Tag Archives: China

     Following is an urgent question by the Hon Gary Fan under Rule 24(4) of the Rules of Procedure and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, in the Legislative Council today (October 24):

Question:

     On the early morning of the 16th of this month, staff members of the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) completed the tests on a new signalling system for the MTR Tsuen Wan Line and reverted to the existing system. However, they found that the signalling systems of the Tsuen Wan Line, the Island Line and the Kwun Tong Line had all broken down simultaneously and could not be fixed before the first trains commenced service. The signalling system of the Tseung Kwan O Line also broke down later. As a result, all these four railway lines could only provide limited services during the morning rush hours. This also caused severe knock-on effect and chaos on the road traffic, affecting hundreds of thousands of members of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council, given that MTRCL is gradually replacing the signalling systems of various railway lines, whether the Government and MTRCL will take immediate measures to prevent the relevant works from causing disruptions of railway services, and whether they will expeditiously formulate contingency plans (including alternative public transport services) to deal with large-scale disruptions of railway services?

Reply:

President,

     During the morning peak hours on October 16, train services of the MTR Island, Tsuen Wan, Kwun Tong and Tseung Kwan O lines suffered from service disruption. Although train service was not suspended, the carrying capacity of the four railway lines were reduced with limited train service with intervals of about 12 to 15 minutes. The incident covered a wide area affecting numerous passengers. The Government and the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) are sparing no efforts to look into the cause of the incident in order to avoid recurrence. Regarding the question raised by the Hon Gary Fan, I will reply from the following aspects. 

     In the early morning on October 16, MTRCL conducted testing of the new signalling system along the Tsuen Wan line, during which both the new and existing systems functioned normally. Before 5am, MTRCL switched back the signalling system to the existing one to prepare for train services. At 5.28am, the Operations Control Centre found that trains on the Island, Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong lines were unable to receive target speed instruction. Out of safety concern, trains on these three lines were switched to manual mode at reduced speed from the start of train service at around 6am. During the period, the over-speed protection function of the trains continued to function in ensuring railway safety. 

     Engineering personnel of the MTRCL immediately carried out emergency repair works. Having failed to recover the system, engineering personnel then attempted to reboot the signalling system of the respective lines one by one. At 5.52am before the first train commenced service, MTRCL informed the Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre (ETCC) of the Transport Department (TD) and issued amber and red alarms consecutively according to the established contingency plan, requesting other public transport operators to enhance services. During the emergency repair works, the Tseung Kwan O lines also suffered from signalling fault and trains were switched to manual mode at reduced speed. Upon rebooting the computers at the stations along the four railway lines, emergency repair works were completed one after another by 11.45am and train service gradually resumed to normal frequencies. 

     Upon receiving MTRCL’s notification, taking into account the severity of the incident, the ETCC of TD upgraded its operation level to Level 2, led by directorate staff of TD, and deployed additional staff to co-ordinate other public transports and to provide emergency support. The Centre urged MTRCL to disseminate information to passengers and closely monitor and manage passenger flow in stations. It also contacted and requested franchised bus and tram operators to enhance service and sent additional staff to assist passengers in queuing. With TD’s co-ordination, 11 routes of franchised bus, 24 additional trams and the Star Ferry enhanced its service during the incident to assist in picking up affected passengers. During the period, TD disseminated information to the public through media, website and mobile applications, and also deployed personnel to key affected stations. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) also deployed personnel to MTRCL’s Operating Control Centre and Kowloon Bay Central Equipment Room to observe train operations and monitor the repair works.  

     During the incident, the MTRCL deployed an additional 400 staff to assist passengers, including conducting crowd control at stations. MTRCL also updated the public on the relevant information through media briefings, its mobile applications, and broadcasts at stations and inside train compartments. During the incident, ticket gates of each affected station were switched to a specific mode, of which passenger fare was not deducted.

