Author Archives: hksar gov

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (September 8):
 
Question:
 
     Regarding the emission of air pollutants by public transport modes, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the quantities of the various types of air pollutants (i.e. (i) sulphur dioxide, (ii) nitrogen oxides, (iii) carbon monoxide, (iv) respirable suspended particulates, (v) volatile organic compounds and (vi) fine suspended particulates) emitted last year by (a) buses, (b) public light buses (PLBs), (c) taxis and (d) ferries, as well as (e) the percentage of the quantity of each type of air pollutants emitted last year by such transport modes in the total emissions of air pollutants in Hong Kong (set out in the table below);

Type of air pollutants	(a)	(b)	(c)	(d)	(e)
(i)
…
(vi)

 
(2) whether it has estimated the respective numbers of franchised buses, PLBs and taxis that will reach their normal retirement age in (i) 2024, (ii) 2026 and (iii) 2031;
 
(3) given that the Government grants subsidies through the New Energy Transport Fund to franchised bus companies for purchasing double-deck battery-electric buses, whether the Government knows the progress of the procurement work, and whether it has plans to encourage franchised bus companies to introduce hydrogen fuel cell battery-electric buses; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) of the progress of discussion between the Government and franchised bus companies on the arrangement for the full electrification of single-deck buses, and the implementation timetable;
 
(5) as the Government anticipates that the pilot scheme on electric PLBs will not commence until 2023, whether it will explore advancing the commencement of the scheme so as to phase out diesel PLBs as early as possible;
 
(6) of the number of first registered PLBs in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by the type of energy they used (i.e. diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, hybrid power, and electricity);
 
(7) given that the Government is discussing with the taxi trade the implementation of a trial scheme to examine the operation of electric taxis as well as the performance of taxis of different models, of the relevant details (including the number of charging facilities to be provided);
 
(8) of the quantity of air pollutants emitted by ferries as well as its percentage in the total emissions by all vessels, in each of the past three years;
 
(9) whether it will draw up a timetable for implementing a requirement that vessels may be powered only by electricity within the Victoria Harbour; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(10) as the Government has indicated in the Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularisation of Electric Vehicles that it would promote trials for various modes of electric public transport and commercial vehicles, with a view to setting a concrete way forward and a timetable in around 2025, whether the Government will set a more aggressive work target, such as setting before 2025 the percentage of electric buses in the total number of buses in Hong Kong; if so, of the details; and
 
(11) whether it has studied the introduction of public transport modes to be powered by hydrogen; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:
 
President,
 
     Improving air quality has long been one of the Government’s key tasks in environmental protection. As electric vehicles (EVs) have no tailpipe emissions, replacing conventional vehicles by EVs will help not only improve roadside air quality but also reduce carbon emissions. The Environment Bureau (ENB) announced in March this year the first Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularisation of Electric Vehicles (EV Roadmap), setting out the long-term policy objectives and plans on the adoption of EVs and their associated supporting facilities which include ceasing new registration of fuel-propelled private cars including hybrid vehicles in 2035 or earlier. The Government’s long-term target is to attain zero vehicular emissions before 2050, which acts in concert with other target of achieving carbon neutrality in the same time frame in Hong Kong. The Government will actively promote trials on electric public transport and commercial vehicles, with a view to mapping out a more concrete way forward and timetable in the review of EV Roadmap around 2025.
 
     Moreover, the ENB announced in late June this year the new Clean Air Plan for Hong Kong 2035, detailing the goals and major areas of action to continuously improve air quality in Hong Kong from now to 2035 which include the promotion of the use of new energy vehicles and vessels.
 
     As regards the question on emissions of air pollutants by public transport modes as raised by the Hon Chan Hak-kan, our responses in consultation with the Transport Department (TD) are as follows:
 
(1) The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) compiles the Hong Kong Air Pollutant Emission Inventory annually to analyse the distribution and trends of major air pollutant emission sources in Hong Kong. The emission inventory for 2020 is still under compilation. Based on the Hong Kong Air Pollutant Emission Inventory for 2019, figures on air pollutant emissions with a breakdown by mode of local public transport (including franchised buses, public light buses (PLBs), taxis and ferries) and their respective percentage to the total local emissions are tabulated below:
 

