Tag Archives: China

     Following is a question by the Hon James To and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, in the Legislative Council today (February 26):
 
Question:
 
     As the novel coronavirus epidemic has been serious recently, various government departments, public organisations and members of the public have a strong demand for anti-epidemic items. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of (i) the quantities received and (ii) the stock held, by the public healthcare system in respect of the various types of anti-epidemic items each day from January 21 to February 21 this year;
 
(2) in respect of the face masks produced by the Correctional Services Department (CSD), of (i) the quantity retained for use by the Department, and (ii) the respective quantities supplied to the following government departments, public organisations and non-governmental organisations each month since December last year (set out in a table): Hong Kong Police Force, Customs and Excise Department, Immigration Department, Hong Kong Fire Services Department, Independent Commission Against Corruption, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Department of Health, Administration Wing of the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office, Hongkong Post, Auxiliary Medical Service, Home Affairs Department, and the various public health-related organisations such as the Hospital Authority (HA);
 
(3) of the protection specifications of the face masks currently produced by CSD, and whether such specifications meet those prescribed by HA for face mask procurement; if not, whether CSD will produce face masks which meet the specifications prescribed by HA;
 
(4) of CSD’s current stock of face masks available for distribution;
 
(5) of the stock of the various raw materials (including aluminum/plastic strips, elastic bands, non-woven fabrics and filter papers) currently used by CSD for producing face masks, and the places of origin of those raw materials; the number of face masks that can be produced with such stock;
 
(6) whether CSD will recruit volunteers who possess the knowledge of operating sewing machines to join the production line of face masks so as to increase output; if so, when the recruitment will be conducted; if not, of the reasons for that; and
 
(7) whether it will distribute face masks free of charge to the elderly in Hong Kong; if not, of the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     With consolidated input from relevant policy bureaux and departments, my reply to the questions raised by the Hon James To is as follows:
 
(1) As at February 20, the stock of personal protective equipment (PPE) of public hospitals include approximately 18 million surgical masks, 2.3 million isolation gowns, 0.45 million face shields and 1.19 million N95 respirators.
 
(2) The Government Logistics Department (GLD) procures masks from the Correctional Services Department (CSD) as well as other suppliers through various channels. As masks provided by different suppliers are handled collectively, GLD does not have a breakdown of the number of masks provided by individual suppliers.
 
     In light of the developments concerning the disease, all government departments have worked very hard to keep their demands for masks to a minimum. GLD will comply strictly with distribution guidelines and accord priority to front-line staff participating in quarantine-related work, execution of quarantine orders (including medical and port health staff of the Department of Health) and maintenance of essential public services.
 
(3) According to tests conducted by accredited laboratories, the bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE) and particulate filtration efficiency (PFE) of filter masks produced by the CSD are over 99% and 98% respectively.
 
     As for the procurement of surgical masks by the Hospital Authority (HA), it has mainly made reference to the US Food and Drug Administration’s standards on surgical mask, ASTM F2100-11. ASTM accredits surgical masks that are up to standard in 4 aspects, including BFE, PFE, synthetic blood resistance and delta-P/differential pressure. With the ongoing development of COVID-19, HA has significantly increased its usage of PPE, and has been striving to expedite procurement. HA also takes into consideration other international standards when sourcing surgical masks, including European Standards, EN14683.
 
(4) and (6) In 2019, CSD produced an average of about 1.1 million masks per month. In an effort to meet the demand for masks from government departments, CSD has increased its output on three occasions since January 2020. Moreover, since early February, it has been producing masks around the clock, increasing its monthly output to about 1.8 million masks. CSD has subsequently recruited over 800 off-duty and retired CSD officers as volunteers in mask production work since February 7. The target is for output to reach 2.5 million masks per month.
 
(5) Raw materials for masks are supplied to CSD by suppliers on a monthly basis in accordance with contractual requirements. According to the information provided by suppliers, the raw materials are imported. At present, CSD keeps raw materials that is sufficient for the production of masks over one month.
 
(7) The Government will work closely with the community, striving to meet the people’s needs in the prevention and control of disease. The Government will provide 1 million masks to residential care homes for elderly and residential homes for persons with disabilities, so as to support their continuous operation. The Government has also received donations of masks and disinfection supplies from a number of kind-hearted organisations and individuals; and will support them in the distribution of masks to relevant organisations and underprivileged members of the community. For example, masks will be provided to high-risk patients (e.g. the elderly and pregnant women) and medical workers through the HA, as well as to elders and needy households through major charities. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Chung Kwok-pan and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, in the Legislative Council today (February 26):

Question:

     It has been reported that the problem of illegal parking in various districts has aggravated since June last year. Illegally parked vehicles not only cause traffic obstructions, but may also jeopardise the safety of road users. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has studied the reasons for the aggravation of the problem of illegal parking in various districts in recent months; whether the Police’s work of combating illegal parking has been affected due to the need for deploying a lot of manpower to deal with public events in recent months;

(2) of the number of complaints about illegal parking received by the Police in each of the past 24 months, with a breakdown by (i) the type of follow-up actions taken and (ii) the interval between the receipt of the complaint and the taking of such action(s) (in terms of hours);

(3) of the number of fixed penalty notices issued in respect of illegally parked vehicles, as well as the manpower deployed to deal with illegal parking, by the Police in each of the past 24 months, with a breakdown by police region; and

(4) whether the Police will deploy additional manpower to combat illegal parking so as to avoid illegally parked vehicles causing traffic obstructions and jeopardising the safety of road users; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     Upon consultation with the Hong Kong Police Force (the Police), my reply to the various parts of the Hon Chung Kwok-pan’s question is as follows:

(1) and (4) Road safety is one of the operational priorities of the Police. Changing the irresponsible behaviour of road users that causes traffic obstructions is also among the Police’s traffic enforcement priorities. All along, the Police pay much attention to the problem of illegal parking and seek to change such undesirable behaviour through publicity and education, and combat illegal parking through patrols and law enforcement.