     According to the initial investigation by MTRCL, the incident was likely caused by unsmooth operation and data processing of the existing signalling system software. After resetting, all systems along the lines have returned to stable operation. Based on the abovementioned initial investigation findings, EMSD has requested the MTRCL to continue in-depth investigation, while conducting an overhaul on the related equipment of the signalling system and submit a detailed report in two months. MTRCL has set up an investigation panel. It shall arrange overseas and local experts to assist in the investigation, and conduct a comprehensive review on the system with the signalling system supplier. Directions of the detailed investigation include data processing synchronisation arrangements of the signalling systems undertaken by two suppliers, whether there are any potential software compatibility problems, and whether the interconnection and communication of the railway lines are smooth. EMSD will continue to monitor the investigation work.

     TD will also review the existing contingency plan, including the arrangements of free shuttle buses by MTRCL during the incident, and whether there is room for other public transport operators to enhance services during the incident, in order to improve the handling of similar incidents in future. However, it should be noted that shuttle bus service is an emergency supplementary measure with limited carrying capacity, and would be subject to factors such as road conditions, which can hardly replace normal train service.

     As regards to Member’s question on whether the incident is related to the signalling system upgrading project, according to the signalling system alarm log of the MTRCL, the incident indeed occurred after MTRCL switched back the signalling system to the existing one and operated it for some time. There was no evidence showing correlation between the incident and the signalling system upgrading project. That said, the MTRCL has further strengthened its monitoring and maintenance of the existing systems when testing the new signalling system, and has deployed additional personnel to stand by at stations’ signalling equipment room to expedite the repair works. Separately, EMSD has discussed with MTRCL to temporarily segregate the inter-connection of railway lines to avoid them to be affected by one another under similar incidents. As mentioned above, EMSD and MTRCL including the expert panel set up by MTRCL will also review whether the incident was indeed not related to the signalling system upgrading project when conducting the in-depth investigation. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Frankie Yick and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, in the Legislative Council today (October 24):
 
Question:
 
     Some members of the public have pointed out that it is a rather common phenomenon that drivers, taking no heed of the appeal of the staff of petrol filling stations, (i) use mobile phones within the area of petrol filling stations and (ii) fail to switch off the engines of vehicles being refuelled. Since a trace amount of petrol vapour is released from petrol dispensers into the environment during vehicle refuelling, these members of the public are worried that these two acts may cause a fire or an explosion, thus endangering public safety. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the number of complaints received by the Government in the past three years about the aforesaid two acts, and the follow-up actions taken;
 
(2) whether it will step up publicity to appeal to drivers to avoid committing these two acts; and
 
(3) whether it will enact legislation to regulate these two acts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     To ensure public safety, the Fire Services Department (FSD) conducts fire safety risk assessments for petrol filling stations (PFSs). All explosion accidents, including those within PFSs, are caused by the ignition of a sufficient amount of inflammable vapour by sufficient amount of energy at the scene. In order to prevent such a situation from occurring, FSD puts in place relevant fire safety requirements when considering applications for the operation of PFSs, so as to ensure that there will be no leakage from the petrol filling system and prevent the accumulation of energy to a dangerous level within the areas of PFSs.
 
     My response to the various parts of the Hon Frankie Yick’s question is as follows:
 
(1) According to records, in the past three years, FSD did not receive any complaints against the use of mobile phones within the areas of PFSs or drivers failing to switch off the engines of vehicles being refuelled.
 
(2) and (3) Currently, FSD regulates the fire safety of PFSs through the licensing regime under the Dangerous Goods Ordinance (Cap. 295). FSD conducts fire safety risk assessments for PFSs and puts in place relevant fire safety requirements, including putting up “Switch Off Engine” warning signs at conspicuous locations in PFSs and requiring the staff of PFSs to request drivers to switch off their vehicle engines before refuelling. In addition, FSD conducts surprise inspections. If managers of PFSs are found to be in breach of relevant fire safety requirements, FSD will consider prosecution. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $10,000 and imprisonment for one month. The relevant dangerous goods licences of the PFS concerned may also be revoked.
 