Major Air Pollutant	2019 Emissions (Tonnes) (Note) (Percentage to Total Local Emissions)				Percentage of Emissions from Four Public Transport Modes to Total Local Emissions in 2019
	Franchised Buses	PLBs	Taxis	Ferries
Sulphur dioxide	<5 (<1%)	<5 (<1%)	<5 (<1%)	30 (<1%)	<1%
Nitrogen oxides	2 300 (3%)	370 (<1%)	2 000 (2.6%)	1 830 (2.4%)	8%
Carbon monoxide	1 100 (1.8%)	4 900 (8.1%)	10 300 (17.1%)	330 (<1%)	27%
Respirable suspended particulates	70 (2%)	<5 (<1%)	<5 (<1%)	30 (<1%)	3%
Volatile organic compounds	40 (<1%)	250 (1.2%)	170 (<1%)	30 (<1%)	2%
Fine suspended particulates	70 (2.7%)	<5 (<1%)	<5 (<1%)	30 (1.1%)	4%

Note: For figures on vehicular emissions, those less than 5 are represented by “<5”, those between 5 and 10 are rounded to the nearest integral, those between 10 and 1 000 are rounded to the nearest ten, those between 1 000 and 10 000 are rounded to the nearest hundred, those larger than 10 000 are rounded to three significant figures. For figures on vessel emissions, they are rounded to the nearest ten.
 
(2) Currently, franchised buses mainly use diesel as fuel. As regards the retirement arrangement of franchised buses, a bus shall retire from service before its age reaches 18 years old. Subject to the actual fleet replacement situation of franchised bus companies (FBCs), the TD estimated that FBCs will replace around 90, 60 and 480 franchised buses in 2024, 2026 and 2031 respectively.
 
     The Government also limits the service life of diesel commercial vehicles (DVCs) (including PLBs) to 15 years for those newly registered on or after February 1, 2014. With the programme for phasing out pre-Euro IV DCVs ended in end-June 2020, the EPD launched another incentive-cum-regulatory programme in October 2020 to progressively phase out about 40 000 Euro IV DCVs by the end of 2027. As vehicular emissions of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles are generally lower than that of diesel vehicles, the Government currently has no plan to set the retirement age for PLBs and taxis running on LPG.
 
(3) Having regard to the latest development in technologies on double-deck electric buses (e-buses), the New Energy Transport Fund granted subsidies to the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited and the Citybus Limited in November 2020 for conducting trials on a total of four double-deck e-buses. The two bus companies are inviting tenders and the trials are expected to commence in 2023.
 
     Since the promulgation of the EV Roadmap, the feedbacks from different sectors of the community are positive. For instance, FBCs have announced separate and detailed plans on procuring double-deck e-buses and installing charging facilities in new bus depots, as well as actively assessing the feasibility of using hydrogen fuel cell buses. On the use of hydrogen energy, the Government will set up an inter-departmental working group to handle a range of preparation work on the supply of hydrogen energy and the necessary technological studies, safety considerations, regulatory legislation, etc. that are needed for the local application of hydrogen energy. 
 
(4) The Government has subsidised FBCs in full to purchase 36 single-deck e-buses and the ancillary charging facilities for trial on a number of routes, with a view to assessing their operational performance under local circumstances. Among these e-buses, 33 have commenced their two-year trials.
 
     The Government have been working with FBCs to install new charging facilities at suitable bus termini and depots for single-deck e-buses to conduct top-up charging during their daytime operation, so that they will be able to cope with the frequent bus services in Hong Kong. The Government will review the trial findings, application and operation performance of single-deck e-buses in the coming few years, with a view to formulating a comprehensive electrification plan.
 
(5) PLBs are a means of transportation unique to Hong Kong with specific dimensions, specifications and number of seats. As technologies related to electric PLBs (e-PLBs) are still under development, coupled with the fact that both the hilly terrain in Hong Kong and the supply of air-conditioning during summer require e-PLBs to have batteries catering for a higher driving range, models of e-PLB that can meet their whole-day operational needs are currently not yet available in the local market. To speed up the adoption of e-PLBs in Hong Kong, the Government engaged a consultant in March 2019 to develop the basic specifications and requirements that are suitable for the local operating environment of e-PLBs and their associated charging facilities, thereby providing guidance for manufacturers and charging service providers in the manufacturing of e-PLBs and charging facilities capable of fast charging. The consultant was also tasked to identify suitable PLB routes for trial under the pilot scheme on e-PLBs, and to consult PLB trade members about their intention of joining the pilot scheme and using e-PLBs. The guidelines on such specifications and requirements were published in October 2020. In addition, the Government has preliminarily identified eight public transport interchanges for installing quick charging facilities to facilitate the early implementation of the pilot scheme.

