HKSAR Government Press Releases

HKSAR Government Press Releaseshttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/today.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/rss/rss_logo_en.gifHKSAR Government Press Releaseshttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/today.htmHKSAR Government - Press Releasesen-UKCopyright, HKSAR Governmentirc@isd.gov.hkThu, 01 Nov 2018 10:20:01 GMTTue, 12 Jul 2016 11:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Red flag hoisted at Silverstrand Beach]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201811/01/P2018110100272.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201811/01/P2018110100272.htmThu, 01 Nov 2018 09:01:51 +0800
Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (November 1) that due to big waves, the red flag has been hoisted at Silverstrand Beach in Sai Kung District.  Beach-goers are advised not to swim at the beach.]]><![CDATA[Squatter Occupants Voluntary Registration Scheme now open for applications from eligible occupants of squatter structures]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201811/01/P2018103100383.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201811/01/P2018103100383.htmThu, 01 Nov 2018 08:00:00 +0800
     The Squatter Occupants Voluntary Registration Scheme is a one-off exercise that will last for one year to complement the Government initiative announced on May 10, 2018 to provide revised ex-gratia compensation and rehousing arrangements for domestic households in squatter structures affected by the Government's development clearance exercises. The revised arrangements include suitably extending the arrangements on non-means tested rehousing and ex-gratia compensation for domestic households in squatter structures to eligible domestic occupants residing in licenced non-domestic structures or in squatter structures recorded for non-domestic uses in the 1982 Squatter Control Survey (SCS).

     A spokesperson for the LandsD said that to be eligible under the Scheme, domestic occupants should have been residing in licenced non-domestic structures or in squatter structures recorded for non-domestic uses in the 1982 SCS on May 10, 2016 or earlier.

     The spokesperson added, "Domestic occupants residing in licenced non-domestic structures or in squatter structures recorded for non-domestic uses in the 1982 SCS are advised to apply for the Scheme as soon as possible. Only those occupants who have applied for the Scheme and satisfied its registration criteria will be considered eligible for the compensation and rehousing arrangements in Government's future development clearance exercises.

     "Occupants who have applied for the Scheme and satisfied its registration criteria must still adhere to the requirements governing surveyed squatter structures under the prevailing squatter control policy, such as the requirement that prohibits any extension, addition or unauthorised alteration with materials not in compliance with the SCS record. Notwithstanding this, a change to the use of the squatter structures for residential purposes by the occupants who have applied for the Scheme and satisfied its registration criteria will not constitute a breach leading to cancellation of survey records of their squatter structures or demolition of these squatter structures as enforcement actions."

     Guidance notes on the Scheme and application forms are obtainable at District Lands Offices, Clearance Offices and Squatter Control Offices of the LandsD, and at Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of the Home Affairs Department, or downloadable from the LandsD's website (www.landsd.gov.hk/en/vrs/vrs.htm). For enquiry, please call 2231 3392 or email to vrs-cu@landsd.gov.hk.]]><![CDATA[Correctional officers stop assault on person in custody]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103101045.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103101045.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 22:38:29 +0800
     At 5.45pm, a 34-year-old male person in custody suddenly attacked another 31-year-old male person in custody inside the exercise yard. Officers at the scene immediately stopped the assailant and called for reinforcements.

     The victim sustained arm injury during the incident. After examination and treatment by the medical officer of the institution hospital, he was transferred to a public hospital for further treatment.

     The case has been reported to the Police for investigation.

     The assailant was sentenced to imprisonment for the offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug.]]><![CDATA[CE explores I&T collaboration in Japan (with photos/video)]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103101006.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103101006.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 22:03:13 +0800
     Accompanied by the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, Mrs Lam had a breakfast meeting with the President of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Mr Michinari Hamaguchi, and its key members. Also present were the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Dr Sunny Chai and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Dr George Lam. Managed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the JST promotes state-of-the-art research and development (R&D) projects and spearheads co-creation of innovation. It also formulates long-term R&D strategies and promotes the transformation of technological achievements and related education. Mrs Lam said at the meeting that the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is determined to develop Hong Kong as an international I&T hub and has been advancing I&T development using an eight-pronged approach. She noted that she had proposed in her recent Policy Address the allocation of an additional $28 billion to support university research, encourage re-industrialisation and promote technological entrepreneurship. Mrs Lam said she encouraged technology enterprises, R&D institutions and academics from Japan to partner with their Hong Kong counterparts in research to make good use of the R&D grants and tax deduction for expenditure on R&D rolled out by the HKSAR Government.

     Later, Mrs Lam and the other officials visited the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) to meet with its President, Professor Kazuya Masu, to learn about the institute's development in technological research, as well as to view the supercomputer Tsubame 3.0. Tsubame 3.0, one of the largest supercomputers in Japan, has excellent computing power and energy efficiency. Tokyo Tech is one of the top four universities in Japan. Mrs Lam said she was pleased to learn that Tokyo Tech has established links with several universities in Hong Kong through a co-operation agreement and various collaborative research projects and student exchange programmes. She expressed the hope that Tokyo Tech would continue to collaborate with Hong Kong's universities to jointly enhance the level of scientific research.

     Mrs Lam then attended a luncheon organised by the Economist Corporate Network with women's leadership as the theme, at which she discussed with over 100 senior executives topics including women in leadership, female empowerment and assistance for women in career development. She introduced to the participants situation of women in Hong Kong in such areas as education, employment and appointment to public offices, and a series of initiatives in support of women and family-friendly measures by the HKSAR Government in order to give women equal opportunities for development and room to give full play to their talents.

     In the afternoon, accompanied by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, Mrs Lam officiated at the opening ceremony of the "More than High-rise: Exploring Hong Kong through Architecture" exhibition organised by the Hong Kong Institute of Architects in Tokyo. Speaking at the ceremony, she said that Hong Kong is not only celebrated for its skyscrapers, but also for historic built heritage such as the Blue House in Wan Chai and the PMQ in Central, with the former winning the Award of Excellence at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. In addition, contemporary iconic buildings including Hong Kong International Airport, the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, the Xiqu Centre and M+ in the West Kowloon Cultural District also enrich Hong Kong's skyline and cityscape, she added.

     In the evening, Mrs Lam attended the "Asian Youth Orchestra Alumni Special Concert – Celebrating Friendship between Japan and Hong Kong" performed by more than 20 alumni of the AYO from Hong Kong and Japan. Based in Hong Kong, the AYO attracts many bright young musicians from all over Asia to Hong Kong for training every year and takes them to different parts of the world for performances and cultural exchange. The AYO has played a significant role in promoting arts and cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and Japan. The orchestra's first public concert in 1990 was held in Kumamoto, Japan. Since then, Japan has been one of the AYO's touring destinations almost every year. The AYO was awarded Japan's Praemium Imperiale Grant for Young Artists in 2010 in recognition of its contribution to the development of young artistic talents. It was also awarded the Nikkei Asia Prize in 2015 for Culture and Community for promoting friendship and understanding through the common language of music.

     Mrs Lam had dinner with the AYO musicians and will continue her visit to Japan tomorrow (November 1).

]]><![CDATA[Hong Kong ranked world's fourth easiest place to do business]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100994.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100994.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 21:28:00 +0800
      "In the past ten years, Hong Kong has maintained its position among the world's top ranking economies in the Report, re-affirming our favourable business environment for overseas companies to set up their regional headquarters and offices, and for all businesses to flourish," a government spokesman said.

      "The score of Hong Kong has improved from 83.44 last year to 84.22 this year, reflecting continuous enhancements in our business facilitation measures. The World Bank commends Hong Kong for the successful implementation of reform measures to improve the ease of doing business," he added.

     The Report compares the ease of doing business in 190 economies across 10 indicators. Among the 10 indicators, Hong Kong performs well in a number of them, including "paying taxes" (ranked first), "dealing with construction permits" (ranked first), "getting electricity" (ranked third) and "starting a business" (ranked fifth).

      The Government will study the Report carefully and continue to work closely with the business sector and other stakeholders to reform the existing regulatory regimes, enhance regulatory efficiency and reduce business compliance costs, so as to further improve the business environment in Hong Kong.]]><![CDATA[More endangered species to go on protection list (with photos)]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100825.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100825.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 19:25:19 +0800
     Newly listed species include pygmy chameleons, silky shark, thresher sharks, clarion angelfish and Dalbergia species. Some of the currently regulated species will be transferred from Appendix II to Appendix I. The details are in the Annex.

     "The amendments will bring Hong Kong in line with the revisions to the list of controlled species in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora," the spokesman said.

     Under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, except with exemptions or otherwise specified, the import, export, re-export, introduction from the sea and possession of the controlled species, including their parts and derivatives, are subject to licensing controls. Relevant import and export controls will be implemented on the species concerned when the new control list comes into force.

     The AFCD has notified the traders concerned about the legislative amendments through circular letters, and briefed the relevant stakeholders about the new controls through seminars.

     Under the new controls, a Licence to Possess must be obtained within the three-month grace period for the possession for commercial purposes of Appendix I specimens or Appendix II live specimens of wild origin. The grace period will end on January 31, 2019.

     The spokesman also reminded the public that the penalties for violating the Ordinance have been increased since May 1 this year. Any person found guilty of importing, exporting, re-exporting or possessing any endangered species without a licence is liable to a maximum penalty of a fine of $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years. The specimens will also be forfeited upon conviction.

     For the licensing requirements for the species listed on different appendices, please visit the website www.cites.hk. For enquiries, please call 1823.

]]><![CDATA[Transcript of remarks by SEN]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100852.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100852.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 19:18:00 +0800
Secretary for the Environment: The Government will introduce the Waste Disposal (Charging for Municipal Solid Waste) (Amendment) Bill 2018 into the Legislative Council (LegCo) on November 14 to underpin the implementation of municipal solid waste (MSW) charging.

     The implementation of MSW charging sits at the centre of our overall waste reduction strategy. It will provide the necessary financial incentives to drive behavioural changes and encourage various sectors of the community to practise waste reduction and clean recycling. Experiences in other cities clearly show that it helps reduce waste disposal effectively. Amid the increasing waste disposal level in Hong Kong, which is higher than those in other cities like London and Seoul, in addition to combat climate change, we should introduce MSW charging to promote waste reduction and recycling in order to reduce carbon emissions.

    Over the past few years, the Government has been consulting various stakeholders and the community to build understanding of and support for the introduction of this major waste reduction policy and on the relevant implementation arrangements. Last year, having regard to the views received from various trades, we announced the modified charging arrangements, which expand the scope of the use of pre-paid designated garbage bags to cover some 80 per cent of the MSW being disposed of every day. The remaining MSW will be subject to a "gate fee" when it is sent to landfills or refuse transfer stations for disposal. The modified arrangements have been largely accepted by the trades and the community.

     We do not underestimate the challenges of implementing MSW charging on a territory-wide scale, and have formulated a pragmatic strategy to put this into practice.

     The key strategy can be represented by "ECO": "E" stands for "education", "C" stands for "community support" and "O" for "outreaching assistance".

     Number one, education and publicity hold the key to the implementation of MSW charging. Under the theme of "Dump Less, Save More", we will launch a territory-wide publicity and public education campaign, which will put due emphasis on first-hand participation, collaboration with various stakeholders and provision of on-site assistance.

     Secondly, community support. The Government will put in additional recurrent resources to support the community to practise waste reduction at source and clean recycling. As recently announced in the Policy Address, the Government will first provide an additional provision of around $300 million to $400 million for the next financial year, which will be further increased to no less than $800 million to $1,000 million from the financial year when the MSW charging is to be implemented. The amount of this annual provision would be comparable to the estimated gross revenue to be generated from MSW charging, so as to achieve the effect of "dedicated fund for dedicated use".

     We plan to make use of additional resources to provide free territory-wide collection service in respect of waste plastics from non-commercial and industrial (C&I) sources and food waste from all sources in the longer run subject to the outcome of the pilot schemes on non-C&I waste plastics and C&I food waste, and implement a pilot scheme to assess the effectiveness of applying reverse vending machines in promoting the recycling of plastic beverage containers.

     Thirdly, outreaching assistance. We plan to make use of additional resources to set up outreaching teams to provide on-site assistance to the community, thereby putting waste reduction and recycling, as well as MSW charging, into practice.

     Lastly, I would like to say that it will take time to cultivate the necessary behavioural change. To this end, we will put in place a preparatory period of 12 to 18 months after the passage of the Bill to provide the Government, different stakeholders and other people with appropriate time to prepare for the implementation of MSW charging. We estimate that MSW charging could be implemented by end-2020 at the earliest. Let's support the "Dump Less, Save More" movement to make Hong Kong cleaner and greener in the long run. Thank you.

Reporter: What would be the penalty of not using the designated rubbish bag? Also, how can it be executed? People living in a building will throw their garbage to the garbage room on the floor, so how can you identify which bag is from which home?

Secretary for the Environment: I think the enforcement challenge is not only faced by Hong Kong, but also elsewhere which have similar waste charging mechanisms. As I have said earlier, public education and publicity is the priority, as it has been adopted in other cities. After that, enforcement arrangement will be a backup and we will have a risk-based approach. That means, if there are areas identified with frequent fly-tipping, relevant authorities will be notified and necessary enforcement arrangement will be made. Certainly, we will receive complaints on repeated locations (that do not used designated bags), and we will have arrangement on the enforcement plan.

Reporter: Mr Wong, the introduction of the MSW charging bill has been further delayed, and lawmakers will oppose to the bill. How would you assess the public perception and knowledge of this plan? Do you think many of them know about it and how is it going?

Secretary for the Environment: I would like to share with you that over the past period of time, we have been in contact with stakeholders, including business sectors, green groups, education sector, etc. My feeling is that many Hong Kong people are actually supportive to a greener and waste less society in Hong Kong. For lawmakers, we will go through our lobbying process and it is not without challenge. I think we will try our best endeavours to liaise with them because the current proposal has been improved and enhanced. It is a balanced approach, a practicable approach. Certainly, it takes time for Hong Kong to build up various facilities on recycling infrastructure. We will convince them that MSW charging policy should be given priority. Similarly in other cities, they implement MSW charging first, and at the same time they also push ahead other recycling and supporting facilities in parallel.

Reporter: Can you tell more about the penalty? Penalty for not using the bags?

Secretary for the Environment: As I said earlier, publicity and education is the priority but we will also have the enforcement arrangement. Each time if one is caught, the minimum fixed penalty is $1,500. The amount is equivalent to a typical family's waste charging for a few years. So it would be a substantial warning to individuals if they are not following the law.

Reporter: Now that the implementation of the MSW charging will be postponed one year, how about the year 2022 waste reduction target? Will it be affected?

Secretary for the Environment: As I said earlier and similar to other cities, direction is the key. The timeline will be affected by various factors, including our waste blueprint and the timeline set for the latest MSW charging bill. I think the emphasis should be placed on the direction. We hope to gain the support from lawmakers for the passage of the bill. So, direction is the key.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)]]><![CDATA[CHP investigates suspected poisoning case after consumption of medicinal plant]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100836.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100836.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 18:45:00 +0800
     The case involves a family of four persons, comprising one male and three females, aged 2 to 68. They consumed self-prepared soup containing Radix Fici Simplicissimae at home last night (October 30) and developed dizziness around 30 minutes after consumption. They attended the Accident and Emergency Department of Yan Chai Hospital on the same day and were in a stable condition. Three of them have been discharged after treatment.

     Their urine samples and samples of the unused Radix Fici Simplicissimae have been sent for laboratory testing.

     Initial investigations revealed that the Radix Fici Simplicissimae concerned was bought by a family friend in the Mainland. The CHP's investigations are ongoing.

     "Radix Fici Simplicissimae is not toxic, but resembles some toxic plants, such as Gelsemium elegans, and it can be mixed up with these substances. Members of the public should purchase medicinal plants from licensed shops with a good reputation and should not consume medicinal plants of unknown origin. If they feel unwell after consumption, they should seek advice from healthcare professionals immediately," a spokesman for the CHP advised.]]><![CDATA[Cluster of Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae cases at United Christian Hospital]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100812.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100812.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 18:23:00 +0800
      The spokesperson for United Christian Hospital made the following announcement today (October 31):

      Seven male patients aged 63 to 92 in a surgical ward have been confirmed to have Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) since October 23. Three of the patients concerned are being treated under isolation and are in a stable condition; one patient passed away due to his own underlying disease; and the remaining three patients have been discharged.

      The Hospital Infection Control Team has followed up with the departments concerned and experts of the Centre for Health Protection. The following enhanced infection control measures have already been adopted in the ward:

Apply stringent contact precautions and enhance hand hygiene;
Enhance attention to contamination-prone procedures; and
Enhance cleansing and disinfection of the ward.