     Since June 2019, Hong Kong has seen widespread vandalism committed by violent protestors across the territory. The Police have been discharging their duties with commitment and devotion with a view to restoring social order as soon as possible, and safeguarding the lives and property of the public at large.
  
     On enforcement against illegal parking, the Police issued a total of about 1.4 million fixed penalty notices against illegal parking in 2019. Given the Police’s limited manpower, the traffic enforcement figures for the second half of 2019 indeed showed a decrease as compared to the corresponding period of 2018. Nevertheless, with less tension in the recent social atmosphere, all police districts in the territory have re-deployed their manpower to step up traffic enforcement operations and, as a result, the traffic enforcement figures for December 2019 started to rebound. Taking into account the overall manpower distribution of frontline enforcement staff and the deployment of resources in individual police districts, as well as the traffic conditions in different areas, the Police will deploy appropriate manpower according to the actual circumstances for enhancing enforcement action against illegal parking. Should members of the public observe any serious illegal parking on individual road sections which has caused traffic obstruction, they may report such cases to the Police for handling promptly.
 
(2) The numbers of complaints from members of the public about traffic congestion (including illegal parking) received by the Police each month in 2018 and 2019 are tabulated in Annex 1. As the Police have kept neither the breakdowns of follow-up actions taken on illegal parking nor the time taken for arriving at the scene for handling individual illegal parking cases, no such information can be provided.

(3) The numbers of fixed penalty notices issued by the Police in respect of illegal parking with a breakdown by police regions each month in 2018 and 2019 are tabulated in Annex 2. Since the Police have not kept the figures on the manpower deployed to deal with illegal parking, no such information can be provided. In general, all frontline police officers and traffic wardens can handle illegal parking cases as part of their regular duties. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Holden Chow and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, in the Legislative Council today (February 26):
 
Question:
 
     The Employees Retraining Board (ERB) has commissioned various training bodies to offer training courses. To help the upgrading of skills and the self-enhancement of those persons who became unemployed or under-employed on or after June 1 last year, with a view to assisting them in re-entering the employment market as early as possible, ERB launched a six-month “Love Upgrading Special Scheme” (the Scheme) in October last year to provide such persons with integrated training courses of two to three months. Those trainees who have attained an attendance rate of 80 per cent may be granted special allowances, capped at $4,000 per month per person. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) Whether it knows the number of applications for enrolment on the courses received under the Scheme so far, and a breakdown by course title of the enrolments for the training courses under the Scheme;
 
(2) Whether the authorities will raise the ceiling of the special allowances that the trainees of the various courses under the Scheme may be granted;

(3) Whether it has compiled statistics on the number of trainees so far who, after completing the courses under the Scheme, have been engaged in course-related jobs; if so, of the titles of the top three courses with the highest number of trainees engaged in related jobs;
 
(4) Whether it knows the respective enrolments on and graduates of the various training courses commissioned by ERB in the financial year of 2018-2019 (set out by training body); and
 
(5) Whether it knows the percentage of those graduates of the training courses in the financial year of 2018-2019 who have engaged in course-related jobs?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Employees Retraining Board (ERB) launched the “Love Upgrading Special Scheme” (the Scheme) in October 2019 to provide employees affected by economic downturn with comprehensive training for two to three months. Special allowance is provided to trainees during the training period. The Scheme imposes no restriction on the trade or education attainment of trainees. Courses covering “Vocational Skills” of 23 trades, as well as “Innovation and Technology” and “Generic Skills” are conducted in full-time and part-time (half-day/evening) modes. Trainees who have completed full-time “Vocational Skills” courses would receive follow-up placement services. Trainees shall attend the courses by end June 2020. It is planned that 10 000 affected employees could take part in the Scheme. My reply to various parts of the Member’s question is as follows:
 
(1) As at end January 2020, a total of 8 401 trainees have applied for enrolment in the Scheme. Each trainee may enrol up to four courses under the Scheme. The total number of applications for enrolment in various training courses during the same period is 9 836. The number of applications for enrolment in various training courses under the Scheme is at Annex 1.
 
(2) The Financial Secretary announced in December 2019 a new package of measures to support enterprises and employment, which included the enhancement and extension of the Scheme, and increasing the maximum amount of monthly allowance per eligible trainee from $4,000 to $5,800 through amendment of the subsidiary legislation concerned. ERB is making the necessary preparation.

(3) The training bodies of ERB will start to collect information on the “percentage of engagement in jobs related to training courses” (note) during the follow-up placement period upon completion of the classes of training courses under the Scheme. As the placement period of respective classes has yet been completed, no relevant information is available at this stage.
 
(4) The number of enrolled trainees and that of graduate trainees of training courses organised by respective training bodies appointed by ERB in 2018-19 are set out at Annex 2.
 
(5) The overall percentage of engagement in jobs related to training courses for ERB’s placement-tied courses in 2018-19 is 46 per cent.

Note: “Percentage of engagement in jobs related to training courses” means the percentage of trainees who engaged in jobs related to their training courses during the follow-up placement period over the number of trainees who engaged in employment. read more

Public Finance Deficit Budget 168. The HKSAR Government runs a fiscal deficit in 2019-20, the first time for Hong Kong over the past 15 years.  I forecast a deficit for the next five years as well. 169. The US-China trade conflict and the… read more

Revised Estimates for 2019-20 152. The 2019-20 revised estimates on government revenue is $567.3 billion, lower than the original estimate by 9.4 per cent or $58.8 billion.  This is mainly because revenues from profits tax, salaries tax and sta… read more