     Given that PLB is a type of vehicle not popular in the international market, and that its development and manufacturing will take time, the Government anticipate that the trial of the first batch of e-PLBs will commence in mid-2023.
 
(6) The numbers of first registered PLBs from 2018 to 2020, with a breakdown by fuel type, are tabulated below:
 

Year	Number of First Registered PLBs
	Diesel	Liquefied Petroleum Gas	Electric	Total
2018	160	336	0	496
2019	142	339	0	481
2020	12	147	0	159

Note: Figures on hybrid vehicles have been included in the respective fuel types.
 
(7) The Government is exploring with the taxi trade to launch a trial of electric taxis (e-taxis) and planning to take forward pilot projects to test the operation and performance of different e-taxi models in Lantau Island and Sai Kung where taxi operations within these areas are relatively confined. The Government will set up not less than ten dedicated quick chargers for e-taxis with an output power of 100kW. About 12 e-taxis will be trialed and the number of e-taxis would be gradually increased depending on the actual operation of the e-taxis and chargers. The Government anticipated the trial would start in 2023. The trial will help the taxi trade to adapt to the operational mode of e-taxis. The Government will make reference to the outcome of the trial and formulate policies to further promote the adoption of e-taxis.
 
(8) As mentioned in item (1) above, the Hong Kong Air Pollutant Emission Inventory for 2020 is still under compilation. Figures on air pollutant emissions by ferries in Hong Kong between 2017 and 2019 are tabulated as follows:

Major Air Pollutant	Emissions by Ferries (Tonnes) (Note) (Percentage to Total Vessel Emissions in Hong Kong)
	2017	2018	2019
Sulphur dioxide	30 (<1%)	30 (<1%)	30 (1%)
Nitrogen oxides	1 800 (6%)	1 800 (6%)	1 830 (7%)
Carbon monoxide	320 (2%)	320 (2%)	330 (2%)
Respirable suspended particulates	30 (2%)	30 (2%)	30 (3%)
Volatile organic compounds	30 (1%)	30 (1%)	30 (1%)
Fine suspended particulates	30 (2%)	30 (3%)	30 (4%)

Note: All emission figures are rounded to the nearest ten.
 
(9) The Government has been encouraging the transportation industry to test and use new energy transport technologies to help improve air quality. At present, new energy vessels are not widely used. The Government is preparing to launch a pilot scheme and test the technical and operational performance of electric and hybrid ferries in in-harbour and outlying islands ferry routes respectively. Subject to the trial results and technological development of new energy vessels, the Government will explore with the ferry operators the possibility of progressively replacing traditional ferries with new energy ferries before 2035.
 
(10) As stated in the EV Roadmap, the Government will pave the way for the trade to switch to electric commercial vehicles progressively in the coming few years. The Government will continue to conduct trials together with different trades to test the technical and commercial viability of different types of electric commercial vehicles for use in the local environment, with a view to identifying the best options for Hong Kong and setting out a more concrete way forward and timetable in the review of the EV Roadmap around 2025. Therefore, it is premature to set targets for the percentage of e-buses to the total number of buses in Hong Kong at the current stage.
 
(11) As mentioned in item (3) above, the Government will set up an inter-departmental working group to handle a range of work relating to the local application of hydrogen energy. These include examining the feasibility of using hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in Hong Kong as well as the supporting facilities required, such as building hydrogen filling facilities, providing training to technical personnel to use and repair FCEVs safely, etc. read more

     â€‹The Security Bureau supports the law enforcement actions taken by the Police in accordance with the law against an organisation which blatantly indicated that it would not comply with the requirement to provide informat… read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, in the Legislative Council today (September 8):
 
Question:
 
     Regarding the data relating to housing, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) given that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), in an effort to measure the effect of mortgage debt service burden on private consumption, estimated in 2018 the outstanding mortgage debt service ratios between 1985 and mid-2017 based on outstanding mortgage debt, whether the HKMA has made such estimates since then; if so, of the ratios since mid-2017;
 
(2) given that the Hong Kong Housing Authority made in 2018 two changes to the affordability test in the pricing mechanism for the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), one of which being that in assessing affordability, the income limits for White Form applicants were replaced by the median monthly household income of non-owner occupier households (the median) as a point of reference, of the year in which the authorities began collecting the data on the median, and the monthly medians since the resumption of the sale exercise for newly built HOS flats in 2014;
 
(3) of the number of transactions of first-hand private residential properties in each of the past 10 years, with a breakdown according to the classification of residential units by unit floor area used by the Rating and Valuation Department in compiling its statistics; and
 
(4) given that the ownership transfer of residential properties between close relatives may be exempted from payment of the 15 per cent or doubled ad valorem stamp duty, of the number of such exemption cases in the past five years?
  