      The hospital will continue to closely monitor the situation on the ward. The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow-up. ]]><![CDATA[LCQ14: Hawker Assistance Scheme]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100773.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100773.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 18:20:00 +0800
Question:

     Under the Hawker Assistance Scheme (the Scheme) launched by the Government in June 2013, hawker licensees of about 4 300 fixed-pitch hawker stalls in 43 hawker areas might choose to apply for a relocation cum reconstruction grant or surrender of their licences to the Government for an ex-gratia payment of $120,000. The Scheme expired in June this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective numbers of applications for surrender of hawker licences received and approved by the Government under the Scheme;

(2) of the number of pitches available for allocation (except those unsuitable for allocation due to safety reasons) in the 43 hawker areas upon expiry of the Scheme, with a breakdown by district and hawker area;

(3) of the respective total numbers of licensed hawkers in the 43 hawker areas (i) before the launch and (ii) upon expiry of the Scheme, with a breakdown by district and hawker area; and

(4) as the Government indicated at a committee meeting of this Council that it would consider re-issuing the surrendered hawker licences for application by interested parties, of the timetable and progress of the work concerned, and whether the trade and the public will be consulted on the relevant arrangements; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     To reduce the fire risks posed by on-street hawking activities, the Government obtained funding approval of $230 million from the Legislative Council (LegCo) Finance Committee on March 15, 2013 for a five-year Hawker Assistance Scheme (the Scheme) for the licensed hawkers in 43 fixed-pitch hawker areas in the territory. The Scheme aims to improve the fire resisting design and capability of hawker stalls, and to relocate stalls away from staircase discharge points of buildings or emergency vehicular access.

     The Scheme covers the following scope:

(a) Hawkers who are required by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) to relocate their stalls for fire safety reasons may apply for a one-off relocation cum reconstruction grant to dismantle their old stalls and build new ones at the newly assigned pitch spaces to meet the fire-resisting specifications drawn up by the FEHD in consultation with the Fire Services Department and the Buildings Department;

(b) Hawkers who are not required to relocate their stalls under (a) may apply for a one-off in-situ reconstruction grant to carry out partial or full reconstruction of their stalls in-situ to meet the prescribed fire-resisting specifications for reducing fire risks; and

(c) An ex-gratia payment (EGP) of $120,000 will be paid to hawkers (except for those whose licences are newly issued pursuant to the hawker licensing policy review in 2008-09) who opt for voluntary surrender of their hawker licences to the Government. This helps expedite the release of vacant pitches and hence facilitates the relocation of stalls which pose higher fire risks. Hawkers who have obtained a one-off grant for relocation cum reconstruction or in-situ reconstruction of their stalls under the Scheme will not be eligible for EGP, if they surrender their hawker licences subsequently.

     The Scheme commenced on June 3, 2013 and ended on June 2, 2018 (i.e. closed for applications).

     My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows -

(1) Among the 4 330 licensed fixed-pitch hawkers in the 43 hawker areas, FEHD received applications from 854 hawkers for surrender of hawker licences for EGP in the five-year Scheme period. The approval procedures for all applications had been completed and the stalls were vacated. Besides, FEHD received 422 applications for relocation cum reconstruction grant and 3 002 applications for in-situ reconstruction grant to upgrade the fire safety standards of hawker stalls. In other words, 98.8 per cent of the licensed hawkers in the 43 hawker areas had joined the Scheme since its commencement.

(2) In processing the applications for surrender of hawker licences for EGP, some of the hawker pitches vacated were deleted as they were located directly in front of staircase discharge points of adjacent buildings or emergency vehicular access. Some other hawker pitches vacated were used to accommodate hawker stalls which were originally located directly in front of staircase discharge points of adjacent buildings or emergency vehicular access or those stalls necessary to be relocated for other reasons or used for the purpose of rationalising the overall layout of the hawker areas. Due to fire safety considerations, vacated hawker pitches which were located within six-metre radius in front of the staircase discharge points of buildings were unsuitable for re-use. As a result, as at August 31, 2018, there are a total of 237 vacant hawker pitches which can be used for reallocation under the Scheme. Details are set out in Annex I. At present, FEHD is collating figures on hawker pitches within or outside the 43 hawker areas which are vacated due to other reasons. As a rough estimate, the number of vacant pitches available for allocation amounts to almost 400.

(3) The number of hawkers in the 43 hawker areas before and after the Scheme is set out in Annex II.

(4) At present, the Government has commenced consultation work in relation to the issue of new fixed-pitch hawker licences and the allocation of vacant fixed pitches. Also, meetings were held with the stakeholders (including the trade) to listen to their views. Given the limited number of vacant fixed pitches, the principles of fairness, impartiality and openness should be adopted in allocating the pitches. The Government will later report to the LegCo Panel for Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene on the latest development and recommendations.]]><![CDATA[FSDC holds forum to explore how big data and Fintech changed financial industry (with photo)]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100281.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100281.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 18:00:00 +0800
     The Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University today (October 31) jointly hosted a forum to explore how big data and financial technology (Fintech) have changed financial institutions.

     Entitled "How Big Data and FinTech Changed the World of Finance", the forum was the 29th event under the FSDC's Practitioner Speaker Series. The panel featured the Director of the Financial Services Advisory Team of EY, Mr Chris Barford, who also serves as Co-chair of the Big Data Committee of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong.

     As Director in EY's Data and Analytics practice leading the Financial Services team in Hong Kong, Mr Barford said, "Due to massive technological revolutions, surveys that predict that work is going to change for us all over the next 20 years may underestimate how significant the upcoming adjustments will be. However, there is so much hope and potential. In every prior technological revolution, we have created new jobs, new opportunities and different ways of being more productive."

     He added, "I encourage young graduates and university students to think for themselves how big data, Fintech and disruption will benefit Hong Kong's future as a competitive hub for financial services. The focus on working for a single large financial institution for life that was often your parents' dream is no longer the only route to a long career in financial services. At this point in your life, I would encourage you to consider a career path that embraces data, Fintech and disruption. 'Risk on', as investors would say.

     "With the introduction of virtual banking licences, due in December 2018, Hong Kong is poised on the edge of a financial services revolution, which was kicked off with the use of stored value facilities over the last few years. I hope that the difference between a mainly cashless, mobile first Mainland and Hong Kong's more traditional models that rely on money, paper forms and Octopus will converge. All of these innovations rely on big data, and I am hopeful this will occur imminently thanks to the Government's focus in this area, and the significant Fintech investment that private businesses are making."

     The FSDC's Practitioner Speaker Series is a project developed between the FSDC and local universities, with speakers from the financial services industry giving talks to university students about important industry facts and the skill sets required in developing a career in financial services.

About the FSDC

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government established the FSDC in 2013 as a high-level, cross-sectoral advisory body to engage the industry in formulating proposals to promote the further development of Hong Kong's financial services industry and to map out the strategic direction for development.

     The FSDC set up five committees, namely the Policy Research Committee, the Mainland Opportunities Committee, the New Business Committee, the Market Development Committee and the Human Capital Committee, as the five streams of its work.

]]><![CDATA[Transcript of SFH at media session]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100785.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100785.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 17:50:00 +0800
Reporter: (about tax reduction)

Secretary for Food and Health: A number of people have actually raised the issue of the attractiveness of tax reduction. I want to reiterate the fact that tax reduction is just one of the incentives to motivate people to buy these Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) products. In fact, there are other attractive points in the VHIS, such as the quality of the products increasing the confidence of the people to buy the insurance products, the regulation of the products including the transparency of the costs, and all related improvement measures of the insurance products. All these together would hopefully attract more people to buy VHIS products.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)]]><![CDATA[CHP notified of human case of avian influenza A(H5N6) in Guangxi]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100781.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100781.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 17:45:00 +0800
   The case involved a 44-year-old man from Hechi in Guangxi. He developed symptoms on October 18, was hospitalised on October 21 and died on October 27. The patient denied that he had contact with live poultry before the onset of symptoms.

   From 2014 to date, 22 human cases of avian influenza A(H5N6) have been reported by the Mainland health authorities.

   "All novel influenza A infections, including H5N6, are notifiable infectious diseases in Hong Kong," the spokesman said.

   Travellers to the Mainland or other affected areas must avoid visiting wet markets, live poultry markets or farms. They should be alert to the presence of backyard poultry when visiting relatives and friends. They should also avoid purchasing live or freshly slaughtered poultry, and avoid touching poultry/birds or their droppings. They should strictly observe personal and hand hygiene when visiting any place with live poultry.

     Travellers returning from affected areas should consult a doctor promptly if symptoms develop, and inform the doctor of their travel history for prompt diagnosis and treatment of potential diseases. It is essential to tell the doctor if they have seen any live poultry during travel, which may imply possible exposure to contaminated environments. This will enable the doctor to assess the possibility of avian influenza and arrange necessary investigations and appropriate treatment in a timely manner.

     While local surveillance, prevention and control measures are in place, the CHP will remain vigilant and work closely with the World Health Organization and relevant health authorities to monitor the latest developments.

     The CHP's Port Health Office conducts health surveillance measures at all boundary control points. Thermal imaging systems are in place for body temperature checks on inbound travellers. Suspected cases will be immediately referred to public hospitals for follow-up.

     The display of posters and broadcasting of health messages in departure and arrival halls as health education for travellers is under way. The travel industry and other stakeholders are regularly updated on the latest information.

     The public should maintain strict personal, hand, food and environmental hygiene and take heed of the advice below if handling poultry:

Avoid touching poultry, birds, animals or their droppings;
When buying live chickens, do not touch them and their droppings. Do not blow at their bottoms. Wash eggs with detergent if soiled with faecal matter and cook and consume the eggs immediately. Always wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling chickens and eggs;
Eggs should be cooked well until the white and yolk become firm. Do not eat raw eggs or dip cooked food into any sauce with raw eggs. Poultry should be cooked thoroughly. If there is pinkish juice running from the cooked poultry or the middle part of its bone is still red, the poultry should be cooked again until fully done;
Wash hands frequently, especially before touching the mouth, nose or eyes, before handling food or eating, and after going to the toilet, touching public installations or equipment such as escalator handrails, elevator control panels or door knobs, or when hands are dirtied by respiratory secretions after coughing or sneezing; and
Wear a mask if fever or respiratory symptoms develop, when going to a hospital or clinic, or while taking care of patients with fever or respiratory symptoms.

The public may visit the CHP's pages for more information: the avian influenza page, the weekly Avian Influenza Report, global statistics and affected areas of avian influenza, the Facebook Page and the YouTube Channel.]]><![CDATA[Launch of eTradeConnect and collaboration with we.trade (with photos)]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100373.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100373.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 17:34:31 +0800
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (October 31) the official launch of eTradeConnect, a blockchain-based trade finance platform developed by a consortium of twelve major banks in Hong Kong. Formerly known as the Hong Kong Trade Finance Platform, eTradeConnect aims to improve trade efficiency, build better trust among trade participants, reduce risks and facilitate trade counterparties to obtain financing by digitising trade documents, automating trade finance processes and leveraging the features of blockchain technology.

The commercialisation of the trade finance project was first announced in October 2017 arising from the fruitful results of an earlier proof-of-concept (PoC) trial facilitated by the HKMA. The project was initially led by seven major banks (Note 1) and later joined by five additional banks (Note 2), adding up to a consortium of twelve member banks. eTradeConnect is the first large-scale multi-bank blockchain project in Hong Kong.

In order to facilitate cross-border trades, the HKMA has been proactively looking for opportunities to connect eTradeConnect with trade platforms in other regions. Today, the HKMA witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the operators (Note 3) of eTradeConnect and the we.trade (Note 4) to conduct a PoC trial on connecting the two platforms.

Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA Mr Howard Lee said, "It is a remarkable moment to witness the birth of the first blockchain-based trade finance platform built by key industry players in Hong Kong. It demonstrates the willingness of the financial industry to adopt new technology in the new era of smart banking. Our next key milestone is to link eTradeConnect with platforms from other regions in order to enable cross-border trade financing. The connection between eTradeConnect and we.trade platform paves the way for the digitalisation of cross-border trades in the Asia and Europe trade corridor, and will serve as a good reference for the future connection of eTradeConnect to other trade finance platforms."

The Chief Operating Officer of we.trade, Mr Roberto Mancone, echoed this sentiment, "we.trade is delighted to partner with eTradeConnect, a platform facilitated by the HKMA. Our co-operation confirms our roadmap and as the first step of developing "network of networks" in blockchain-based trade finance solution. This exciting collaboration has the potential to unlock trade finance barriers for between Europe and Asia and through interoperability create an ecosystem that combines all the different stages of trade."

Note 1: The seven major banks include Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, The Bank of East Asia Limited, Hang Seng Bank Limited, DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited.

Note 2: The five additional banks include Shanghai Commercial Bank Limited, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited, Agricultural Bank of China Limited, Bank of Communications Co., Ltd and BNP Paribas.

Note 3: we.trade was established by nine banks in Europe to address the expectations of their customers to make cross-border trade more straightforward. At present, we.trade is available across fourteen European countries.

Note 4: The operator of eTradeConnect is Hong Kong Trade Finance Platform Company Limited; whereas the operator of we.trade is we.trade Innovation Designated Activity Company.

]]><![CDATA[Manager of unlicensed guesthouse fined]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100728.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100728.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 17:30:00 +0800
     The courts heard that in April this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), the Home Affairs Department, inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Nam Cheong Street in Sham Shui Po. During the inspection, the OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in the guesthouse on a daily basis.

     According to the OLA's record, the guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. The woman responsible for managing the premise was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.

     A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and will lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years' imprisonment.

     The spokesman appealed to anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA through the hotline (tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application "Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses".]]><![CDATA[S for IT calls on Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (with photos)]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100579.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100579.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 17:30:00 +0800
     The meeting enabled the two sides to have a good exchange on the promotion of science as well as innovation and technology. Mr Yang said that innovation and technology is high on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government's agenda. Since the setting up of the Innovation and Technology Bureau in late 2015, the HKSAR Government has launched initiatives on various fronts with heavy investment to enhance the local innovation and technology ecosystem.

     Mr Yang added that Hong Kong is vigorously building up technology clusters on healthcare technologies and artificial intelligence and robotics technologies. With the provision of financial and other support, the Government aims to attract world-class scientific research institutions to join forces with local universities and research institutions in conducting more applied research and development (R&D) projects. Japanese scientific and research institutions are welcome to establish a presence in Hong Kong. Mr Yang said he looked forward to more collaboration between the two places and learning from the good practices and experiences of Japan, in particular in healthy ageing and smart city development.

     Earlier in the afternoon, Mr Yang was joined by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Dr Sunny Chai; the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Dr George Lam; and the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Mr Peter Yan, on company visits to learn more about the companies' smart city initiatives.

     The first company visit was made at Fujitsu, where Mr Yang and his party gained a deeper understanding on how the company integrates information and communications technology into daily lives to solve challenges, including its elderly care solutions using proprietary sound analysis to support home living and the AI-IoT Intelligent Dashboard using artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things to optimise production line operation.

     At a meeting with the Fujitsu Corporate Vice Chairman, Mr Nobuhiko Sasaki, Mr Yang gave an update on the exciting innovation and technology developments in Hong Kong amid the Central Government's support for Hong Kong to develop into an international innovation and technology hub. Mr Yang said the HKSAR Government has made a significant move of promoting R&D activities in Hong Kong by introducing a super tax deduction for R&D expenditure incurred in Hong Kong. The first HK$2 million of qualifying R&D expenditure will be eligible for a 300 per cent tax deduction, while expenditure above that will enjoy a 200 per cent deduction and with no cap. Mr Yang encouraged Japanese companies to make good use of the super tax deduction for R&D expenditure and opportunities available in Hong Kong.

     Mr Yang and his party also visited the Toyota Mirai Showroom to learn more about Toyota's latest developments in smart mobility. A presentation on the Mirai hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle and autonomous driving technology was given.

     Tomorrow (November 1), Mr Yang will attend the opening session of "Think Global, Think Hong Kong" in Tokyo.

]]><![CDATA[Monetary Statistics for September 2018]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100385.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100385.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:57:00 +0800
According to statistics published today (October 31) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions grew by 0.6 per cent in September 2018. Hong Kong-dollar deposits increased by 0.6 per cent during the month, as the increase in time deposits exceeded the decrease in demand and savings deposits. Overall foreign-currency deposits also increased by 0.6 per cent in September. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong declined by 2.9 per cent to RMB600.3 billion at the end of September. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB348.8 billion in September, compared with RMB360.4 billion in August.

Total loans and advances edged down by 0.1 per cent in September. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) decreased by 0.2 per cent from a month ago, while loans for use outside Hong Kong stayed virtually unchanged. The Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio edged down to 85.0 per cent at the end of September from 85.1 per cent at the end of August, as Hong Kong-dollar loans increased at a slower pace than Hong Kong-dollar deposits.

In the third quarter of 2018, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) declined by 1.2 per cent following an increase of 1.7 per cent in the previous quarter. Analysed by economic use, the decrease in loans during the third quarter was mainly led by trade finance, loans to financial concerns and loans to stockbrokers.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, Hong Kong-dollar M1 declined by 1.5 per cent in September and decreased by 0.3 per cent year-on-year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 edged up by 0.5 per cent during the month and grew by 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.

Release Schedule of Monetary Statistics in Hong Kong

The monthly release schedule of monetary statistics in Year 2019 is as follows.