     According to FSD’s assessment, given that the maximum amount of energy generated by a mobile phone is far lower than the ignition threshold of petrol vapour, the fire risk is relatively low.  Having said that, in view of the variety of mobile phones and the constant emergence of new models, for the sake of prevention, FSD proposes putting up notices at conspicuous locations in PFSs to urge members of the public to avoid using mobile phones within PFSs. FSD will continue to monitor closely studies on the safety of using mobile phones and conduct reviews where necessary.
 
     FSD has been reminding the oil industry through regular meetings to comply with the fire safety requirements, including that managers of PFSs should make sure that drivers have switched off the engines of the vehicles before refuelling. Managers should also avoid letting members of the public use mobile phones within PFSs. Moreover, FSD conducts surprise inspections and distributes fire safety leaflets at PFSs to enhance the fire safety awareness of the industry. Contents of the leaflets include reminding managers that no parking is allowed within PFSs, that drivers must switch off the engines of vehicles being refuelled, and that no smoking is allowed within PFSs etc. read more

     The Expert Adviser Team on the Shatin to Central Link (SCL) Project has submitted Interim Report No. 1 to the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB). It was uploaded to the THB website today (October 24) (www.thb.gov.hk/eng/psp/publications/transport/studies/index.htm).
 
     Comprising three senior retired government officers, the Expert Adviser Team carried out site visits, reviewed relevant documents and met with MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) and the relevant government departments to look into matters concerning the management and construction of the SCL Project. Interim Report No. 1 includes observations and views of the Expert Adviser Team regarding the steel bar connection works in the East West Line platform slab and diaphragm walls at the Hung Hom Station Extension site, as well as the settlement-related issues at the Exhibition Centre Station and To Kwa Wan Station sites.
 
     The THB agreed with the 16 preliminary recommendations made by the Expert Adviser Team. Nine of the preliminary recommendations are related to the Hung Hom Station Extension works, four are on settlement issues, and the remaining three are about project management in general.
 
     On the recommendations with respect to the Hung Hom Station Extension, subsequent to discussions with the Government and the Expert Adviser Team, the MTRCL has agreed to formulate a holistic strategy for assessing the acceptability of the built structures. The strategy should encompass a combination of diagnoses, including verifying objective evidence, physical inspections through opening up the structures and conducting non-destructive tests, instead of relying solely on the load test as previously proposed. Furthermore, apart from the East West Line platform slab, the North South Line platform slab and the diaphragm walls should also be assessed.
 
     The MTRCL submitted a proposal for verification of part of the East West Line platform slab to the Highways Department on October 15, 2018. As the proposal obviously failed to meet the requirements of the holistic assessment strategy described above, the Government has requested the MTRCL to submit a strategy conforming to the recommendations of the Expert Adviser Team by the end of this month, so as to investigate and address matters relating to the Hung Hom Station Extension works expeditiously. 
 
     Regarding the settlement-related issues, the Expert Adviser Team’s recommendations were incorporated into the monitoring and announcement mechanism for the impact of SCL works on nearby structures and public facilities promulgated on September 28, 2018. The Expert Adviser Team will audit selected cases of the SCL Project to assess the effectiveness of the monitoring and control system.
 
     The Expert Adviser Team will continue to review the project management system of the MTRCL, and recommend additional management and monitoring measures to be undertaken by the MTRCL and the relevant government departments as appropriate in taking forward the SCL Project. The Expert Adviser Team will also provide expert advice on matters (including settlement issues) relating to the works of the SCL Project. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Au Nok-hin and a written reply by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, in the Legislative Council today (October 24):

Question:
 
     Since 2009, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has drawn on some of the Exchange Fund’s assets to make investments under the Long-term Growth Portfolio (LTGP).  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the current (i) total number of units and (ii) total market value of the buildings involved in the assets under LTGP that fall within the asset class of “real estate”, with a breakdown by the location and type of real estates (set out in the table below):
 