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Having consulted the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and the Land Registry (LR), my reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Hak-kan is as follows:
 
(1) The ratio of outstanding residential mortgage repayment to income of owner-occupier households, also known as the “outstanding mortgage debt service ratio” (OMDSR), is a hypothetical indicator used to gauge the housing affordability of households in general. It is estimated based on data on the outstanding mortgage loans, mortgage interest rate and maturity, as well as household income. While the estimated OMDSR has increased moderately from 12.0 per cent in 2017 to 15.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, along with the modest growth in the outstanding mortgage loans and the fall in household income recently, the ratio was still much lower than the historical high of about 30 per cent in 1998.
 
     The estimated annual average OMDSR from 2017 to 2021 are set out in Table 1.
 
(2) According to the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS)’s pricing mechanism which was revised in 2018, the discount applied to the assessed market values of the flats for sale is determined based on affordability. According to the revised mechanism, the selling prices of at least 75 per cent of the flats for sale are to be affordable to the non-owner occupier households earning the median monthly household income, assuming that they need to spend no more than 40 per cent of their monthly income on mortgage payment. The median monthly household income of non-owner occupier households so adopted is compiled based on data of monthly household income collected by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD).
 
     The pricing of HOS 2018 adopted the median monthly household income of non-owner occupier households from October to December 2017 in C&SD’s General Household Survey (GHS), i.e. $39,500 (net of Mandatory Provident Fund contributions), as a reference point to assess affordability. As for the pricing of HOS 2019 and HOS 2020, the median monthly household income of $39,100 (from October to December 2018) and $39,800 (from April to June 2020) in the GHS were adopted respectively. As the said pricing mechanism was adopted since 2018, the Government has not compiled the median monthly household income of non-owner occupier households before 2018.
 
(3) The Government does not have breakdowns of the number of agreements for sale and purchase (ASPs) of residential building units in the primary sale by floor area. According to information from the LR, the number of ASPs of residential building units in primary sales during the past ten years (2011-2020) are tabulated in Table 2.
 
(4) According to information from the IRD, in the past five financial years, the number of residential property transactions involving transfer between close relatives which were exempted from charging ad valorem stamp duty at Part 1 of Scale 1 rates (i.e. New Residential Stamp Duty at 15 per cent) or Part 2 of Scale 1 rates (i.e. Doubled Ad Valorem Stamp Duty) and were only subject to Scale 2 rates are tabulated in Table 3. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Vincent Cheng and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (September 8):

Question:

     The Financial Secretary has indicated in the Budget of this financial year that the Government would earmark $500 million for enhancing the facilities in some country parks, such as providing treetop adventure and repairing wartime relics to turn them into open museums, and will separately earmark $55 million for taking forward the “Enhancement of Hiking Trails – Phase II” in the coming five years for 10 popular hiking trails in country parks that have potential for tourism. On the other hand, it has been reported that the inappropriate activities of some countryside visitors have made some mountains that used to be verdant barren. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) as the Government indicated in April this year that the various programmes on improving the facilities in country parks would commence this year, of the latest progress of the relevant work (including site identification, design and detailed assessment);

(2) of the details of and timetable for the feasibility studies and consultation exercises needed to be conducted for providing treetop adventure and repairing wartime relics to turn them into open museums;
 
(3) of the details and latest progress of the “Enhancement of Hiking Trails – Phase I”, as well as the implementation timetable for phase II of the enhancement; and
 
(4) whether it has surveyed the loss in the past two years of vegetation coverage in mountains; if so, of the area involved (with a breakdown by name of country parks) and the causes therefor; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:

President,

     To enrich visitors’ experience in the country park, the Government has set aside $500 million to carry out enhancement works on facilities in some country parks. These enhancement works are being carried out in phases in accordance with plan and will be rolled out gradually for public enjoyment.

     Our reply to the question raised by the Hon Cheng is as follows:
 
(1) The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has proceeded with the enhancement works on facilities in country parks and has initially identified suitable sites for enhancement of facilities, which include improvement works for the public toilets at Bride’s Pool and Tai Tam Tuk and construction of a new public toilet at Pak Kung Au on Lantau Island. The new facilities will adopt low-carbon and green design that integrates with the natural surroundings, having regard to the needs of people of different ages and physical abilities. After completion of the first stage design and technical assessments, the new facilities are expected to be rolled out gradually in the next two to three years for public enjoyment.