Reference Month	Release Date
January 2019	February 28, 2019
February 2019	March 29, 2019
March 2019	April 30, 2019
April 2019	May 31, 2019
May 2019	June 28, 2019
June 2019	July 31, 2019
July 2019	August 30, 2019
August 2019	September 30, 2019
September 2019	October 31, 2019
October 2019	November 29, 2019
November 2019	December 31, 2019
December 2019	January 31, 2020

]]><![CDATA[Government welcomes passage of Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2018]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100709.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100709.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:48:22 +0800
     The new Ordinance gives effect to a tax deduction under salaries tax and personal assessment to people who purchase eligible health insurance products for themselves or their specified relatives under the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS), starting from April 1, 2019.

     Professor Chan said, "We will fully implement the VHIS with the added incentive of tax deduction."

     Under the new arrangement, a taxpayer can claim deductions for VHIS premiums paid up to $8,000 per insured person for insurance policies procured for the benefit of the taxpayer and all specified relatives, which cover the taxpayer's spouse and children, and the taxpayer's or his/her spouse's grandparents, parents and siblings.

     "Compared with many existing indemnity hospital insurance products, Certified Plans under the VHIS are more attractive in a number of ways, such as guaranteed renewal until the insured reaches the age of 100, premium adjustment not being based on changes in the health condition of that individual insured, no "lifetime benefit limit", and coverage extended to include unknown pre-existing conditions and ambulatory procedures including endoscopy.

     "We encourage the public to purchase Certified Plans under the VHIS, so that they may choose to use private healthcare services when in need, thereby alleviating the long-term pressure on the public healthcare system," Professor Chan said.

      The VHIS Office of the Food and Health Bureau has already been established in early October 2018. With the passage of the Bill, the VHIS Office will invite insurers to participate in the VHIS and submit products for certification. The first batch of Certified Plans are expected to be approved in early 2019. Taxpayers who pay the premium for the Certified Plans on or after April 1, 2019, will be eligible for tax deduction.

     For further information on the VHIS, please visit the dedicated website (www.vhis.gov.hk).]]><![CDATA[Residential mortgage loans in negative equity September quarter 2018]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100393.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100393.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:48:00 +0800
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today (October 31) the results of its latest survey on residential mortgage loans (RMLs) in negative equity.

     Surveyed authorised institutions did not report any RMLs in negative equity at end-September 2018.

     It is important to note that the figures derived from this survey relate only to RMLs provided by authorised institutions on the basis of first mortgages and which the reporting institution knows to be in negative equity (i.e. the outstanding loan amount with the reporting institution exceeds the current market value of the mortgaged property). Not included in these figures are RMLs associated with co-financing schemes which would be in negative equity if the second mortgages were taken into account. The extent to which such RMLs are in negative equity is not known because authorised institutions do not maintain records on the outstanding balances of the second mortgages.

     The mortgage portfolios of the surveyed authorised institutions represent about 99 per cent of the industry total. The survey results have been extrapolated to estimate the position of the banking sector as a whole.]]><![CDATA[ArtSnap mini-festival within New Vision Arts Festival to be staged in November at Kwai Tsing Theatre (with photos)]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100596.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100596.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:40:00 +0800
     ArtSnap is an innovative festival with an experimental spirit, from ideas and techniques to formats. Most of the shows in ArtSnap are creative works performed by local young and budding artists, giving audiences an opportunity to watch these improvisational interactive micro-programmes in addition to the large-scale stage shows in the NVAF.

     ArtSnap programmes include:

"LightSpace", a work featuring tungsten light bulbs presented by British lighting designer Michael Hulls (November 1 to 4);
"Sound Walk - Sounds Telling Futures" (November 3, 4, 10 and 11) and "Sound Scoop - Here, Hear, Hong Kong" (November 1 to 14), by the production team Soundpocket, exploring the environment with participants through pre-recorded stories and sound clips;
"The Modern-day Flavours of Nanyin and Naamyam", a synthesised jam session of traditional sounds presented by experimental musician Dickson Dee and Quanzhou nanyin performer Cai Yayi (November 2 and 3);
"Forecasting", by Premier Stratagème from France, featuring a performer blending herself into imagery on a notebook computer (November 3 to 4);
"How I learned to do BAD drifting", a mobile theatre work exploring the Kwai Tsing vicinity with a smartphone app presented by HerStory Polygon (November 3 and 4);
"Mad Man (Irregular Version)", by Théâtre de la Feuille, using physical theatre to re-present Chinese writer Lu Xun's "The Diary of a Mad Man" (November 4);
"Queen Zomia", by avant-garde artist Royce Ng, using holographic images captured within a transparent glass triangle and dream-like dialogues to visualise the life of warlord and opium trafficker Olive Yang (November 9 to 11);
"1314", an out-of-the-box concert by pianist KaJeng Wong, exploring the meaning of existence with his music (November 10 and 11);
"The Lighter Side of Street Hip Hop", a dance performance performed by Laotian-French choreographer-dancer Olé Khamchanla and six dancers from local dance group the Autistic Genius (November 10 and 11);
"When I Grow Up ...", by young choreographer Victor Fung, inviting audiences to make friends through dance (November 10 and 11); and
"Overlord", an innovative musical theatre work presented by the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra featuring pipa artist Yu Bing which is a collaboration between the NVAF and the China Shanghai International Arts Festival - Rising Artist's Work (November 13 and 14).

ArtSnap tickets are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999.

Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the NVAF is celebrating its ninth edition this year and is being held from October 19 to November 18. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2370 1044 or visit www.newvisionfestival.gov.hk.

]]><![CDATA[Residential mortgage survey results for September 2018]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100390.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100390.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:40:00 +0800
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced the results of the residential mortgage survey for September 2018.

     The number of mortgage applications in September decreased month-on-month by 55.6% to 7 977.

     Mortgage loans approved in September decreased by 33.8% compared with August to HK$31.6 billion. Among these, mortgage loans financing primary market transactions decreased by 34% to HK$6.2 billion and those financing secondary market transactions decreased by 43.6% to HK$11.8 billion. Mortgage loans for refinancing decreased by 21.9% to HK$13.6 billion.

     Mortgage loans drawn down during September increased by 2% compared with August to HK$32.9 billion.

     The ratio of new mortgage loans priced with reference to HIBOR decreased from 93.5% in August to 83.2% in September. The ratio of new mortgage loans priced with reference to best lending rates increased from 4.6% in August to 15.1% in September.

     The outstanding value of mortgage loans increased month-on-month by 1% to HK$1,289.4 billion at end-September.

     The mortgage delinquency ratio remained unchanged at 0.02% and the rescheduled loan ratio remained unchanged at nearly 0%.]]><![CDATA[LCQ6: Fraud and Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce and combating trafficking in persons]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100653.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100653.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:30:00 +0800
Question:

     The Fraud and Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce (the Taskforce), led by the Police with members comprising representatives from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Hong Kong Association of Banks and a number of banks, was established in May last year for a period of 12 months. It has been reported that the Taskforce prepared an alert called Combating Human Trafficking in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific Region, but the Police have not published the alert for fear that it may lead to Hong Kong being labelled as a hub for human trafficking. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) when the Police will publish the aforesaid alert; of the number and subjects of the assessment reports and alerts which have been issued to the financial sector, and other tasks undertaken, by the Taskforce to enhance the ability of financial institutions in identifying and reporting suspicious transactions involving human trafficking;

(2) of the respective numbers of reports on suspicious transactions related to human trafficking which were received by the Police and HKMA in each of the past five years, and the total amount of money involved; among such cases, the number of those in respect of which law enforcement actions have been taken by the Police, and the respective numbers of persons arrested, prosecuted and convicted; and

(3) whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of the Taskforce; if so, of the details; whether the Taskforce will become a standing mechanism; if so, of the relevant staffing establishment and the way forward in the work of the Taskforce?

Reply:

President,

     With regard to the three questions from the Hon Kenneth Leung, my consolidated reply is as follows.

     As an international financial centre, Hong Kong attaches great importance to safeguarding the integrity of its financial systems. To this end, Hong Kong has been implementing anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism measures in accordance with international standards to gather intelligence and detect relevant crimes, and to deter inward and outward flows of illicit funds. In particular, laundering proceeds of crime is a criminal offence. In accordance with section 25 of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (OSCO), it is an offence for a person to deal with property known or reasonably believed by the person to represent proceeds of an indictable offence. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for 14 years and a fine of $5 million. The proceeds concerned can also be confiscated.

     Drawing on overseas experience, the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), in collaboration with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) and a number of banks, set up in May last year the "Fraud and Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce" (FMLIT). FMLIT is a pilot project with the objective of establishing public-private partnership to enhance the detection, prevention and disruption of serious financial crimes and money laundering activities through effective sharing of information and intelligence.

     The work of FMLIT consists of three aspects, each with particular importance:

(1) Strategy: the senior management of CCB, Narcotics Bureau, HKMA, HKAB and 10 retail banks form the "Strategic Group" to provide strategic directions and set work priorities for FMLIT;

(2) Operations: the investigation units of HKPF and relevant banks form the "Operations Group". In accordance with the strategic risks identified by the Strategic Group and through regular meetings, the Operations Group undertakes tactical intelligence-led operations in a case-based manner and share intelligence; and

(3) Alert: to provide alerts to all banks operating in Hong Kong, to circulate assessments, trend reports and non-sensitive intelligence reports so as to combat crimes and enhance banks' ability to grasp and monitor money laundering activities.

     Since its establishment, FMLIT has issued through HKAB a total of six alerts which, drafted by the experts of the bank representatives, included fraud, trade-based money laundering, and illegal bookmaking. As regards the alert entitled "Combating Human Trafficking in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific Region" mentioned in the question, it was not prepared by FMLIT as suggested in the question, but was provided to the secretariat of FMLIT by a non-government organisation. After circulation and discussion, FMLIT had reservations about the expression of certain contents, and certain information therein also could not be verified. As only alerts drafted by the expert bankers within FMLIT were issued in the past, FMLIT thus decided that the alert would not be published. The decision had nothing to do with whether it was beneficial to the reputation of Hong Kong, but was simply because FMLIT has all along been pragmatic in being accountable for the contents of documents it publishes. FMLIT will continue to closely monitor the trends and modus operandi of money laundering, and issue alerts in different areas at appropriate times.

     The establishment of FMLIT fosters the exchange of intelligence, expedites investigation by law enforcement agencies and enhances the overall capability in detecting money laundering and financial crimes, thereby preserving the reputation of Hong Kong as one of the world's leading financial centres. As at end October 2018, FMLIT has handled 49 fraud and money laundering related cases with the arrest of 100 persons by the Police and interception of crime proceeds amounting to about $22 million.

     Currently, FMLIT is headed by the Chief Superintendent of CCB, and three officers have been internally redeployed from the Police to provide support. A comprehensive review of the FMLIT pilot project based on operational experience will be conducted in November, during which the Police will consider establishing FMLIT as a regular mechanism.

     The question also mentions the situation of trafficking in person (TIP). President, although TIP is not prevalent in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government attaches great importance to combating TIP, and addresses this evolving issue through a multi-pronged approach.

     In order to provide high-level policy steer on the overall strategy and measures to tackle TIP and enhance protection of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs), the HKSAR Government established in March this year a high-level inter-bureau/inter-departmental Steering Committee, chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, with the Secretary for Security and the Secretary for Labour and Welfare as Vice Chairmen. Membership of the Steering Committee includes heads of HKPF, Immigration Department (ImmD), Customs and Excise Department (C&ED), Labour Department and Social Welfare Department, as well as representative of the Department of Justice. At the same time, the Government promulgated the "Action Plan to Tackle TIP and to Enhance Protection of FDHs in Hong Kong", which outlined a package of multi-faceted measures that are comprehensive, strategic and targeted. There are more than 30 initiatives covering multiple areas, including victim identification, investigation, enforcement, prosecution, victim protection and support, prevention, and partnership with different stakeholders, etc.

     One of the key tasks in combating TIP is to continuously strengthen and improve the mechanism for identifying victims. ImmD first introduced a TIP victim screening mechanism in 2015. The mechanism was gradually expanded to some police districts of HKPF and C&ED in 2016 and 2017. In July this year, HKPF extended the victim screening mechanism to cover all 24 police districts, and C&ED also implemented the screening mechanism departmental-wide. The number of potential victims screened under the mechanism increased by 87 per cent from 2 515 in 2016 to 4 710 in 2017. Only nine persons, i.e. less than 0.2 per cent of all persons screened, were identified as victims in 2017. The result indicated the fact that TIP was not prevalent in Hong Kong.

     The Honourable Member's question also refers to suspicious transaction reports (STRs) relating to TIP.

     Under section 25A of OSCO, any person who knows or suspects that any property represents proceeds of an indictable offence must make a STR to the Joint Financial Intelligence Unit (JFIU), jointly established by HKPF and C&ED, as soon as practicable. In the past five years, the number of STRs received by JFIU were 32 907 in 2013, 37 188 in 2014, 42 555 in 2015, 76 590 in 2016, and 92 115 in 2017, with a year-on-year increasing trend. JFIU does not keep statistics on the breakdown of STRs relating to TIP. JFIU will conduct intelligence analysis for every STR received, and in accordance with its risk assessment mechanism, assess such factors as the level of suspicion, perceived risk and severity of the intelligence, with a view to referring cases that merit further investigation to the relevant law enforcement agency for follow-up or criminal investigation.

     Thank you, President.]]><![CDATA[International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103000715.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103000715.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:30:00 +0800
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released today (Wednesday) the analytical data on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's foreign currency reserves and foreign currency liquidity as at the end of September 2018 (Annex). These data are published monthly in the Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard.

     The release calendar of the Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity for 2019 is announced below:

Reference Month	Release Date
January 2019	February 28, 2019
February 2019	March 29, 2019
March 2019	April 30, 2019
April 2019	May 31, 2019
May 2019	June 28, 2019
June 2019	July 31, 2019
July 2019	August 3, 2019
August 2019	September 30, 2019
September 2019	October 31, 2019
October 2019	November 29, 2019
November 2019	December 31, 2019
December 2019	January 31, 2020

****************************************************************

At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of October 2018, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:

October 5 (Issued)	SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong's Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures)
October 12 (Issued)	SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund)
October 31	SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity
October 31	Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

]]><![CDATA[Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103000709.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103000709.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:30:00 +0800
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (October 31) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,032.6 billion as at September 30, 2018, HK$38.9 billion higher than that at the end of August 2018. Foreign currency assets increased by HK$19.5 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets increased by HK$19.4 billion.

     The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to an increase in unsettled purchases of securities and the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness. The rise in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to the overnight liquidity provided under the Discount Window at the month end following the established mechanism to facilitate interbank settlement.

     The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of September 2018 was HK$1,619.6 billion, increased by HK$8.5 billion, or 0.5%, from the end of August 2018. The rise was mainly due to the increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.

     The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$3.7 billion, or 0.2%, to HK$1,769.5 billion. The increase was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness, which was partly offset by the decline in the market value of investments. The backing ratio decreased from 109.59% at the end of August 2018 to 109.25% at the end of September 2018.

*****************************************************************

     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund’s Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of October 2018, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:

October 5 (Issued)	SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong's Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures)
October 12 (Issued)	SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund)
October 31	SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity
October 31	Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

]]><![CDATA[Financial results for the six months ended September 30, 2018]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103000588.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103000588.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:30:00 +0800
     Expenditure for the period April to September 2018 amounted to HK$251.1 billion and revenue HK$175.8 billion, resulting in a cumulative year-to-date deficit of HK$75.3 billion.

     A government spokesperson said that the cumulative year-to-date deficit for the period was mainly due to the fact that some major types of revenue, including salaries and profits taxes, are mostly received towards the end of a financial year.

     The fiscal reserves stood at HK$1,027.6 billion as at September 30, 2018.

     Detailed figures are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

TABLE 1. CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNT (Note 1)

	Month ended September 30, 2018 HK$ million	Six months ended September 30, 2018 HK$ million
Revenue	31,006.8	175,750.5
Expenditure	(40,310.9)	(251,082.5)

Deficit	(9,304.1)	(75,332.0)

Financing
Domestic
Banking Sector (Note 2)	9,425.0	72,871.5
Non-Banking Sector	(120.9)	2,460.5
External	-	-

Total	9,304.1	75,332.0

Government Debts as at September 30, 2018 (Note 3)
HK$1,500 million
Debts Guaranteed by Government as at September 30, 2018 (Note 4)
HK$24,064.9 million

TABLE 2. FISCAL RESERVES

	Month ended September 30, 2018 HK$ million	Six months ended September 30, 2018 HK$ million
Fiscal Reserves at start of period	1,036,905.8	1,102,933.7

Consolidated Deficit	(9,304.1)	(75,332.0)

Fiscal Reserves at end of period (Note 5)	1,027,601.7	1,027,601.7

Notes:

1. This Account consolidates the General Revenue Account and the following eight Funds: Capital Works Reserve Fund, Capital Investment Fund, Civil Service Pension Reserve Fund, Disaster Relief Fund, Innovation and Technology Fund, Land Fund, Loan Fund and Lotteries Fund. It excludes the Bond Fund, the balance of which is not part of the fiscal reserves. The Bond Fund balance as at September 30, 2018 was HK$134,936 million.