Location of real estates

Type of real estates

Total

Residential unit/ service apartment

Office/ commercial building

Industrial building/ industrial land

Hotel

Shop

Others

(i)

(ii)

(i)

(ii)

(i)

(ii)

(i)

(ii)

(i)

(ii)

(i)

(ii)

(i)

(ii)

Hong Kong

Mainland China

Other regions in Asia

Europe

Americas

Africa

Reply:

President,
 
     To better manage risks and enhance returns in the medium and long term, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has been diversifying part of the investment of the Exchange Fund (EF), in a prudent and incremental manner, into a greater variety of asset classes, including real estate.  As of end December 2017, the market value of real estate investment in the Long-term Growth Portfolio (LTGP) amounted to HK$78.4 billion, covering various regions and sectors.
 
     According to the HKMA, given the EF’s statutory purposes are to maintain the stability and integrity of the monetary and financial systems of Hong Kong, its investment mainly focuses on overseas financial and real assets.  Apart from addressing emergency and strategic needs (e.g. the acquisition of Hong Kong equities in the Hong Kong stock market in 1998 in response to the Asian financial crisis, and the purchase of the HKMA’s office premises), the EF has no investment in Hong Kong real estate and stock market.
 
     On overseas real estate, the LTGP predominantly invests in traditional and mature markets, including North America and Western Europe, and has started diversifying into Asian markets in recent years.  Investment channels include direct acquisition of prime properties in major overseas cities and investment in real estate funds.  Assets cover office, retail and logistics sectors. 
 
     Noting the potential market sensitivities pertaining to the investment of the EF, it would be inappropriate for the HKMA to disclose specific details thereof. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Tanya Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (October 24):

Question:

     On February 28 this year, the Government introduced a “One-for-One Replacement” Scheme (Replacement Scheme) under which a vehicle owner who scraps his old private car (PC) and buy a new electric PC (e-PC) may enjoy a higher first registration tax concession. The application criteria include: (a) that the old PC having been first registered for six years or more (the vehicle age requirement) and (b) that the applicant having been the registered owner of that vehicle for three years or more without interruption (the ownership period requirement), etc. Some environmentalists have criticised that the above criteria are stringent, which, coupled with the grossly inadequacy in public charging facilities for electric vehicles (EVs), have impeded the popularisation of EVs in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of (i) the end-of-month number of registered PCs, and (ii) the number of newly registered e-PCs, in each month from March to September this year;

(2) of the respective (i) monthly and (ii) up-to-date numbers of applications for tax concession received and approved by the authorities since the launch of the Replacement Scheme;

(3) of the respective numbers of registered PCs, as at March 31 this year, which (i) satisfied the two aforesaid application criteria, and (ii) met the vehicle age requirement and were owned by the existing owners for one year or more; the relevant projected numbers for the coming three years;

(4) whether the authorities will lower the ownership period requirement to one year so as to expand the scope of the Replacement Scheme; if so, when this will be implemented; if not, of the reasons for that;

(5) how the authorities publicise the Replacement Scheme and the amount of public expenditure incurred to date;

(6) whether it knows the total numbers of (i) standard, (ii) medium and (iii) quick public EV chargers as at October 1 this year throughout the territory, with a breakdown by District Council district;

(7) whether it has studied the appropriate ratio of the number of EVs to that of public chargers; if so, of the study outcome; if not, whether it will expeditiously commence such a study; and

(8) whether it will regularly publish reports on the work of the Steering Committee on the Promotion of Electric Vehicles to enable members of the public to monitor the Committee’s work and the effectiveness thereof; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and the measures the authorities will take to enhance the transparency of the operation of the Committee?

Reply:

President,

     Commercial vehicles (CVs) account for 95 per cent of the vehicular emissions of respirable suspended particulates and nitrogen oxides, both of which are major air pollutants. CVs have thus been a major target of the Government’s measures to improve roadside air quality. As electric vehicles (EVs) have no tailpipe emissions, replacing conventional vehicles, especially CVs, with EVs can help improve roadside air quality.