     The AFCD will also set up a new viewing platform overlooking Po Pin Chau in the Sai Kung East Country Park. The AFCD and the Architectural Services Department have organised related design competition with an emphasis on simplicity and coherence with the natural setting of the area with a view to inducing visitors’ respect for nature. Results of the competition are expected to be announced later this year.

(2) Treetop adventure and revitalising wartime relics for open museum are enhancement projects of larger scale. The AFCD will carry out feasibility studies on site selection, design, mode of operation and operation requirements, etc. and gather views of relevant stakeholders and the public through public engagement activities. The AFCD is undertaking preparatory works for commissioning consultants to conduct the feasibility studies. It is anticipated that relevant studies will commence gradually early next year.

(3) To promote green tourism, the Tourism Commission (TC) has been collaborating with the AFCD in taking forward the “Enhancement of Hiking Trails – Phase I” from 2018-19 to 2022-23 to enhance the tourism supporting facilities of 10 popular hiking trails with tourism appeal within country parks. Progress of enhancement is as follows:
 

Hiking Trail	Progress
(1) MacLehose Trail Section 1 (Sai Kung East Country Park)	Completed
(2) Peak Trail (Pok Fu Lam Country Park and Lung Fu Shan Country Park)
(3) Double Haven Country Trail (Plover Cove Country Park)
(4) Dragon’s Back (Shek O Country Park)	Near completion
(5) Shing Mun Reservoir Walk (Shing Mun Country Park)
(6) Lantau Trail Section 2 (Lantau South Country Park)
(7) MacLehose Trail Section 4 (Ma On Shan Country Park)	In progress
(8) Wilson Trail Section 2 (Tai Tam Country Park and Tai Tam Country Park (Quarry Bay Extension))
(9) Sharp Island, Sai Kung (Kiu Tsui Country Park)
(10) Lau Shui Heung to Hok Tau Reservoir (Pat Sin Leng Country Park)	To commence in end-2021

     In addition, the TC has been collaborating with the AFCD in implementing the “Enhancement of Hiking Trails – Phase II” from 2021-22 to 2025-26 to further enrich green tourism resources. The AFCD is now undertaking preparatory works for the Phase II enhancement.

(4) The AFCD is aware of the increasing popularity of hiking activities and also increasing number of members of the public hiking at country parks during the pandemic, which result in expedited deterioration of hiking trails and loss of vegetation cover and soil erosion. In addition, some bad habits among hikers, such as arbitrary opening of new paths and trampling on vegetation along trails, etc., have caused varying degrees of impact on the natural environment and vegetation nearby hiking trails.

     The AFCD conducts regular inspection and monitoring on the environmental conditions of country parks (including the deterioration of hiking trails) but does not have statistics on the area of vegetation loss. The AFCD will arrange rehabilitation works in accordance with the inspection result. If severe deterioration occurs, the affected areas will be fenced off followed by replanting. The AFCD will also strengthen publicity and education efforts to raise public awareness of conserving the natural environment. read more

     Following is a question by Dr the Hon Priscilla Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, in the Legislative Council today (September 8):

Question:

     The Government currently provides, through the Financial Assistance Scheme for Designated Evening Adult Education Courses (the Scheme), financial assistance for adult students taking evening secondary courses offered by approved course providers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective numbers of students taking the courses at various grades offered by the evening secondary schools participating in the Scheme in each of the past five school years;

(2) of the number of evening secondary students taking the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination in each of the past five school years and, among them, (i) the respective numbers of those whose examination results met the general entrance requirements for self-financing sub-degree programmes and subsidised undergraduate degree programmes, as well as (ii) the number of those who applied for admission to such programmes;

(3) given that the financial support received by evening secondary schools and their students is less than that received by secondary day schools and their students (for instance, evening secondary schools being not provided with the “one-off grant for supporting the implementation of the senior secondary subject Citizenship and Social Development”, and evening secondary students being ineligible for the “student grant”), whether the Education Bureau (EDB) will consider raising the financial support provided for evening secondary schools and their students to a level on a par with that provided for secondary day schools and their students; if not, of the justifications for that, and whether the EDB will enhance the Scheme to provide a higher amount of financial assistance for evening secondary students; and

(4) as a school sponsoring body announced in June this year that it would discontinue its evening secondary courses from the 2021-2022 school year onwards, whether the EDB will provide support for the affected students to help them complete their evening secondary courses?
 