2. Includes transactions with the Exchange Fund and resident banks.

3. These were the outstanding institutional notes as at September 30, 2018, which were denominated in Hong Kong dollars with maturity in July 2019. They do not include the outstanding bonds with nominal value of HK$96,406 million and alternative bonds with nominal value of US$3,000 million (equivalent to HK$23,487 million as at September 30, 2018) issued under the Government Bond Programme (with proceeds credited to the Bond Fund). Of these bonds under the Government Bond Programme (including Silver Bonds with nominal value of HK$5,806 million, which may be redeemed before maturity upon request from bond holders), bonds with nominal value of HK$26,083 million and alternative bonds with nominal value of US$1,000 million (equivalent to HK$7,829 million as at September 30, 2018) will mature within the period from October 2018 to September 2019 and the rest within the period from October 2019 to March 2032.

4. Includes guarantees provided under the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2001, the Special Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2008, the Special Concessionary Measures under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme launched in 2012, and a commercial loan of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation.

5. Includes HK$219,730 million being the balance of the Land Fund held in the name of "Future Fund" as from January 1, 2016, for long-term investments initially up to December 31, 2025. As from July 1, 2016, the Future Fund also includes HK$4,800 million, being one-third of the actual surplus in 2015-16 as top-up.]]><![CDATA[Speech by CE at Hong Kong Institute of Architects Tokyo Exhibition "More than High-rise: Exploring Hong Kong through Architecture" in Tokyo (Eng only) (with photos/video)]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100698.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100698.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:28:00 +0800
Marvin (President of the HKIA, Mr Marvin Chen), Vincent (Project Leader of the Exhibition and Immediate Past President of the HKIA, Mr Vincent Ng), Ambassador Matsuda (Ambassador and Consul General of Japan in Hong Kong, Mr Kuninori Matsuda), Mr Rokushika (President of the Japan Institute of Architects, Mr Masaharu Rokushika), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon. I'm pleased to be here today for the opening ceremony of the "More than High-rise: Exploring Hong Kong through Architecture" exhibition organised by the Hong Kong Institute of Architects.

As the former Secretary for Development responsible for city planning and buildings, and an honorary member of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, let me say how happy I am to attend an architecture event during my first official visit to Japan as the Chief Executive.

Incidentally, my last two official trips to Japan were both made during my tenure as Secretary for Development, coming to learn about Japan's urban regeneration and heritage conservation.

Hong Kong has been celebrated for its skyscrapers. However, as this exhibition smartly illustrates, Hong Kong is much more than a vertical city, and certainly not a concrete jungle.

The modern Hong Kong is complemented by reminiscence built heritage such as Wan Chai's reborn tenement building cluster known as the Blue House.

I know this project very well as I was involved in it from the very beginning over 10 years ago. The project not only preserves the unique architecture, but also immortalises the values of neighbourhood, self-help and mutual support that had built post-war Hong Kong. The project has won the Award of Excellence in the 2017 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

The exhibits also feature another of my pet projects, PMQ, which is the former Police Married Quarters revitalised to become a dynamic arts, design and cultural centre. It has already received over 13 million visitors since its opening in 2014.

While Hong Kong takes pride in preserving historic buildings, we are also proud of our contemporary iconic buildings which have certainly enriched Hong Kong's skyline and cityscape. These include the Hong Kong International Airport, the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, the Xiqu Centre and M+ in the West Kowloon Cultural District, and the Passenger Clearance Building at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port, etc.

I am pleased to let you know that the 28 architects behind the exhibition's disparate offerings are all under 45. I'm confident that our city will continue to offer a vibrant and attractive urban environment for young professionals, both local and overseas, to display their architectural talents.

Abundant opportunities are awaiting us in the fast-emerging Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, including in our creative industries, from film and design to architecture. These and many other possibilities are open not only to Hong Kong companies, but also to the Japanese companies that partner with Hong Kong. We certainly welcome you to come and work with us.

Ladies and gentlemen, I hope that this exhibition, and the related architectural forums taking place here in the coming week, will bring talented young Hong Kong and Japanese architects together.

My thanks to the Hong Kong Institute of Architects for organising this exhibition. My thanks, as well, to the Japan Institute of Architects for its support.

I'm confident that the exhibition will be a great success, and I invite you all to enjoy Hong Kong Week in Japan. Thank you very much.

]]><![CDATA[LCQ15: Learning of Chinese by non-Chinese speaking students]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100585.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100585.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:27:00 +0800
Question:

Some ethnic minority (EM) groups have pointed out that learning Chinese can help EM people integrate into society. However, non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students have encountered difficulties in learning Chinese. As a result, their opportunities for further studies, employment as well as upward mobility are limited. The Education Bureau (EDB) has implemented since 2014 the "Chinese Language Curriculum Second Language Learning Framework" to step up the support for NCS students in learning Chinese. Besides, the Chief Executive has announced in the 2018 Policy Address that the Government will introduce new measures to allow NCS students to learn Chinese more effectively. Although the authorities have pointed out that the various support measures are gradually delivering results, and the number of schools which admit NCS students has been on the rise, there are still quite a number of complaints about schools' refusal to admit NCS students. Moreover, as the results generally achieved by NCS students in the subject of Chinese Language in public examinations are unsatisfactory, their rate of admission to local universities through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System is generally lower than that of Chinese speaking students. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective numbers of (i) secondary schools, (ii) primary schools and (iii) kindergartens which admitted NCS students in the past three school years, and set out in the table below a breakdown by District Council (DC) district;

DC District	2015/2016			2016/2017			2017/2018
DC District	(i)	(ii)	(iii)	(i)	(ii)	(iii)	(i)	(ii)	(iii)
...
...
...
Total

(2) of the respective numbers of requests for assistance or complaints about the learning of Chinese by NCS students that EDB received in the past three school years from (i) students, (ii) parents and (iii) schools (with a breakdown by type) and the major content of such requests or complaints; how EDB handled and followed up the cases;

(3) as I have received complaints that while most of the EM students, instead of taking the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination for Chinese Language, sit for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (Chinese) Examination or examinations for other internationally recognised Chinese Language qualifications in which it is easier for them to get higher grades, the various tertiary institutions in Hong Kong have not published clear conversion tables in respect of the relevant academic results, resulting in such students being unable to assess whether their examination results meet the Chinese language proficiency requirements of the institutions, whether the authorities will explore improvement measures;

(4) whether the authorities will, in the long run, commission experts to design a Chinese as a Second Language Curriculum for both primary and secondary levels; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(5) whether the authorities will consider reforming the HKDSE Examination for Chinese Language (e.g. introducing a HKDSE examination paper dedicated for NCS students); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The Government is committed to encouraging and supporting the early integration of non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students (Note 1) (notably EM students) into the community, including facilitating their adaptation to the local education system and mastery of the Chinese language. In this connection, the Education Bureau (EDB) introduced a series of measures in 2014 to step up the support for NCS students to facilitate their learning of Chinese, including the implementation of the "Chinese Language Curriculum Second Language Learning Framework" (Learning Framework) in primary and secondary schools. The Learning Framework was drawn up in consultation with teachers and language experts and developed from the perspective of second language learners with a view to helping NCS students overcome the difficulties in learning Chinese. To facilitate the implementation of the Learning Framework and creation of an inclusive learning environment in schools, starting from the 2014/15 school year, EDB has also substantially increased the additional funding to schools to currently over $200 million per year and provided schools with teaching resources, teacher training and professional support. All public sector schools and Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools offering the local curriculum which admit 10 or more NCS students are provided with an additional funding ranging from $0.8 million to $1.5 million per year depending on the number of NCS students admitted. Schools admitting less than 10 NCS students may also apply for an additional funding on a need basis to offer after-school support programmes in learning Chinese to consolidate what their NCS students have learnt in an immersed Chinese language environment.

     With the implementation of the enhanced support measures, the number of primary and secondary schools admitting NCS students has gradually increased from about 590 in the 2013/14 school year to about 620 in the 2017/18 school year, which covers about two-thirds of the schools in the territory. Among them, the number of schools admitting 10 or more NCS students and hence provided with the abovementioned additional funding has increased by about 30 per cent in four years (from 173 in the 2014/15 school year to 228 in the 2017/18 school year) and the number of schools admitting less than 10 NCS students and provided with the additional funding has also substantially increased from 58 in the 2014/15 school year to 213 in the 2017/18 school year. This shows that the new support mode and measures have widened the school choices of parents of NCS students.

     As announced in the 2018 Policy Address, the EDB will continue implementing the Learning Framework and monitoring its implementation. Moreover, the EDB will continue commissioning post-secondary institutions to provide school-based support services for kindergartens (KGs), primary and secondary schools admitting NCS students in the three school years from 2019/20 to 2021/22, so as to enhance the professional competency of teachers. In view of the learning needs of NCS students, the school-based curriculum, learning and teaching as well as assessment arrangements will also be adapted with reference to the Learning Framework, so as to allow these students to learn Chinese more effectively. Starting from the 2019/20 school year, the EDB will provide a five-tiered subsidy for KGs joining the KG Education Scheme based on the number of NCS students admitted so that these schools can provide more appropriate support for their NCS students, thereby assisting them in learning Chinese, fostering a diversified culture and building an inclusive environment.

     Our reply to the question of the Hon Vincent Cheng is as follows:

(1) The Government ensures that all eligible children enjoy equal opportunities in admission to Primary One and Secondary One of public sector schools under the respective school places allocation systems. KGs are also reminded via channels including circulars and briefing sessions, etc. that their school-based admission mechanism should be fair, just and open, and in compliance with the existing legislation (including the anti-discrimination ordinances such as Race Discrimination Ordinance) as well as circulars and guidelines issued by the EDB, which include providing application forms in both Chinese and English. The numbers of KGs joining the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme/the KG Education Scheme and public sector and DSS primary and secondary schools with NCS students by district from the 2015/16 to 2017/18 school years are tabulated at Annex.

(2) The EDB did not receive any complaints lodged by students, parents or schools regarding NCS students' learning of the Chinese language from the 2015/16 to 2017/18 school years. On the other hand, stakeholders of schools contact the EDB through various means to enquire about different issues or request for assistance from time to time. The EDB will render appropriate assistance to the enquirers with reference to the nature and details of the issues. Statistics on such enquiries are not available.

(3) Eligible applicants, irrespective of their race and language spoken at home, have equal opportunities to be admitted to post-secondary programmes. At present, for NCS applicants who meet the specified circumstances (Note 2), the participating institutions of the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) accept alternative Chinese Language qualifications, including those under the General Certificate of Education (GCE), General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), for the purpose of satisfying the entrance requirement in respect of Chinese Language. Besides, the Applied Learning Chinese (for NCS students) (ApL(C)) of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) (Category B) is also accepted. All JUPAS participating-institutions have uploaded the accepted alternative Chinese Language qualifications, minimum grade required, and special requirements for alternative Chinese Language qualifications in respect of individual programmes onto the JUPAS website (www.jupas.edu.hk/en/page/detail/547/).

     All post-secondary institutions enjoy autonomy in student admission. A merit-based principle is adopted by institutions in the admission of students. At present, institutions can flexibly handle the Chinese Language requirement for NCS students on a case-by-case basis. It is worth noting that applications from local NCS students and other applicants are subject to the same admission criteria. The major factors for consideration include academic performance, non-academic achievements, reference letters by school principals and performance in interviews/tests, etc.

(4) As NCS students regard Hong Kong as their home, it is imperative for them to be proficient in Chinese so as to be competitive in respect of further studies and career pursuits with a view to integrating into the local community. Therefore, the policy intent is to facilitate NCS students' bridging over to mainstream Chinese Language classes. It is not advisable to provide them with a simpler Chinese Language curriculum, which will limit their opportunities for Chinese learning in the long run. To this end, the EDB has developed, from the perspective of second language learners, the Learning Framework based on the mainstream Chinese Language curriculum and input from experts and academics. The Learning Framework has been implemented starting from the 2014/15 school year. With reference to the Learning Framework, teachers can set progressive learning targets, learning progress and expected learning outcomes in the reading, writing, listening and speaking domains so that their NCS students with diverse learning needs can learn Chinese progressively in a "small-step" approach.

     The Learning Framework has been implemented since the 2014/15 school year. It takes time and teachers' effort to take root in schools. The EDB will continue to review the Learning Framework and the implementation of other support measures, and refine relevant measures where appropriate. We understand that learning Chinese is not easy and effective language learning is also based on multiple factors. Besides the curriculum, teaching and learning in schools, learning motivation of NCS students, study skills, time invested in learning Chinese, and parents' cooperation and expectation, etc. are also important factors which contribute to NCS students' mastery of the Chinese language.

(5) At present, the education policy intent is to facilitate NCS students' bridging over to mainstream Chinese Language classes, with a view to facilitating their mastery of Chinese to prepare them for further studies and career pursuits. Students, Chinese speaking or NCS students alike, are required to meet the admission requirements as they apply for programmes offered by local or overseas post-secondary institutions. If a separate paper with simpler contents and lower benchmarks is provided for NCS students in HKDSE (Chinese Language), it is neither conducive to enhancing their Chinese proficiency nor to increasing their opportunities for further studies. In respect of employment, different industries have different language proficiency requirements for their employees. Nevertheless, as Hong Kong is a Chinese society, NCS students have to attain a certain level of Chinese proficiency in the long run in order to stay competitive in the workplace. Similarly, introducing a separate public examination or paper in HKDSE (Chinese Language) for NCS students cannot increase their employment opportunities. Instead, this will possibly delay the problem until the job-seeking stage or even limit their career development in different industries in the future. Therefore, the EDB has no such plans.

     On the other hand, in view of the fact that NCS students at senior levels may have learned Chinese for a varying period of time and some NCS students who have a late start in learning Chinese may encounter greater difficulties, starting from the 2014/15 school year, ApL(C) has been introduced at the senior secondary levels to provide NCS students with an additional channel to obtain an alternative Chinese Language qualification to prepare them for further studies and career pursuits. Besides, eligible NCS students (Note 2) are provided with subsidy to obtain internationally recognised alternative Chinese Language qualifications, including those under GCSE, IGCSE and GCE for admission to the University Grants Committee-funded universities and post-secondary institutions.

Note 1: For the planning of educational support measures, students whose spoken language at home is not Chinese are broadly categorised as NCS students.
Note 2: The NCS students concerned are those who meet the following circumstances:
(a) have learnt Chinese Language for less than six years while receiving primary and secondary education; or
(b) have learnt Chinese Language for six years or more in schools, but have been taught an adapted and simpler curriculum not normally applicable to the majority of students in local schools.]]><![CDATA[ENB to introduce bill on municipal solid waste charging]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100315.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100315.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:12:00 +0800
     The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, said, "Sitting at the centre of our overall waste reduction strategy is the implementation of MSW charging, which will provide the necessary financial incentives to drive behavioural and cultural changes, and encourage different sectors of the community to cherish resources and proactively practise waste reduction at source as well as clean recycling, thus reducing overall waste disposal. In recent years, the per capita disposal rate of MSW of Hong Kong has been increasing. In 2016, the daily disposal of MSW reached 1.41 kilograms per person, which is higher than those of other major cities. To combat global climate change, it is imperative to promote resources saving as well as waste reduction and recycling in order to reduce carbon emissions and facilitate a transformation to low-carbon living. In Seoul and Taipei City, waste disposal dropped by some 30 per cent in the initial period after quantity-based waste charging was introduced. This demonstrates that a charging scheme can reduce waste effectively."

     Mr Wong said the ENB has been consulting the public and the trades for some time in the past on this policy and its implementation arrangements, through public consultation and the extensive public engagement process conducted by the Council for Sustainable Development in 2013, to build understanding of and support for MSW charging in the community. The Government subsequently took on board the views from stakeholders and modified the proposed charging arrangements in October last year by expanding the use of pre-paid designated garbage bags to cover around 80 per cent of MSW disposal. The remaining 20 per cent will be charged by a "gate-fee" based on the weight of MSW disposed. The trades and the public generally find this modified charging mode and mechanism agreeable.

     The Government also attaches great importance to further promoting waste reduction and recycling in order to complement the implementation of MSW charging. The Policy Address recently announced that the Government will provide additional recurrent resources to strengthen its work on these fronts. The Government will provide an additional provision of around $300-400 million for the 2019-20 financial year to start with, which would be further increased to no less than $800-1,000 million from the financial year when MSW charging is to be implemented. The amount of this annual provision would be commensurate with the estimated gross revenue to be generated from MSW charging, so as to achieve the effect of "dedicated-fund-for-dedicated-use". This means that the revenue from MSW charging will be used to enhance the work relating to waste reduction and recycling.

