maximum penalty of six months'
imprisonment and a fine of $50,000.
"However, the fines imposed in over 90 per cent of
the convicted cases in the past five years were not
adequate to reflect the extent of housing subsidy abused.
Therefore, an additional fine of three times the rent
undercharged for the relevant period is proposed to deter
any applicant or tenant of public rental housing from
knowingly making any false declarations of income and
asset to the Housing Authority (HA)," the spokesman said.
On premium assessment, the spokesman said that
purchasers of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) and Private
Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS) flats might sell, let
or dispose of their flats in the open market after a
10-year resale restriction period, subject to the payment
of a premium equivalent to the updated value of the
original discount with reference to the prevailing market
value of the property as assessed by the Director of
Housing.
The spokesman said as a result of the growing number
of HOS and PSPS flats passing the 10-year resale
restriction period, the volume of applications for premium
assessment had increased from 1,346 cases in 1994/95 to
5,790 cases in 1996/97 and was anticipated to increase
further in the near future.
"To cope with the anticipated workload and to shorten
the time for premium assessment, the HA proposes to
contract out the assessment work to qualified estate
surveyors in the private sector and this is supported by
the Government," the spokesman said.
To expedite the work of the Appeal Panel to hear
appeals against termination of leases for public rental
and interim housing, the spokesman said that the Bill also
sought to remove the ceiling on the membership of the
Panel.
He pointed out that the Housing Ordinance provided
for the Secretary for Housing to appoint a Chairman and 11
other members to the panel. Its workload has been
increasing in recent years, but there is a practical limit
governing the number of cases that can be handled each
month due to the statutory requirement that at least three
members should be attending a hearing each time.
"An amendment is therefore proposed to remove the
ceiling on the number of members to be appointed by the
Secretary for Housing to the Appeal Panel," he said.
There are also technical amendments to clearly spell
out the power of the HA to require tenants to pay
different rents, depending on their total household income
or total household income and assets, and to require
tenants to furnish such particulars.
All these amendments are contained in the Housing
(Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 1997 which will be gazetted on
December 19, 1997 and introduced into the Provisional
Legislative Council on January 7, 1998.
End
6. Prison Sentences Review Regulation to be tabled
***********************************************
The Long-term Prison Sentences Review Regulation,
which has been endorsed by the Executive Council,
specifies a detailed set of procedures to facilitate the
implementation of the Long-term Prison Sentences Review
Ordinance (LPSRO), a government spokesman said today
(Tuesday).
"The LPSRO was enacted in June, 1997. The ordinance
provides, among other things, for the establishment of a
statutory Long-term Prison Sentences Review Board with
improved and updated procedures which enhance the
transparency, efficiency and fairness of our prison
sentence review system," the spokesman said.
While the ordinance has set out only in broad terms
the Board's functions and the review procedures, the
regulation specifies detailed procedures in a number of
areas, such as the factors which the statutory board may
consider, and the conditions which may be included in a
supervision order.
"With the setting out of the procedures in detail in
law, the regulation would increase the transparency of the
sentence review system," the spokesman added.
The regulation will be tabled in the Provisional
Legislative Council on December 17.
End
7. Election of Medical Council members
***********************************
The Medical Council of Hong Kong held its second
election of Medical Council members today (Tuesday).
Out of 2,154 ballot papers received, 1,991 were valid
ones.
Dr Fok Tai-fai and Dr Lau Wan-yee, Joseph were
elected with 788 and 671 votes respectively. They will be
appointed as members of the Medical Council by end of
January 1998 for a period of three years.
End
8. Island West Transfer Station opens
**********************************
The Island West Transfer Station (IWTS), which is the
first refuse transfer station constructed inside a man-
made cavern, is officially opened today (Tuesday).
Located underneath Mount Davis at Kennedy Town, the
transfer station was built at a capital cost of $640
million and with an annual operating cost of $56 million.
Officiating at the opening ceremony, the Secretary
for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, said
the station was built inside a man-made cavern because it
reduced the noise and odour nuisance. It also released
valuable land for other uses.
Mr Leung also added that the Waste Reduction Plan
would be introduced in mid-1998, firmly implanting waste
reduction as government policy.
"The awareness displayed by individual waste
producers will be critical to the success of the Waste
Reduction Plan," he said.