Reply:

President,

     In the 2005/06 school year, the Government launched the Financial Assistance Scheme for Designated Evening Adult Education Courses (FAEAEC) to provide an affordable pathway for adult learners to pursue evening secondary courses. Under the FAEAEC, eligible adult learners may be reimbursed 30 per cent of the tuition fees paid. In addition, adult learners with financial difficulties may receive full or half reimbursement of the tuition fees under the FAEAEC, and may apply for loans under the Extended Non-means-tested Loan Scheme to pay the tuition fees. The Government subsequently started offering 12-year free education from the 2008/09 school year onwards, and launched the Qualifications Framework in 2008, providing multiple pathways for adults who aspire to continue education to attain recognised academic and vocational qualifications. The Government is also committed to providing quality, flexible and diversified study pathways with multiple entry and exit points (including the Diploma Yi Jin Programme) for secondary school leavers and adult learners. In this way, adult learners are offered with more learning choices apart from evening secondary courses.

     My reply to the question raised by Dr the Hon Priscilla Leung is as follows:

(1) The respective numbers of learners at various grades taking courses offered by the evening secondary schools participating in the FAEAEC from the 2016/17 to 2020/21 school years are as follows:
 

School year	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6
2016/17	56	54	103	338	428	423
2017/18	41	46	108	362	429	440
2018/19	46	47	114	353	434	465
2019/20	26	37	76	264	349	402
2020/21	27	37	88	256	280	439

Note: The figures refer to the numbers of learners as at June 30 of the school years concerned, including those who have withdrawn from the courses within the school years.
 
(2) According to the information provided by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, the number of evening secondary students taking the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (DSE), the respective numbers of those whose examination results met the entrance requirements for sub-degree programmes, and those whose examination results met the general entrance requirements for local undergraduate degree programmes from the 2016/17 to 2020/21 school years are tabulated below:
 

School year	Number of evening secondary students taking the DSE	Number of students who met the entrance requirements for sub-degree programmes (Note 1)	Number of students who met the general entrance requirements for undergraduate degree programmes (Note 2)
2016/17	303	33	14
2017/18	323	35	8
2018/19	400	38	15
2019/20	313	38	21
2020/21	357	45	13

 
Note 1: Level 2 or above obtained in five subjects in Category A/ “Attained” in Category B subjects, including Chinese Language and English Language
Note 2: Have obtained “3322” in core subjects
 
     The EDB has not maintained any statistics on those students of evening secondary courses who had applied for admission to such programmes after completing secondary courses.

(3) Evening secondary courses are provided by private schools, in which the mode of study and scale of operation are different from those of day schools. These courses target adult learners who usually study on a part-time basis. Private schools operate the courses on self-financing and market-driven principles.

     All along, various subsidies for public secondary schools and Direct Subsidy Scheme secondary schools provided by the EDB do not cover private schools. To uphold the principle of financial prudence, the one-off grant for supporting the implementation of the senior secondary subject Citizenship and Social Development provided by the EDB for schools is not applicable to private schools. Moreover, a student grant has been provided by the EDB starting from the 2019/20 school year for full-time students of secondary day-schools, primary schools, special schools and kindergartens with the primary aim of alleviating parents’ financial burden in defraying education expenses. As evening school students are taking evening secondary courses on a part-time basis, they are not eligible for the grant.

     As mentioned above, the FAEAEC is set up to provide an affordable pathway for adult learners to pursue secondary courses. Different measures are also implemented to assist learners with financial difficulties. We shall review the supporting measures under the FAEAEC in a timely manner to ensure that it will continue to render appropriate financial support for needy students.

(4) Under the FAEAEC, the EDB appoints non-profit-making organisations as Approved Course Providers (ACPs) to operate evening secondary courses under a five-year cycle. The EDB earlier appointed three ACPs in accordance with the established procedures for the operation of evening secondary courses under the FAEAEC for the cycle from the 2021/22 to 2025/26 school years. As an institution operating courses in the previous cycle announced earlier that it would cease operating evening secondary courses, the EDB, after announcing the selection results in mid-July this year, immediately liaised with the ACPs in the new cycle and asked them to provide suitable assistance to the affected learners, including offering the same elective subjects of the senior secondary curriculum offered in the previous school year to help learners with the transition and minimise the impact on them. Two institutions have arranged briefings for the learners concerned on the relevant arrangements and support measures. An individual institution has also organised free summer courses for registered learners to assist them with the transition in their learning. The arrangements have so far progressed well. read more