     Mr Wong added, "It is a very challenging task to implement MSW charging. The Government has formulated a pragmatic strategy to implement MSW charging. We will make use of additional resources to strengthen support for waste reduction and recycling work, including the setting up of outreaching teams under the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) to provide on-site assistance to the community, thereby putting waste reduction and recycling and MSW charging into practice; also the provision of a free territory-wide collection service in respect of waste plastics from non-commercial and industrial (C&I) sources and food waste from all sources in the longer run subject to the experiences gained from the pilot schemes on non-C&I waste plastics and C&I food waste, as well as the progress of developing food waste recovery centres in Hong Kong; and implementation of a pilot scheme to assess the effectiveness of applying reverse vending machines in promoting the recycling of plastic beverage containers."

     He said that public education and publicity hold the key to the implementation of MSW charging. Starting from now, the Government will further step up public education and publicity to encourage the public to practise waste reduction and recycling, as well as enhance the community's understanding of MSW charging arrangements, so as to facilitate implementation of this important waste reduction initiative. The EPD will launch a dedicated website on MSW charging (www.mswcharging.gov.hk) today to assist different sectors of the community to better understand the details of MSW charging. Promotional videos and pamphlets will be made available later to explain the proposed implementation arrangements of MSW charging and provide detailed and specific information to individual sectors.

     The Government will put in place a preparatory period of 12 to 18 months after the passage of the Bill to provide the Government, different stakeholders and the public with appropriate time to prepare for the implementation of MSW charging.

"The implementation date for MSW charging is subject to various interplaying factors. We estimate that MSW charging could be implemented by end-2020 at the earliest. The Government will continue to solicit support from various sectors of the community with a view to facilitating the passage of the Bill and implementing MSW charging to drive behavioural changes as soon as possible, hence achieving reduction of both waste and carbon emissions," Mr Wong said.

     The Bill will be published in the Gazette this Friday (November 2) and introduced into the LegCo for first and second readings on November 14.]]><![CDATA[Free exhibition at Kowloon Park to introduce organic planting at home (with photos)]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100635.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100635.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:10:00 +0800
     Organic planting is growing plants without chemical pesticides and fertilisers or genetically engineered materials. Instead, organic practices are adopted to control pests and diseases, as well as to maintain soil fertility.

     Members of the public can easily grow plants organically at home. Some plants can be easily grown with just adequate sunlight and water. Even apartments in high-rise buildings can be suitable homes for plants, as long as there are well-lit spots in the flat. A windowsill, a balcony and a rooftop are all lovely places for planting to add a splash of green to the home.

     Organic produce will likely have lower concentrations of synthetic chemical residues, so eating organic food is a way to reduce the intake of pesticide residues and additives. Fruits and vegetables grown at home can be eaten or used in drinks. There are also herbs that can be used for making tea and as seasonings.

     Some herbs are fragrant plants that emit aromatic compounds. Herbs dried under the sun or in the oven can be put into sachets to improve indoor air quality. Potted fruit and vegetable plants can also be used for decoration.

     Descriptive display panels will enable members of the public to learn more about the methods and benefits of organic planting at home. Game stalls will be set up and visitors can also enjoy the fun of pot planting under the guidance of horticulture instructors.

     Two talks in Cantonese entitled "Organic Farming" and "Organic Planting at Home" will be held at the Secondary Hall of Kowloon Park Sports Centre. Admission tickets are required and are now being distributed for free at the Green Education and Resource Centre in Kowloon Park.

     For enquiries, please call 2723 6042 or 2723 6767 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/green/gerc/activities/exhibitions.html.

]]><![CDATA[SCED to attend inaugural China International Import Expo in Shanghai]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100336.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100336.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:01:00 +0800
     The Expo, to be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai from November 5 to 10, consists of the Country Pavilion for Trade and Investment, the Enterprise and Business Exhibition, and the Hongqiao International Economic and Trade Forum which comprises an opening ceremony, three parallel sessions and the Hongqiao International Business Media and Think Tank Forum.

     Hong Kong will participate actively on various fronts at the CIIE. A Hong Kong Exhibition Area will be set up by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government inside the China Pavilion of the Country Pavilion for Trade and Investment to showcase Hong Kong's strengths, major infrastructure projects, popular tourist attractions, and products and inventions. Hong Kong's participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development, its contributions to the reform and opening up of the country, and the implementation of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law will also be major themes.

     Over 160 Hong Kong enterprises will take part in the Enterprise and Business Exhibition. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will set up a Hong Kong Services Zone and a Hong Kong Product Zone to exhibit a wide array of quality products and services to international exhibitors and buyers.

     Mr Yau will attend one of the parallel sessions in the afternoon on November 5 and deliver an opening address at a sub-forum entitled "Seminar on 'Hong Kong's Experiences for International Trade': New Horizon·New Technology·New Model" co-organised by the Trade and Industry Department and the HKTDC in the morning on November 6.

     The sub-forum will feature industry experts from the innovation and technology, finance and legal sectors. They include the Group Chairman of the Fung Group, Dr Victor Fung; the Expert Partner of Sequoia China Fund, Mr Herbert Chia; the Chief Corporate Banking Officer of Bank of China (Hong Kong), Mr Lin Guangming; and Member of the Greater China Legal Affairs Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong Mr Lawrence Yeung. They will explore issues including big data applications, support for cross-border enterprises provided by Hong Kong financial services and risk management by Hong Kong professional services, highlighting possible roles for the local services sectors in international trade.

     Mr Yau will return to Hong Kong in the evening on November 6. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan, will be the Acting Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development.]]><![CDATA[Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund facilitates development of innovation and technology in E&M sector]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100322.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100322.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 16:00:00 +0800
     The Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services and the EMSTF General Manager, Mr Alfred Sit, said 2018 marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of EMSD and the department would continue to serve the community wholeheartedly and foster innovation and digitisation in the electrical and mechanical (E&M) sector.

     "By promoting collaboration among the start-ups, the academia, the E&M sector, the government and the public sectors, the department is dedicated to fostering innovation and technology development in the trade. We will also seize the opportunities driven by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in innovation and technology development and strengthen our role as a facilitator in training and exchanges of E&M talent in the region," he said.

     The EMSTF Annual Report was tabled in the Legislative Council and uploaded to the EMSD website (www.emsd.gov.hk/en/rl/EMSTF_AR_1718) today for public reference.]]><![CDATA[LCQ17: Transfer of patients' personal data by Hospital Authority to other organisations]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100644.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100644.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 15:55:00 +0800
Question:

     It has been reported that the Hospital Authority (HA) has transferred patients' personal data to the Faculty of Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (the Faculty of Medicine) each year since 2010 to facilitate the conduct of a Patient Experience Survey through telephone interviews by the Faculty of Medicine. A respondent has recently complained that HA has transferred her personal data (including consultation records) to the Faculty of Medicine without her consent. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:

(1) the quantity and contents of the patients' personal data that were transferred by HA to other organisations in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by reason for the transfer and name of organisation;

(2) whether HA had, prior to transferring the patients' personal data mentioned in (1) to other organisations, obtained the consent of each data subject; if HA had, of the relevant procedure and details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether the authorities have assessed if such a practice has contravened the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap 486); if the authorities have assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the authorities' remedial measures and law enforcement actions; and

(3) (i) how the organisations to whom HA has transferred patients' personal data store such data, (ii) at what stage they destroy the data, and (iii) whether they have transferred the data to other organisations; if they have, of the details?

Reply:

President,

     My consolidated reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Lam Cheuk-ting is as follows:

     To understand the needs of patients for continuous service monitoring and enhancement, the Hospital Authority (HA) regularly conducts Patient Experience Surveys (PES) on in-patient, specialist out-patient or other specialty services. Through an open tender and by contractual means, HA commissioned the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong to assist HA in conducting PES on three major service areas, namely Accident and Emergency, in-patient and specialist out-patient services, from 2016 to 2018. Patients' experience and feedback on HA's services are collected by way of telephone interviews. No other organisations are involved in the conduct of the surveys. The survey results will be in a non-patient identifiable form, and only show the respondents' overall ratings on HA's services, as well as their general demographic information and health profile.

     In accordance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) and the information provided by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, HA, as the data user, protects personal data entrusted to the JCSPHPC (i.e. the data processor) mainly by contractual means, including specifying and monitoring the security measures required to be taken by the JCSPHPC. For example, timely return, destruction or deletion of the personal data entrusted for processing; prohibition against any use or disclosure of the personal data for other purposes; and prohibition against sub-contracting the provision of the service entrusted without HA's consent. In addition to contractual regulation, HA has appointed members of the JCSPHPC research and telephone interview teams as its honorary staff to ensure the proper conduct of PES. Under contractual regulation and in the capacity of honorary staff, both teams are authorised to carry out the surveys. Same as HA staff, the honorary staff are required to comply strictly with HA's guidelines and PDPO in processing personal data.

     The data of randomly selected patients will be provided to the JCSPHPC telephone interview team. The quantity of patient data obtained by the interview team in the past three years is set out in the table below:

	Quantity of patients' data	No. of respondents
2016 Patient Experience and Satisfaction Survey on Accident and Emergency Service	17 739	9 317
2017 Patient Experience Survey on In-patient Service	14 000	9 921
2018 Patient Experience Survey on Specialist Out-patient Service (as at October 12, 2018)	16 700	Survey not yet completed

     Only basic and necessary data of patients have been kept by the interview team to facilitate their obtaining patient consent and conducting the surveys. For example, in the 2018 PES on specialist out-patient service, the data of a patient obtained by the interview team include the patient's name, contact number, sex, age, residential district and information about his/her specialist out-patient clinic attendance (including name of hospital/clinic, type of specialist service, dates of consultation and date of next follow-up appointment). The interview team is required to clearly explain to the patients that JCSPHPC is commissioned by HA to conduct this survey. The interview team is also required to obtain patients' verbal consent on behalf of HA before conducting telephone interviews with the patients. Patients have the right to consent or refuse to participate in the survey, and to withdraw at any time from the survey or refuse to answer any questions during the survey. All data collected will be handled in strict confidence and used solely for survey purpose. After completion of the interview, feedback from patients who have agreed to participate in the survey will be passed to the research team in a non-patient identifiable form for analysis.

     HA has posted a "notice to patient" at public hospitals/clinics to explain the purposes and practice of collecting or disclosing patients' personal data. It is stated in the notice that HA staff may ask a patient to provide personal data (including health information) or obtain from HA/HA Entity/any appropriate third party the patient's medical history/relevant information. Such information is for purposes relating to the patient's healthcare/general related purposes (including, but not limited to, treatment, charges levied by HA/HA Entities on the patient, research and education).

     In order to let the public understand the purposes, format and the service aspects covered by PES, HA has proactively and extensively promulgated the survey at public hospitals/clinics before commencement of the survey. Ways of promulgation include setting up roll-up banners and posters at prominent locations, distribution of information leaflets and issuing press release to appeal for active participation of patients.

     The HA understands the public’s concern about personal privacy. To avoid unnecessary misunderstanding in future, work related to telephone interviews is now divided into two parts. HA will first obtain patient consent in line with the above practice. The data of the consented patients will then be given to the interview team for conducting detailed telephone surveys.

     The JCSPHPC has stringent measures to ensure proper storage of the data concerned. During the survey period, all documents containing patients' personal data will be locked in the cabinets of the team's office and the keys will be kept by designated persons. All patient information will be destroyed under the supervision of HA staff upon completion of the surveys. The JCSPHPC will not transfer any information provided by HA to other organisations.

     From time to time, HA may commission other institutions to conduct research on different subjects. If the research involves patients' personal data, HA will protect the data by contractual means in accordance with PDPO.]]><![CDATA[Effective Exchange Rate Index]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100256.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100256.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 15:40:16 +0800<![CDATA[Postal services to Japan return to normal]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100639.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100639.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 15:30:00 +0800 ]]><![CDATA[CFS announces food safety report for September]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100449.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100449.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 15:30:00 +0800
     A CFS spokesman said about 1 100 food samples were collected for microbiological tests, some 3 100 samples were taken for chemical tests and the remaining 7 000 (including about 6 700 taken from food imported from Japan) were collected to test radiation levels.

     The microbiological tests covered pathogens and hygienic indicators, while the chemical tests included pesticides, preservatives, metallic contaminants, colouring matters, veterinary drug residues and others.

     The samples comprised about 3 000 samples of vegetables and fruit and their products; 700 samples of meat and poultry and their products; 1 600 samples of aquatic and related products; 800 samples of milk, milk products and frozen confections; 700 samples of cereals, grains and their products; and 4 400 samples of other food commodities (including beverages, bakery products and snacks).

     The nine unsatisfactory samples comprised three vegetable and fruit samples detected with pesticide residues exceeding the legal limits; a grass carp sample and a grass carp fish maw sample detected with trace amounts of malachite green; two popsicle samples found to contain coliform bacteria exceeding the legal limit; a blue crab sample detected with chloramphenicol; and a packed milk drink sample found to contain excessive Bacillus cereus.

     The CFS has taken follow-up action on the unsatisfactory samples, including informing the vendors concerned of the test results, instructing them to stop selling the affected food items and tracing the sources of the food items in question.

     Since the Pesticide Residues in Food Regulation (Cap 132CM) came into effect on August 1, 2014, as of September 30 this year, the CFS has taken over 156 000 food samples at the import, wholesale and retail levels for testing for pesticide residues. The overall unsatisfactory rate is less than 0.2 per cent.

     The spokesman added that excessive pesticide residues in food may arise from the trade not observing Good Agricultural Practice, e.g. using excessive pesticides and/or not allowing sufficient time for pesticides to decompose before harvesting. The maximum residue limits (MRLs) of pesticide residues in food set in the Regulation are not safety indicators. They are the maximum concentrations of pesticide residues to be permitted in a food commodity under Good Agricultural Practice when applying pesticides. In this connection, consumption of food with pesticide residues higher than the MRLs will not necessarily lead to any adverse health effects.

     The spokesman reminded the food trade to ensure that food for sale is fit for human consumption and meets legal requirements. Consumers should patronise reliable shops when buying food and maintain a balanced diet to minimise food risks.
]]><![CDATA[Auction of traditional vehicle registration marks to be held on November 17]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100629.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100629.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 15:23:00 +0800
     "A total of 300 vehicle registration marks will be put up for public auction. The list of marks has been posted at the department's website, www.td.gov.hk," a department spokesman said.

     Applicants who have paid a deposit of $1,000 to reserve a mark for auction should also participate in the bidding (including the first bid at the reserve price of $1,000). Otherwise, the mark may be sold to another bidder at the reserve price.

     People who wish to participate in the bidding at the auction should take note of the following important points:

(a) Successful bidders are required to produce the following documents for completion of registration and payment procedures immediately after the successful bidding:
(1) the identity document of the successful bidder;
(2) the identity document of the purchaser if it is different from the successful bidder;
(3) a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation if the purchaser is a body corporate; and
(4) a crossed cheque made payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" or "The Government of the HKSAR". (For an auctioned mark paid for by cheque, the first three working days after the date of auction will be required for cheque clearance confirmation before processing of the application for mark assignment can be completed.) Successful bidders can also pay through the Easy Pay System (EPS). Payment by post-dated cheques, cash or other methods will not be accepted.

(b) Purchasers must make payment of the purchase price through EPS or by crossed cheque and complete the Memorandum of Sale of Registration Mark immediately after the bidding. Subsequent alteration of the particulars in the memorandum will not be permitted.

(c) A vehicle registration mark can only be assigned to a motor vehicle which is registered in the name of the purchaser. The Certificate of Incorporation must be produced immediately by the purchaser if a vehicle registration mark purchased is to be registered under the name of a body corporate.

(d) Special registration marks are non-transferable. Where the ownership of a motor vehicle with a special registration mark is transferred, the allocation of the special registration mark shall be cancelled.

(e) The purchaser shall, within 12 months after the date of auction, apply to the Commissioner for Transport for the registration mark to be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser. If the purchaser fails to assign the registration mark within 12 months, allocation of the mark will be cancelled and arranged for re-allocation in accordance with the statutory provision without prior notice to the purchaser.

     For other auction details, please refer to the Guidance Notes - Auction of Vehicle Registration Marks, which can be downloaded from the department's website, www.td.gov.hk.
]]><![CDATA[LCQ8: Sexual harassment in employment field]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100591.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100591.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 15:20:00 +0800
Question:

It has been reported that the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) received a total of 233 complaints about sexual harassment in the past three years and, among them, over 190 were in the employment field. Under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap 480), acts of sexual harassment in the employment field is unlawful. Not only is the harasser required to bear legal liability, his employer may also be held vicariously liable. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the names of the policy bureaux, government departments and subvented organisations which have at present formulated (i) policies on eliminating sexual harassment and (ii) mechanisms for handling sexual harassment complaints, as well as the details of the policies and mechanisms concerned;

(2) whether it has assessed if the various policy bureaux, government departments and subvented organisations have formulated appropriate measures to eliminate sexual harassment in the employment field; if it has, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) whether it knows if EOC will step up publicity and educational efforts targeting at employers so as to eliminate acts of sexual harassment in the employment field; if EOC will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) whether it will expeditiously present to this Council the Discrimination Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill which seeks to outlaw sexual harassment between participants in the workplace who have no working relationship with each other; of the effectiveness the authorities expected of the legislative amendments concerned in curbing acts of sexual harassment in the employment field?