The IWTS is the second transfer facility serving the
Hong Kong Island.
The Assistant Director of Environmental Protection
(Waste Facilities), Mr Benny Wong, said at the ceremony
that together with the Island East Transfer Station, the
facilities provide a joint handling capacity over 2,200
tonnes per day, which is sufficient to accommodate all
waste generated from Hong Kong Island.
Like other waste management projects, the IWTS is
developed under a "design, build and operate" contract
arrangement under which the contractor is required to
operate the station for 15 years.
Capable of processing 1,000 tonnes of refuse a day,
the IWTS has been built to very high environmental
standards.
"Wastewater treatment plant and odour removal
equipment have been installed inside the facility to
ensure that no nuisance will be caused to nearby
residents," Mr Wong said.
"All waste received at the station is compacted into
specially designed sealed containers which will be
transferred by vessels to the West New Territories
Landfill at Nim Wan for final disposal," he added.
Also present at the opening ceremony are the acting
Director of Environmental Protection, Mr Mike Stokoe; and
the Managing Director of Swire BFI Waste Services Ltd, Mr
Lionel J Krieger.
End
9. Blankets for street sleepers
****************************
Staff of the Social Welfare Department last (Monday)
night distributed a total of 488 blankets to street
sleepers in a territory-wide operation during the cold
weather.
Of the total, 147 were distributed on Hong Kong
Island, 28 in East Kowloon, 229 in West Kowloon, 54 in New
Territories East and 30 in New Territories West.
At the same time, the departmental hotline extended
its service overnight to render assistance and advice to
those in need. Altogether 16 calls requesting help during
the cold spell were received between 10 pm yesterday and
9 am today.
End
10. Ad Hoc Committee to discuss housing for the elderly
***************************************************
The Ad Hoc Committee on Housing and Residential Care
of the Elderly Commission will meet at 10 am on Thursday
(December 11) to discuss the direction on community and
residential care for the elderly.
The meeting, to be chaired by Mr Moses Cheng, will
also discuss the licensing of private homes for the
elderly and the Bought Place Scheme.
End
11. Hong Kong Monetary Authority tender results
*******************************************
Tender date : 9 December 1997
Paper on offer : EF Bills
Issue number : Q163
Issue date : 10 December 1997
Maturity date : 7 January 1998
Amount applied : HK$17,295 MN
Amount allotted : HK$5,000 MN
Average yield accepted : 5.19 PCT
Highest yield accepted : 5.30 PCT
Pro rata ratio : About 40 PCT
Average tender yield : 5.46 PCT
- - - - -
Tender date : 9 December 1997
Paper on offer : EF Bills
Issue number : Q750
Issue date : 10 December 1997
Maturity date : 11 March 1998
Amount applied : HK$8,234 MN
Amount allotted : HK$2,000 MN
Average yield accepted : 6.40 PCT
Highest yield accepted : 6.50 PCT
Pro rata ratio : About 34 PCT
Average tender yield : 6.66 PCT
- - - - -
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
****************************
Tender to be held in the week beginning - 15 Dec 97:
Tender date : 15 December 1997
Paper on offer : EF Notes
Issue number : 5212
Issue date : 16 December 1997
Maturity date : 16 December 2002
Tenor : 5 Years
Amount on offer : HK$500 + 100 MN
Coupon : 8.25 PCT
- - - - -
Tender date : 16 December 1997
Paper on offer : EF Bills
Issue number : Q751
Issue date : 17 December 1997
Maturity date : 18 March 1998
Tenor : 91 Days
Amount on offer : HK$2,000 + 500 MN
- - - - -
Tender date : 16 December 1997
Paper on offer : EF Bills
Issue number : H780
Issue date : 17 December 1997
Maturity date : 17 June 1998
Tenor : 182 Days
Amount on offer : HK$1,000 + 300 MN
End
12. Water cut in Kowloon
********************
Flushing water supply to some premises in Mong Kok,
Yau Ma Tei and Tsim Sha Tsui will be suspended from 10 pm
on Thursday (December 11) to 6 am the following day for
alteration work on watermains.
The suspension will affect all premises in the area
bounded by south of Mong Kok Road and west of the Kowloon
Canton Railway track.
End