Reply:

President,

In consultation with the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) and the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), the consolidated reply to the question raised by Dr Hon Elizabeth Quat is as follows:

Under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO) (Cap 480), employers are responsible for preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. The CSB has drawn up a set of general guidelines to assist bureaux/departments (B/Ds) in handling sexual harassment complaints in the civil service. According to the guidelines, staff of B/Ds must ensure that the workplace is free from sexual harassment, and all officers should treat each other with respect. The guidelines stipulate that in dealing with sexual harassment complaints, B/Ds should appoint officers at appropriate levels to handle the complaints, uphold the principle of confidentiality and ensure that the complainants and the witnesses are duly protected. B/Ds should ensure that such complaints are handled seriously, objectively and expeditiously, and that the parties involved are treated fairly. The guidelines also require B/Ds to hold briefing sessions or seminars as and when required so as to raise staff awareness of the proper procedures for handling cases of sexual harassment. In addition to making reference to the relevant guidelines issued by the CSB, B/Ds may also draw up their own procedures that suit their needs for dealing with sexual harassment complaints, taking into account their individual circumstances and operational requirements.

All new recruits are required to read the guidelines on handling sexual harassment complaints, which are also circulated by B/Ds to their staff on a regular basis. The CSB and departments organise thematic seminars and provide relevant training to enhance staff's knowledge and skills in handling sexual harassment complaints.

For Government-subvented bodies, the EOC currently does not keep records of the mechanism of those bodies on prevention and handling sexual harassment complaints related to employees. The EOC has all along adopted a sectoral approach in promoting the importance of developing anti-sexual harassment policies and measures. In this regard, the EOC has collaborated with the education sector, the business sector (in particular the service industry), the social service sector, and the sports sector to promote anti-sexual harassment. In view of the special circumstances of these sectors, the EOC has formulated a series of "Framework for Sexual Harassment Policy" and organised a number of seminars, talks and workshops to enable stakeholders to better understand what sexual harassment is and the preventive measures they should take.

With regard to stepping up publicity and educational efforts targeting at employers, the EOC will continue to provide training and hold seminars for employers in various sectors. For example, the EOC has provided 200 training sessions on anti-discrimination ordinances and sexual harassment for over 8 000 participants from private and public organisations from January to June 2018. Among the participating organisations were Government departments, public organisations, non-governmental organisations, airlines, banks, hotels, retailers, property management companies, insurance companies and manufacturing companies.

On public education and publicity programmes, the EOC will continue to promote the messages of protection of citizens against sexual harassment under the SDO, the elimination of sexual harassment in the workplace and employers' responsibilities of preventing sexual harassment in the workplace through a series of activities. The series of public education and publicity programmes include a weekly radio programme partnership with RTHK Radio 2, Community Participation Funding Programme on Equal Opportunities, drama performances for schools, op-ed articles on equal opportunities issues in various newspapers, exhibitions, Generation i Youth Project, comics and video production competition, and multi-media promotional campaign, to promote a friendly working environment that is free from discrimination and sexual harassment.

     On legislation, the Government plans to introduce the Discrimination Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2018 (the Bill) by the end of this year to implement the eight prioritised recommendations in the Submissions on Discrimination Law Review submitted by the EOC to the Government in 2016, which include thereat the expansion of legislative protection from sexual harassment under the SDO to persons working in a common workplace. Upon the passage and commencement of the Bill, an employee, an employer, a contract worker, a principal, a commission agent and a partner in a firm will be protected from sexual harassment of the aforementioned parties at a workplace of them both, with a view to ameliorating the situation of sexual harassment in the workplace.]]><![CDATA[Special traffic and transport arrangements in So Kon Po and Causeway Bay this Sunday]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100604.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100604.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 15:19:35 +0800
     The special traffic and transport arrangements mainly include:

* From about 6.30am the section of Caroline Hill Road between Leighton Road and Cotton Path, and the section of Hysan Avenue westbound between Sunning Road and Hoi Ping Road, will be closed subject to the actual situation;

* From about 11am, Caroline Hill Road, Cotton Path and Eastern Hospital Road will be closed to facilitate the dispersal of participants, until the crowd disperses and road closures are lifted subject to the actual situation;

* During the road closure period, Citybus route 5B, New World First Bus route 8H, cross harbour route 936 and green minibus routes 14M, 26 and 30 will be temporarily diverted; and

* On-street car parking spaces and car parks within the affected areas will be suspended.

     The TD anticipates that the traffic in the vicinity of So Kon Po and Causeway Bay will be significantly congested. Motorists are advised to avoid driving to the affected areas. In case of traffic congestion, motorists should exercise tolerance and patience, and follow the instructions of the Police. Members of the public planning to go to the affected area are advised to use public transport as far as possible.

     The TD and the Police will closely monitor the traffic situation and implement appropriate measures whenever necessary. Members of the public are advised to stay alert to the latest traffic news on radio and television.

     Details of the special traffic and transport arrangements are now available on the TD's website (www.td.gov.hk).]]><![CDATA[LCQ12: Feeding of birds by members of the public]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100555.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100555.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 15:06:15 +0800
Question:

    Under section 4(1) of the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation (Cap 132BK) (the Regulation), no person shall deposit any litter in any public place, in the common parts of any building, on any land (except with the consent of the owner of the land), etc. Law enforcement officers of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) may take law enforcement actions under that provision against persons dirtying the aforesaid places by feeding birds (e.g. leaving behind residual feed on the ground). Nevertheless, there are from time to time persons who persistently feed birds in the common parts of private land, which causes hygiene problems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of persons to whom fixed penalty notices for feeding birds were issued, by invoking section 4(1) of the Regulation, by FEHD in each of the past three years (set out by District Council district); and

(2) of the respective numbers of cases among those in (1) in which bird feeding took place (i) in the common parts of public rental housing estates and private housing estates and (ii) on private lands; if there was no such case, of the reasons for that, and whether the Government will assist the administrators of private lands in stopping bird feeding in the common parts of private lands and imposing punishment for such acts; if so, how it will provide assistance?

Reply:

President,

    At present, there is no legislation which regulates bird feeding. However, people who are dirtying public places by feeding birds, e.g. leaving residual feed on the ground, will contravene section 4(1) of the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation (Cap 132BK). The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) may take enforcement actions against the offenders under the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness and Obstruction) Ordinance (Cap 570).

   To address the environmental hygiene problems caused by the congregation of wild birds, FEHD has been making appeals through various channels, including erecting warning signs and distributing pamphlets to the public to advise them to refrain from feeding and thus gathering wild birds in order to maintain environmental hygiene. Also, to tackle the problem of feeding activities, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has produced new television and radio APIs and microfilms which have been broadcasted on various media platforms since February 2018. Meanwhile, a new website (nofeeding.afcd.gov.hk/english/index.html) was launched in May 2018 to enhance publicity. My reply to the Member's questions is as follows:

(1) FEHD has set up 19 dedicated enforcement teams, primarily responsible for stepping up enforcement actions against various public cleanliness offences. FEHD issued 90, 109 and 174 fixed penalty notices in 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively against people who dirtied public places while feeding wild birds. The breakdown by District Council districts is as follows:

District	2015	2016	2017
Central and Western	11	19	28
Wan Chai	10	10	15
Eastern	12	6	27
Southern	4	6	7
Islands	15	7	9
Yau Tsim Mong	9	14	7
Sham Shui Po	10	25	38
Kowloon City	2	4	5
Wong Tai Sin	4	0	1
Kwun Tong	0	1	0
Kwai Tsing	1	1	0
Tsuen Wan	1	0	0
Tuen Mun	4	0	8
Yuen Long	4	5	4
North	0	0	3
Tai Po	0	1	0
Sha Tin	2	4	18
Sai Kung	1	6	4
Total	90	109	174

Note: Figures of prosecution by way of summons are not included above.

(2) FEHD does not maintain the required breakdown. Due to resources and priority considerations, FEHD mainly focus its enforcement actions in public places.

   The Housing Department (HD) is responsible for the management within public rental housing estates. If any person is found to be feeding wild birds in the common areas of the public housing estates and dirtying the place, for example, leaving residual feed, authorised HD staff may take enforcement actions for contravention of section 4(1) of the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation (Cap 132BK) against the feeder. If the feeder is a tenant or authorised resident of the estate, HD staff will also allot points to the household under the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement.

As regards private areas, their management responsibility rests with owners (such as incorporated owners) and property management agencies which may remind people to keep such areas clean and not to feed wild birds. Owners or incorporated owners can also perform their obligations and exercise their rights under the Deed of Mutual Covenant (DMC). If necessary, they may seek legal advice and take actions against relevant persons according to applicable provisions under the respective DMC.

    Moreover, AFCD has published new banners, posters and pamphlets for displaying at places where feral pigeons gather as well as posting and distribution by various departments and private housing estates, and will continue to conduct roving exhibitions at different venues to remind the public not to feed feral pigeons.]]><![CDATA[LCQ4: Impacts on Hong Kong people by an amendment to the tax law on the Mainland]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100522.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100522.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 15:05:00 +0800
Question:

     The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed in August this year the Draft Amendment to the Individual Income Tax Law (the new tax law), which will take effect on January 1 next year. Under the new tax law, the length of residency for which an individual must pay individual income tax on his or her income obtained inside and outside China is shortened from the current one year to 183 days. Those Hong Kong people who will be affected include the following three categories: persons who reside and work on the Mainland, persons who reside on the Mainland but return to Hong Kong every day for work, and retirees who have settled on the Mainland. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

(1) it has assessed the respective numbers of the aforesaid three categories of Hong Kong people who will be affected by the new tax law;

(2) it had, before the passage of the new tax law, relayed to the Central Authorities the impact of the new tax law on Hong Kong people; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) it has measures put in place to mitigate the impacts of the new tax law on Hong Kong people; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

    Many Hong Kong residents reside and work in the Mainland with the ever-closer ties between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Recognising their concerns about their tax obligations in the Mainland, the Special Adminitrative Region (SAR) Government has been communicating with the relevant Mainland authorities on tax matters concerning Hong Kong residents in the Mainland.

     My reply to the Hon Lee's question is as follows:

(1) Currently, the Government does not have comprehensive statistical information on Hong Kong people residing or working in the Mainland. Nothwithstanding, the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) has been making use of the movement records of Hong Kong permanent residents to compile and release the estimation of "Hong Kong residents usually staying in the Guangdong Province" since 2016. These residents refer to Hong Kong permanent residents who have stayed in the Guangdong Province for six months and above cumulatively during the six months before and after the reference time-point. As at end-2017, the estimated number of such persons was around 530 000, among which about 40% were aged between 25 and 64. Since C&SD assumes that Hong Kong permanent residents departing Hong Kong via land control points and the China Ferry Terminal are travelling to the Guangdong Province, the estimation concerned cannot differentiate those who then travel to other areas in the Mainland or outside the Mainland. Besides, their purposes of stay (e.g. for work, study or settlement) in the Guangdong Province could not be ascertained in the estimation.

(2) and (3) The SAR Government understands and fully respects our country's legislative amendment exercise to enhance the tax regime. At the same time, we know that the business sector and some groups are very concerned whether the amended Individual Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China will increase the tax burden on Hong Kong people who work or live in the Mainland, and affect Hong Kong people's desire to develop in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Therefore, we have been communicating with the relevant Mainland authorities on this matter over the past few months to relay the concerns of Hong Kong people.

     We are pleased to note that the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation have taken into consideration the views expressed by the SAR Government and Hong Kong people, and recently commenced a public consultation on the Regulations for the Implementation of the Individual Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China (Amendment Draft for Consultation) on October 20, 2018. It is proposed that, a resident individual who has no domicile and has resided in the Mainland for an annual aggregate of 183 days or more for less than five consecutive years, or has resided in the Mainland for an annual aggregate of 183 days or more for five consecutive years but during which there is a single absence from the Mainland of more than 30 days, may, upon filing records with the relevant tax authorities, pay individual income tax with respect to his/her income derived from sources outside the Mainland only on the part paid by enterprises, institutions and other economic organisations or resident individuals in the Mainland. This arrangement has largely retained the tax concession for individuals who have no domicile and have resided in the Mainland for less than five years under the existing Regulations for the Implementation of the Individual Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China. We believe that the proposal has addressed the concerns of the majority of Hong Kong people working in the Mainland. The public consultation will close on November 4, 2018.

     As regards the concern of Hong Kong retirees residing in the Mainland and the detailed interpretation of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Individual Income Tax Law, the SAR Government will continue to follow up with the relevant Mainland authorities. We hope measures to be implemented will be more beneficial to Hong Kong people after clarification is made.

     Thank you, President.]]><![CDATA[Auctions for Lunar New Year fair stalls of Hong Kong Island, Islands District and Kowloon to start next Monday]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100367.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100367.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 15:00:00 +0800
     The Victoria Park LNY Fair in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island, accommodates 180 wet goods stalls, 284 dry goods stalls, eight thematic stalls and three fast food stalls for bidding.

     The LNY fair in Islands District will be held at Tat Tung Road Garden in Tung Chung with eight wet goods stalls and 34 dry goods stalls.

     The four Kowloon LNY fairs will be held at Fa Hui Park and Cheung Sha Wan Playground in Sham Shui Po, Morse Park in Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong Recreation Ground, with a total of 314 wet goods stalls, 243 dry goods stalls and eight fast food stalls.

     Unlike last year with the auctions held in Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai, the auctions for stalls of the LNY fair in Victoria Park this year will be held for four days from November 5 to 8 (Monday to Thursday) at the Assembly Hall, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices, 19 Lai Wan Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon. The auctions for stalls of the Sham Shui Po, Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong fairs will also be held at the Assembly Hall, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices, from November 13 to 16. The auction sessions are scheduled from 9am to 12.30pm (AM session) and 2pm until completion of the auction (PM session).

     The auction for stalls of Tat Tung Road Garden LNY Fair in Tung Chung will be held at Rooms 1413 and 1414, Harbour Building, 38 Pier Road, Central, on November 9 (Friday). The auction session is scheduled from 9.30am until completion of the auction.

     Details of the auctions and opening prices are as follows:

Victoria Park (Causeway Bay)
--------------------------------------------
Auction date: November 5 (Monday)
AM session: Fast food and wet goods (Stall Nos. 301 to 372)
PM session: Wet goods (Stall Nos. 373 to 480)
Opening prices:
Fast food: $374,850 (Stall size: 7.6 metres x 4.8m)
Fast food: $200,780 (Stall size: 5m x 4m)
Wet goods: $10,880

Auction date: November 6 (Tuesday)
AM session: Thematic goods and dry goods (Stall Nos. 1 to 40)
PM session: Dry goods (Stall Nos. 41 to 88)
Opening prices:
Thematic goods: $41,650 (Stall size: 6m x 1.5m)
Dry goods: $14,230

Auction date: November 7 (Wednesday)
AM session: Dry goods (Stall Nos. 93 to 140)
PM session: Dry goods (Stall Nos. 141 to 148 and 153 to 192)
Opening price:
Dry goods: $14,230

Auction date: November 8 (Thursday)
AM session: Dry goods (Stall Nos. 193 to 208 and 213 to 246)
PM session: Dry goods (Stall Nos. 247 to 268 and 273 to 300)
Opening price:
Dry goods: $14,230

* Due to the limited number of seats at the auction venue, those who are interested in bidding for the specific types of stalls at the Victoria Park LNY fair are requested to participate in the auction on the designated auction date.

Tat Tung Road Garden (Tung Chung)
--------------------------------------------
Auction date: November 9 (Friday)
Stall types: Wet goods and dry goods
Opening prices:
Wet goods: $630
Dry goods: $750

Fa Hui Park (Sham Shui Po)
--------------------------------------------
Auction date: November 13 (Tuesday)
AM session: Wet goods
PM session: Fast food and dry goods
Opening prices:
Wet goods: $5,900
Fast food: $67,440 (Stall size: 7.6m x 4.8m)
Fast food: $29,140 (Stall size: 5m x 3m)
Dry goods: $13,000

Morse Park (Wong Tai Sin)
--------------------------------------------
Auction date: November 14 (Wednesday)
AM session: Wet goods
PM session: Fast food and dry goods
Opening prices:
Wet goods: $2,500
Fast food: $16,670 (Stall size: 7.6m x 4.8m)
Dry goods: $2,290

Kwun Tong Recreation Ground (Kwun Tong)
--------------------------------------------
Auction date: November 15 (Thursday)
AM session: Wet goods
PM session: Fast food and dry goods
Opening prices:
Wet goods: $3,640
Fast food: $10,100 (Stall size: 7.6m x 4.8m)
Dry goods: $3,550

Cheung Sha Wan Playground (Sham Shui Po)
--------------------------------------------
Auction date: November 16 (Friday)
AM session: Wet goods
PM session: Fast food and dry goods
Opening prices:
Wet goods: $830
Fast food: $7,610 (Stall size: 7.6m x 4.8m)
Dry goods: $920

     Bidders for LNY fair stalls must be at least 18 years old and ordinarily resident in Hong Kong.

     Anyone can bid for more than one stall. A bidder must pay the bid price and register in person with his or her own name as the licensee of the stall immediately after successfully bidding for a stall. The bidder is also required to sign at once a licence agreement with the FEHD, or will forfeit the rights to operate the stall.

     An FEHD spokesman said, "Successful bidders shall comply with all the stipulations and provisions as set out in the licence agreement. Otherwise, the department is entitled to terminate the agreement and the licensee shall immediately vacate the stall."

     Details of the 2019 LNY fairs such as the public notice, the locations and layouts of the fair venues, commodities allowed for sale at the fair stalls, open auction arrangements and related rules, and a sample of the licence agreement are available at the FEHD website (www.fehd.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call the FEHD hotline 2868 0000.
]]><![CDATA[Space Museum launches new sky show "Norman the Snowman - On a Night of Shooting Stars" (with photos)]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100282.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100282.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 15:00:00 +0800
In the small hours of November 13, 1833, a huge number of shooting stars, also known as meteors, were witnessed in North America. As many as 20 shooting stars per second were said to have appeared, to the astonishment of the people who saw them, and it is still regarded today as the largest meteor shower in modern history. Unfortunately, photography had not been formally invented back then so the accuracy of the records of that meteor shower cannot be assured.

In the show, a boy who is fascinated by meteors longs to see a meteor shower, and his friend Norman the snowman tells him one will occur the following night. However, it has been snowing in town and the chance of seeing meteors is slim. Leaving the thick cloud cover and the ridicule of others behind, the boy decides to go on a quest with his snowman friend Norman in search of somewhere with clear skies. But who and what will they run into on the way?

The 32-minute show, of which the first five minutes is an introduction to the Chinese skies, will be screened until April 29 next year at the museum's Stanley Ho Space Theatre. It will be screened daily at 3.50pm and 7.20pm. An additional show at 12.20pm will be available on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

Tickets priced at $24 (front stalls) and $32 (stalls) are available at the Hong Kong Space Museum Box Office and URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). The museum is closed on Tuesdays (except public holidays).

The Hong Kong Space Museum is located at 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. For further information, please call 2721 0226 or visit the website at hk.space.museum.

]]><![CDATA[Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 7) Bill 2018 to be gazetted]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103000409.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103000409.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 15:00:00 +0800
(a) align the tax treatment of financial instruments with their accounting treatment;

(b) allow the deduction of interest expenses payable to overseas export credit agencies;

(c) refine the provisions that implement the arrangement for automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters (AEOI);

(d) avoid potential double non-taxation of income of visiting teachers and researchers; and

(e) revise the meaning of the sibling relationship.

     "The current accounting standard requires certain entities to account for financial instruments on a fair value basis. The provision of an option for profits tax payers to elect to have financial instruments taxed on the same basis will facilitate their efforts in preparing the necessary tax returns. Separately, the proposal of allowing deduction of the interest expenses payable to overseas export credit agencies should help foster trading activities between Hong Kong and other places," a Government spokesman said.

     The Amendment Bill also includes refinements to the AEOI regime implemented since 2017, so as to closely follow the requirements promulgated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. "The amendments related to AEOI are particularly crucial for Hong Kong to preserve its competitiveness and reputation as an international financial and business centre," the spokesman added.

     The Government has also proposed amendments to the Inland Revenue Ordinance (IRO) to avoid potential double non-taxation of income of visiting teachers and researchers arising from the introduction of tax exemption for teachers and researchers in comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreements/arrangements (CDTAs) signed by Hong Kong. Such an exemption arrangement has already been included in the CDTA signed with Saudi Arabia, and the Government plans to include an exemption in the one with the Mainland so as to relieve tax burden for Hong Kong teachers and researchers working in the Mainland.

     Moreover, to promote family support, the Amendment Bill proposes expansion of the meaning of "brother and sister" under the IRO to cover some cases related to adopted persons in determining the eligibility for dependent brother or dependent sister allowance.

     The Amendment Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council on November 14.]]><![CDATA[Land Registry releases Trading Fund Annual Report]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018102900762.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018102900762.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 15:00:00 +0800
     "For the financial year ending March 31, 2018, the LRTF posted a profit of $131.8 million and achieved a 38.1 per cent financial return on fixed assets, mainly due to an increase in business volume," the Land Registrar, Ms Doris Cheung, said.

     According to the report, the total number of documents registered and searches of land registers increased by 12.8 per cent and 6.1 per cent respectively when compared to the financial year of 2016/17.

     Ms Cheung said that the LR exceeded all targets set in its performance pledges and implemented various enhancements to the Integrated Registration Information System Online Services. The LR also launched the e-Alert Service for authorised institutions (AIs) under the Banking Ordinance (i.e. licensed banks, restricted licence banks and deposit-taking companies) to help them better manage credit risks in mortgage lending with effect from February 2017. With the consent of the relevant property owners, the AIs subscribing to the Service will receive electronic notifications from the LR when further charges or mortgage documents in respect of the properties mortgaged to the AIs concerned are lodged for registration in the LR. In order to provide greater security and convenience to the AIs for submission of applications for the Service as well as to increase the operational efficiency of both the AIs and the LR, the LR plans to introduce an e-channel for the Service in 2019.

     The LR has also been making continuous efforts in engaging the key stakeholders for the early implementation of a title registration system in Hong Kong. During the past year, the LR continued to discuss and exchange views with the key stakeholders on the proposal of introducing title registration on new land first (the "new land first" proposal) and the outstanding issues concerning conversion under the proposed Two-Stage Conversion Mechanism. In addition, the LR shared with them its interim findings of the study of the latest developments regarding title registration legislations and good practices adopted in some overseas common law jurisdictions. While continuing the efforts to resolve the outstanding issues on conversion with the key stakeholders and build consensus on the "new land first" proposal, the LR will complete the overseas jurisdiction study with a view to enhancing the proposals on amendments to the Land Titles Ordinance.

     Ms Cheung concluded that although the LR's business performance is susceptible to the volatility of the property market, the LR will keep in view its financial position, take measures to contain expenditures and explore new business opportunities to meet customers' needs.

     The report was tabled in the Legislative Council today. It can also be viewed or downloaded from the LR's website (www.landreg.gov.hk).]]><![CDATA[LCQ20: Retirement protection for employees]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100420.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100420.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 14:55:00 +0800
Question:

     According to the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap 485), employees/self-employed persons whose monthly relevant income is less than $7,100 are not required to make contributions to their accounts under mandatory provident fund (MPF) schemes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of (i) the number of employees who had joined MPF schemes and (ii) the total amount of contributions made to the relevant MPF accounts, in each year from 2015 to 2017 (set out in Table 1 of the Annex 1);

(2) of (i) the number of employees who had joined other recognised retirement schemes and (ii) the total amount of contributions made to the relevant accounts under such retirement schemes, in each year from 2015 to 2017 (set out in Table 2 of the Annex 1);

(3) of the number of employees who were exempted from joining any local retirement scheme, in each year from 2015 to 2017 (set out in Table 3 of the Annex 1);

(4) of the number of employees who were required to join but had not yet joined any MPF scheme, in each year from 2015 to 2017 (set out in Table 4 of the Annex 1); and

(5) whether it will consider making contributions to the employees' MPF accounts for those months in which the relevant income of such employees is less than $7,100, so as to enhance the retirement protection for such employees; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     According to the information provided by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA), the replies to parts (1) to (4) of the question are as follows:

(1) The estimated numbers (Note 1) of participating relevant employees and participating self-employed persons (SEPs) who have joined Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) schemes and the total contribution amounts (Note 2) of their MPF accounts as at December 31 for the years from 2015 to 2017 are set out in Table 1 of the Annex 2.

     The Government and MPFA do not have further breakdown of the information by mode of employment or period for which such persons were not required to make MPF contributions.

(2) The estimated numbers of employed population who have joined other retirement schemes as at December 31 for the years from 2015 to 2017 are set out in Table 2 of the Annex 2.

(3) The estimated numbers of employed population who are not required to join/exempted from joining any local retirement schemes as at December 31 for the years from 2015 to 2017 are set out in Table 3 of the Annex 2.

     The Government and MPFA do not have the information of employees of the European Union Office of the European Commission in Hong Kong.

(4) The estimated numbers of employed persons who should join but have not yet joined any MPF schemes as at December 31 for the years from 2015 to 2017 are set out in Table 4 of the Annex 2.

     The Government and MPFA do not have further breakdown of the information by mode of employment.

     As for part (5) of the question, according to section 7A of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap 485), under the MPF System, unless exempted, an employer and employee must each contribute 5 per cent of the employee's relevant income to an MPF scheme as mandatory contributions. The mandatory contributions are subject to the minimum and maximum levels of relevant income. The minimum and maximum levels of relevant income as currently prescribed in Schedules 2 and 3 to Cap 485 are HK$7,100 per month (or HK$85,200 per annum) and HK$30,000 per month (or HK$360,000 per annum) respectively. The policy intent of setting a minimum level of relevant income is to balance the need for retirement protection and imminent daily-life financial burden of certain employees or SEPs with lower income by exempting them from making monthly MPF contributions.

     The Government has no plan at present to make contributions to the employees' MPF accounts in the months that their relevant income is lower than the minimum level of relevant income. According to the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Government will continue to provide appropriate assistance to elderly persons in need through the existing retirement protection system (including social security and public services).

Notes:

1. As the MPF System is employment-based, some members may be participating in more than one scheme in more than one capacity. Hence, the numbers are estimated figures.

2. The figures include mandatory contributions and voluntary contributions but exclude special voluntary contributions.]]><![CDATA[LCQ5: Measures to mitigate impacts of Sino-US trade conflicts]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100502.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100502.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 14:46:00 +0800
Question:

     Since July this year, the United States (US) Government has imposed, one after another, three tranches of additional tariff measures on imports from Mainland China of a total worth of US$250 billion. In response, the Government of China has concurrently imposed additional tariff measures on imports from US of a total worth of US$110 billion. There are comments that the Sino-US trade conflicts may last for a protracted period of time, and their impacts on Hong Kong's economy are expected to surface gradually from the third quarter of this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the outcome of the latest assessment of the impacts of the Sino-US trade conflicts on Hong Kong's economy; the mitigation measures implemented by the authorities at the international level and the progress of such measures;

(2) of the respective numbers of applications received and approved by the authorities so far since the enhancement measures for the "Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales" were rolled out in August this year, as well as the average amount of grant and average processing time taken for each approved application; whether the authorities will raise the ceiling of the ratio of grant under the SME Export Marketing Fund to the expenditure incurred for export promotion activities, as well as provide financial assistance in respect of expenses on production line relocation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) as the Financial Secretary has pointed out that the Sino-US trade conflicts may affect Hong Kong's banking sector through the credit and liquidity risk channels, whether the authorities have reviewed the capability of Hong Kong's financial system to withstand such challenge and made good preparation for that; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     Since the beginning of this year, the United States (US) has initiated conflicts in international trade, trade protectionism has risen, and the trade conflict between China and the US has been escalating. The Government has been closely monitoring developments and their impact on Hong Kong economy, maintaining close communication and exchanging information with the trade, responding promptly to their need with the introduction of various support measures.

     Our replies to the three parts of the question are as follows:

(1) As a result of the "Section 301 investigation" report concerning the Mainland's intellectual property issues, the US has, in tranches, imposed additional tariffs at 10 per cent or 25 per cent on a total of US$250 billion worth of Mainland imports. In response, the Mainland has imposed additional tariffs at 5 per cent, 10 per cent or 25 per cent on US$110 billion worth of US imports. In respect of the US' and Mainland's tariff lists, a total of HK$185.7 billion of the concerned products were re-exported via Hong Kong, accounting for 4.8 per cent of Hong Kong's total exports of goods in 2017. Apart from re-export trade, the tariff measures also affect Hong Kong's offshore trade involving goods of Mainland origin destined to the US as well as other economic activities supporting China-US trade.

     Apart from the direct impact on trade in goods, the impact of the China-US trade conflict on Hong Kong as a whole and on the global economy has begun to emerge. The uncertainties of the external environment have increased markedly, while the global economy as well as trade and investment sentiment have also deteriorated. Although the current economic data are still good, the outlook is not optimistic. Many institutions have lowered their forecasts for global economic growth next year and Hong Kong economy cannot stay immune. We estimate that the impact of China-US trade conflict on Hong Kong economic growth this year should be relatively limited. However, there will be significant impact on the economy in 2019.

     In the past few months, the Government has announced and implemented a number of targeted measures, including strengthening various SME funding schemes to assist the trade in market promotion and development of the Mainland and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) markets; enhancing the special concessionary measures of the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme operated by the HKMC Insurance Limited to further alleviate the financing burden of local enterprises; strengthening protection of Hong Kong exporters affected by the US tariff measures through the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation; and assisting the trade to develop markets and transfer production base through the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

     At the international level, the Government will continue to adopt a multi-pronged strategy to explore more opportunities for Hong Kong, leveraging on our unique advantages under "one country, two systems". We will continue to actively forge free trade agreements (FTAs) and investment agreements with our trading partners. We have already signed FTAs with ASEAN and Georgia respectively and have concluded negotiations with the Maldives. Our bilateral negotiations with Australia are ongoing, and we will explore FTAs with the United Kingdom and the Pacific Alliance and seek accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. We will also expand our network of Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs), and we expect to set up the ETO in Bangkok early next year and the ETO in Dubai as soon as possible. We will continue our discussion with the respective governments on setting up the ETOs in Moscow, Mumbai and Seoul. In addition, we will actively attract foreign investors to Hong Kong, and grasp the opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, in order to diversify Hong Kong's economy.

(2) The Government has advanced the launch of the enhancement measures to the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (BUD Fund) to August 2018, including the launch of the ASEAN Programme under the BUD Fund to provide funding support to individual non-listed Hong Kong enterprises in carrying out projects that aim to enhance their competitiveness and further business development in the ASEAN markets. We have also enhanced the Mainland Programme under the BUD Fund, including doubling the cumulative funding ceiling per enterprise, to strengthen support to SMEs.

     The trade responded positively to the enhancement measures. As at September 30, the ASEAN Programme received 75 applications, with the funding amount sought in the range of about $17,000 to $1 million. The enhanced Mainland Programme received 273 applications in the third quarter, representing a substantial increase of 58 per cent as compared to the preceding quarter, with the funding amount sought in the range of about $6,000 to $1 million. The Programme Management Committee (PMC) approved the first application at its meeting in end September and the approved funding (about $130,000) represented 100 per cent of the amount sought. As applications for the BUD Fund are processed within 60 working days upon the quarterly application deadline, processing of the other applications will be completed by end December. To expedite the vetting process under the ASEAN Programme, the PMC will approve straightforward cases by circulation.

     The Government has also advanced the launch of the enhancement measures to the SME Export Marketing Fund (EMF) to August 2018, including doubling the cumulative funding ceiling per SME and the maximum funding per application. The maximum amount of grant that SMEs can receive per application under the EMF is 50 per cent of the total approved expenditure, with a view to encouraging SMEs to consider the appropriateness and cost-effectiveness of the promotion activities while exploring and developing export markets. Upon the launch of the enhancement measures, the EMF received 1 609 applications in August and September, an increase of 20 per cent as compared to the same period last year.

     We will continue to review the SME support measures from time to time to ensure that appropriate assistance is provided.

(3) The escalation of China-US trade conflict will inevitably affect Hong Kong's financial markets. Nevertheless, Hong Kong’s financial system has withstood crises one after another. With our resilient regulatory regime, Hong Kong can cope with market volatility. The banking system in Hong Kong is highly resilient. At the end of June 2018, major banks' average liquidity coverage ratio stood at 157 per cent, and their average capital adequacy ratio was over 19 per cent, well above the minimum regulatory requirements. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has conducted a series of stress tests to assess the ability of the Hong Kong banking sector to withstand the impact of the rising trade tensions between the US and China. The results indicate that even in extremely adverse situations, banks will still be able to meet the relevant capital and liquidity supervisory requirements.

     As regards the securities and futures markets, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) monitors the market with vigilance, including the financial positions, operations and settlement status of brokers, as well as their ability to deal with different market situations. The SFC also works closely with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKEX) and the HKMA to address potential systemic issues in case they arise, in particular, ensuring that the trading and risk management systems of the HKEX can adequately handle shocks under extreme market situations.

     The Government and the financial regulators will continue to closely monitor the developments and the financial market situation, with a view to ensuring financial stability.]]><![CDATA[LCQ3: Classification of articles by Obscene Articles Tribunal]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100465.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100465.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 14:36:00 +0800
Question:

The Obscene Articles Tribunal (OAT) gave Killing Commendatore, a literary work newly released by a renowned Japanese writer, an interim classification as a Class II (Indecent) article and made that classification official on July 12 and 26 this year respectively. The incident has aroused heated discussions among the culture and publication sectors as well as the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) given that the OAT shall give notice in newspapers after it has made an interim classification in respect of an article and any person who submitted, or would have been entitled to submit, the article may require the OAT to review that interim classification within five days of that interim classification taking effect, but such time limit may not be adequate for the persons concerned who are in places outside Hong Kong to learn of that interim classification and require a review, whether the Government will improve the relevant arrangements; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2) whether it will make public the reasons for the OAT to classify Killing Commendatore as a Class II article, and enact legislation to require that the reasons for the OAT to classify an article as Class II or III be made public; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) given that the Government, upon reviewing the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance, proposed in 2015 an array of improvement measures (including increasing the minimum number of adjudicators at each the OAT hearing from two to four and increasing the total number of adjudicators from 500 to 1 500), of the reasons why such measures have not yet been implemented and when they will be implemented?

Reply:

President,

     The Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (Cap. 390) (COIAO) establishes the Obscene Articles Tribunal (OAT). The OAT is a specialised tribunal under the Judiciary. One of its functions is to classify whether an article is obscene or indecent. The OAT comprises a presiding magistrate and adjudicators drawn from a panel of adjudicators. Adjudicators are members of the public appointed by the Chief Justice so as to reflect the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by the community. The COIAO provides avenues for review and appeal for those who may be aggrieved by a decision of the OAT.

     My reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Ma Fung-kwok is as follows:

(1) Pursuant to section 13(1) of the COIAO, the author, printer, manufacturer, publisher, importer, distributor or owner of the copyright of any article or any person who commissions the design, production or publication of any article may submit that article for classification by the OAT. The OAT shall, within five days of that submission, make an interim classification in respect of that article (with Class I being neither obscene nor indecent, Class II being indecent, and Class III being obscene).

     Under the existing legislation, any author, printer, manufacturer, publisher, importer, distributor or owner of the copyright of the article concerned or any person who commissions the design, production or publication of the article concerned may require the OAT to review an interim classification within five days of that interim classification taking effect. The review is conducted at a full hearing in public.

     As section 15 of the COIAO requires that a request to review an article's interim classification be made "within five days of that interim classification taking effect", the Government and the OAT cannot make any other arrangements. Any changes to the above require amendments to the relevant legal provisions.

(2) The OAT strictly follows the provisions in the COIAO when handling the classification of articles. Pursuant to section 10(1) of the COIAO, when classifying whether an article is obscene or indecent, the OAT shall have regard to standards of morality, decency and propriety that are generally accepted by reasonable members of the community; the dominant effect of an article or of matter as a whole; the location where and the persons to whom the article is published or the matter is displayed; and whether the article or matter has an honest purpose.

     Section 14(1) of the COIAO stipulates that when the OAT is considering an article for the purpose of making an interim classification, it shall do so in private and without the attendance of the applicant or any other person. According to section 14(3)(a) of the COIAO, the OAT shall not be required to give any reasons for any interim classification.

(3) Since the Government proposed legislative amendments concerning the regulatory framework under the COIAO in 2015, we have been liaising with the relevant government departments and the Judiciary on the proposed legislative amendments to the COIAO over the past three years with a view to resolving the relevant legal issues. Regarding the proposal to increase the total number of adjudicators from 500 to 1 500, the Judiciary originally planned to implement it upon enactment of the legislative amendments. In view of the latest developments, the Judiciary is now considering various suggestions to enhance the representativeness of the OAT.

     Besides, the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration has also been actively organising publicity and public education programmes relating to the COIAO over the past several years.

     As for the way forward of the review of the COIAO, in line with the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development's response to a Member's enquiry at last week's meeting of the Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting, the Government is currently reviewing whether the legislative amendments proposed in 2015 could fully address recent concerns raised by members of the public over the regulatory framework and the adjudicatory system under the COIAO. We plan to discuss the relevant issues in detail with the Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting.]]><![CDATA[LCQ22: Retention period of movement records]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100351.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100351.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 14:32:00 +0800
Question:

     In August this year, a Hong Kong resident, who was serving a life sentence handed down by a local court in the Philippines many years ago for alleged drug possession, requested through his family members the Immigration Department (ImmD) to provide his immigration records 18 years ago as evidence for the purpose of lodging an appeal to the Supreme Court of the Philippines. However, ImmD was unable to provide the relevant information because the immigration records of Hong Kong people would be retained for 10 years only and would all be destroyed thereafter. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of (i) the time when ImmD started implementing the arrangement of retaining immigration records for 10 years and (ii) the reasons for implementing the arrangement;

(2) whether ImmD has assessed if there will be practical difficulties for extending the retention period for immigration records; if ImmD has assessed, of the outcome;

(3) whether it knows other jurisdictions' retention periods in general for the immigration records of their nationals and visitors; and

(4) whether ImmD will draw experience from this incident and review the relevant retention period; if so, when the review will be conducted; if not, of the reasons for that?
　　
Reply:

President,

     My consolidated reply to Hon Cheung Kwok-kwan's question is as follows:

According to the records management policy of the HKSAR Government, to ensure systematic planning of records disposal after records have been kept for an appropriate period of time, bureaux/departments are required to develop retention and disposal schedules for their programme records and to specify the retention period and disposal arrangements of records, taking into account the administrative, operational, fiscal and legal requirements as well as the archival value of records. The retention period of records should meet the purposes they are created and comply with relevant legal or statutory requirements. In addition, if the records contain personal data, bureaux/departments should consider the retention period of the personal data in accordance with the requirements as stipulated in Section 26 and Data Protection Principle 2 of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, i.e. personal data should not be kept longer than necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it is used.

     Movement records are a kind of programme records of the Immigration Department (ImmD). In drawing up retention and disposal schedules for various kinds of programme records (including movement records), ImmD will take into account all of the above factors and submit the draft retention and disposal schedules to the Government Records Service (GRS) for approval pursuant to the requirements under the records management policy with a view to ensuring creation and collection of adequate but not excessive records and striking a balance between proper maintenance of records and retention of records of archival value. The retention period of movement records is 10 years, thus the time-expired records will be destroyed as required after obtaining the prior agreement of the GRS.

     ImmD will regularly review the retention and disposal requirements for movement records in accordance with the guidelines of the GRS and the actual operational needs to ensure proper records management. In consideration of the purpose and practical need to keep the travellers' movement records, as well as the above-mentioned principles, ImmD in general maintains the current retention period for the said records. Should situation warrant, for example under special circumstances involving the case of Hong Kong residents being arrested or detained outside Hong Kong where the need to keep an individual's movement records for longer period arise, ImmD will handle the matter on a case-by-case basis.

     ImmD does not have information on the general retention period of the movement records of nationals and visitors of other jurisdictions.]]><![CDATA[LCQ18: Lion dance permit]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100341.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103100341.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 14:32:00 +0800
Question:

     Lion dance, dragon dance and unicorn dance sports (dragon and lion dance sports) have been included in the Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory of Hong Kong. The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage stipulates that governments should safeguard intangible cultural heritage (ICH), that is, to take measures, including identification, documentation, research, preservation, protection, promotion, enhancement, transmission and revitalisation, to ensure the viability of ICH. On the other hand, under section 4C of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228), any person who organises or participates in a lion dance, dragon dance or unicorn dance, or any attendant martial arts display in a public place is guilty of an offence, unless the person has been issued with a permit or granted an exemption by the Commissioner of Police. Some members of the public have relayed that the procedure for handling permit applications and the documents required to be submitted by applicants vary among the divisional police stations, leaving the public unsure of what to do. Some parents have also relayed that on the eve of their young children's participation in dragon and lion dance sports, they received phone calls from the Police enquiring about their children's detailed information (e.g. hobbies, personalities, family backgrounds and academic achievements); such an act by the Police may arouse unnecessary worries among parents, thereby making them unwilling to allow their children to continue to participate in such sports. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)        as the Government indicated in its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on June 11, 2014 that given the unique nature of dragon and lion dance sports, it was necessary for the Government to ensure that the sports would not disturb public order or jeopardise public safety, and the permit system helped ensure that the sports would not be used by lawbreakers to carry out illegal activities, (i) in what way the nature of such sports is unique, and (ii) how such a nature may lead to such spots disturbing public order or jeopardising public safety;

(2) of the respective numbers of permit applications received and rejected by the Police in each of the past five years; among the cases rejected, the respective numbers of applications rejected on the grounds that such activities, in the Police's judgment, (i) might disturb public order or jeopardise public safety and (ii) might be used by lawbreakers to carry out illegal activities;

(3) of the respective numbers of people in each of the past five years who were arrested, prosecuted and convicted for committing criminal offences during their participation in dragon and lion dance sports (with a breakdown by offence), as well as the punishments imposed on those convicted;

(4) of the channels, apart from checking if the participants have any records of criminal convictions, through which the Police vet their backgrounds when processing permit applications, as well as the details of such work; whether such channels include making phone calls to the parents of young participants;

(5) whether the Police will issue or update the internal guidelines for handling permit applications, including standardising the handling procedure and the documents required to be submitted by applicants, and ensuring that the various divisional police stations will act in strict compliance with the guidelines; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(6) whether it has reviewed if the current policies and measures regulating dragon and lion dance sports are contrary to the obligation to safeguard ICH; if it has, of the outcome; if not, whether it will conduct a review immediately; of the measures the Government will take to mitigate the negative labelling effect on dragon and lion dance sports brought about by the current policies and measures, so as to avoid deterring members of the public who aspire to preserve and promote such a traditional culture from participating in such sports?

Reply:

President,

     Section 4C of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228) stipulates that any person who organises or participates in a lion dance, dragon dance, unicorn dance (lion dance), or any attendant martial arts display in a public place, save for persons exempted by the Commissioner of Police (CP), shall be subject to the conditions of the permit issued by the CP. The purpose of this policy is to prevent the involvement of lawbreakers in lion dance activities and to ensure that such activities will not cause public disorder, including traffic congestion, noise nuisance or other inconvenience to the public, or affect public safety. For scrutiny of the applications, the Police require all applicants and participants of such activities to authorise the Police to check their criminal conviction records.

     My reply to Hon Tam's questions is as follows:

(1) to (3) There are lawbreakers who solicit red packets from shops or members of the public through lion dance activities during festivals, and most of the persons convicted of the offence of "participating in a lion dance in a public place without a permit" in recent years had a number of previous convictions for robbery, claiming to be members of triad societies, wounding, blackmail, etc. In additional, fighting and wounding had occurred in the past as a result of the rivalry between lion dance troupes. Over the past five years, the Police successfully prosecuted 18 persons for the offence of "participating in a lion dance without a permit" according to Section 4C of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228). The persons concerned were placed on probation orders or sentenced to a fine.

     The issue of lion dance permits by the Police helps prevent lawbreakers from using such sports for illegal activities. As at August 2018, the figures on the applications for lion dance permits received by the Police are as follows:

Year	Number of applications for permits	Number of permits issued	Number of exemptions granted
2015	2 473	2 461	12
2016 (Note 1)	2 340	2 332	7
2017 (Note 2)	2 355	2 349	5
2018 (January to August)	2 124	2 119	5

Note 1: One application was rejected since the location of the activity and the arrangement of the performance would affect traffic safety.
Note 2: The applicant of one application withdrew his application afterwards.

(4) to (6) The Police have established procedures and guidelines for processing applications for lion dance permits, and will assess each and every application. The Police will consider various relevant factors, including the venue, time and nature of the activity organised, the impact on traffic and residents, the background of the organiser and its past record, whether the activity will be used for illegal purposes, etc. If the Police are satisfied that the activity does not involve lawbreakers and will not jeopardise public order and public safety, a permit will be issued.

     In case the applicant or participants of an activity have criminal conviction records, the Police shall, taking into account the nature and gravity of their convictions, consider whether the purpose of such activity is to cover up illegal activities. This does not imply that persons with criminal conviction records will automatically be banned from taking part in these activities. Upon scrutiny, the Police shall reject applications for activities which are considered to be seriously affecting public order or public safety, or suspected to be related to illegal activities. The Police may, having regard to the participants and arrangement of each activity, exempt appropriate activities from application for the permit. If necessary, the Police will contact the applicant or participants to verify their information.

     The Police have been continually reviewing the existing mechanism and maintaining close liaison with the sector to refine the application procedures for lion dance permits. To expedite the procedures for approving applications for exemption, since September this year, the Police have extended the power to approve exemptions from the Police Licensing Office to regional and district commanders, and advised the front-line districts and regions to consider approving exemptions for appropriate activities to simplify the application procedures. In addition, the Police are proactively examining the feasibility of allowing submission of lion dance permit applications and uploading of the necessary documents through electronic means, with a view to saving the time needed for applicants to submit applications in person at police stations. Depending on the progress of system development, the online application system is expected to commence operation in 2020.

     In addition, the Police Licensing Office liaises with regions and districts regularly to ensure that lion dance permit applications are processed in accordance with the established procedures, while maintaining close communication with the sector to refine the application procedures for permits.

     It is necessary for the Police to ensure that public order and public safety are not affected when lion dance activities are conducted in public places. The Police continually review the relevant mechanism and the refinements made so as to allow the development of lion dance activities on the one hand, and ensuring that these activities will not be used by lawbreakers for illegal purposes on the other. Organisers of such activities are only required to submit applications to the Police when their performances are to be held in public places. The Police will consider granting exemption to facilitate applicants if they are satisfied that the lion dance activities do not involve any lawbreakers and will not jeopardise public order and public safety.]]><![CDATA[LCQ10: Workmanship of private residential developments]]>http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103000835.htmhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201810/31/P2018103000835.htmWed, 31 Oct 2018 14:30:00 +0800
Question:

     It has been reported that workmanship problems are more commonly seen in the private residential buildings completed in recent years than before. Such problems include hollow floor tiling within flats, leakage in the drainage pipes on external walls of buildings and within flats and leakage around windows' opening within flats. I have also received complaints from a number of flat owners of private housing estates located in districts such as Ma On Shan and Tseung Kwan O, who pointed out that since their moving in, the remedial works necessitated by the poor workmanship had caused great distress to them. They were dissatisfied with the fact that they had spent their lifetime savings on acquiring their own homes and yet they were unable to live in peace. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has assessed if the workmanship of newly completed private residential buildings has shown a worsening trend in recent years; if it has assessed, of the outcome and follow-up measures; if not, the reasons for that and whether it will conduct such an assessment;

(2) of the existing mechanisms and measures for regulating the workmanship of private residential developments (except those for building safety), as well as the scope of and the standards adopted for the regulatory work; when such mechanisms and measures were first introduced, as well as the date(s) on which they were last amended and the details thereof; whether it conducted in the past three years a comprehensive review to see if such mechanisms and measures were still relevant to the present circumstances; if it did, of the details and the outcome; if not, the reasons for that and whether it will conduct such a review expeditiously; and

(3) of the measures to improve the workmanship of private residential buildings, so as to better protect the rights and interests of minority property owners?

Reply:

President,

     In consultation with the Transport and Housing Bureau, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and the Buildings Department (BD), the Development Bureau provides a consolidated reply to the three parts of the question as follows:

     The Buildings Ordinance (Chapter 123) (BO) governs the planning, design and construction of buildings and the related works on private lands in order to ensure that they comply with safety and health standards. BD is responsible for the enforcement of the BO. According to the BO, upon completion of a development project, registered building professionals and registered contractors must submit a certification of works with an application of Occupation Permit to BD to certify that the concerned works are completed following the approved plans and complied with the provisions of BO and its allied regulations. The "rectification works" raised in the question generally involve workmanship problems for internal finishes works inside a flat. In general, workmanship problems for internal finishes works inside a flat, such as hollow floor tiling and leakage around window openings within flats fall outside the purview of the BO. For drains or sewers of any building that are inadequate or in a defective or insanitary condition, the Building Authority may, in accordance with the BO, by an order in writing served on the owner of such building require rectification within a time period specified in the order.

     On the other hand, the Residential Properties (First-hand Sales) Ordinance (Chapter 621) (the Ordinance) came into full implementation on April 29, 2013. The Ordinance aims to enhance the transparency and fairness of the sales of first-hand residential properties, strengthen consumer protection, and provide a level playing field for vendors of first-hand residential properties. The Ordinance sets out detailed requirements in relation to sales brochures, price lists, sales arrangements, register of transactions, show flats, viewing of completed residential properties, advertisements, and the mandatory provisions for the Preliminary Agreement for Sale and Purchase and Agreement for Sale and Purchase (ASP) for the sales of first-hand residential properties.

     The Ordinance requires ASP to incorporate mandatory provisions setting out that the vendor shall, at its own cost and as soon as reasonably practicable after receipt of a written notice served by the purchaser within six months after the date of completion of the sale and purchase, remedy any defects to the property, or the fittings, finishes or appliances as set out in the relevant clause of the ASP, caused otherwise than by the act or neglect of the purchaser. The provisions are without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that the purchaser may have at common law or otherwise.

     Besides, the Consumer Council (the Council) provides consumption-related information to consumers and acts as a conciliator to help consumers and traders settle their disputes by way of conciliation. The Council disseminates consumer information through various channels in order to assist consumers in making smart consumption choices and enhance their understanding of their rights and responsibilities.

     Lastly, the Government does not conduct any assessment in connection with the workmanship of internal finishes works for newly completed private residential developments in recent years.]]>