     The Government has all along been committed to promoting the use of electric CVs (e-CVs). Measures taken include waiving the first registration tax (FRT) of e-CVs in full since 1994; putting in place since March 2011 a $300 million Pilot Green Transport Fund to support the transport sector to try out green innovative transport technologies (including e-CVs); and subsidising franchised bus companies to test out electric buses.

     As for electric private cars (e-PCs), the Government’s standing policy is to encourage the public to use public transport as far as possible. For members of the public who need to acquire private cars (PCs), we provide them with appropriate financial incentives such as tax concession and lower annual vehicle licence fee to encourage them to choose e-PCs.

     When drawing up the FRT concessions for e-PCs, the Government considered that while the FRT would continue to be a means of controlling the overall growth of PCs to avoid causing traffic congestion and aggravating roadside air pollution, FRT concessions could be offered to aptly encourage vehicle buyers to go for EVs when purchasing PCs. Taking due account of these two factors, the technological development and market situation of EVs, as well as road traffic conditions and views of stakeholders, we decided to continue with the FRT concessions of up to $97,500 for e-PCs from February 28, 2018 to March 31, 2021. For the same period, a new “One-for-One Replacement” Scheme (Replacement Scheme) has also been introduced to allow eligible existing vehicle owners who buy a new e-PC and scrap their own eligible old PC to enjoy a higher FRT concession of up to $250,000.

     My responses to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Tanya Chan are as follows:

(1) The end-of-month number of registered PCs and the number of newly registered e-PCs in each month from March to September this year are listed at Annex I.

(2) The monthly and up-to-date numbers of applications received and approved since the launch of the Replacement Scheme are set out at Annex II.

(3) Based on the records of registered vehicles as at March 31, 2018 kept by the Transport Department (TD), the respective numbers of registered PCs that satisfied the criteria of “having been first registered for six years or more” and “its owner having own the PC for three years or more without interruption”, and that satisfied the criteria of “having been first registered for six years or more” and “its owner having owned the PC for one year or more without interruption”, as well as the relevant projected numbers for the coming three years are tabulated at Annex III.

(4) As mentioned above, on the premises of not increasing the total number of PCs, the Government has introduced the Replacement Scheme to provide existing PC owners with incentive to choose EVs when they need to replace their old PCs. To be eligible for the scheme, a vehicle owner must be the registered owner of an old PC for three years or more without interruption. While this requirement serves to encourage registered PC owners to opt for EVs when replacing their old PCs, it also prevents people from gathering a large number of old PCs from overseas or second-hand markets to participate in the scheme for profit making. As illustrated in Annex III, by the time the Replacement Scheme ends on March 31, 2021, the total number of PCs meeting the two criteria of “having been first registered for six years or more” and “its owner having owned the PC for three years or more without interruption” will be around 470 000, i.e. about three-fourth of the total number of PCs. At this stage, the Government has no plan to revise the application criteria for the Replacement Scheme.

(5) On promoting the use of EVs and the arrangements for making applications under the Replacement Scheme, details are available at the websites of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the TD for PC owners who are interested. When hosting or attending seminars on promoting the use of EVs, the EPD would publicise the Government’s policy on promotion of EVs, including the Replacement Scheme.  The TD also assists the EPD in processing applications under the Scheme, with publicity posters on the Scheme not only displayed in all TD Licensing Offices but also distributed to the registered distributors concerned for reference purposes. Both the EPD and TD take up the related work with their existing resources.

(6) Based on the latest statistics, figures on public EV chargers (provided for public use in both government and non-government car parks) as at the end of September 2018 in each of the 18 districts across the territory are set out at Annex IV.

(7) Regarding the charging arrangements for e-PCs, it has always been the Government’s policy direction that e-PC owners shall perform daily charging of their e-PCs by using charging facilities at their home, workplaces or other suitable places (including charging facilities provided by e-PC suppliers). Public charging facilities in Hong Kong are supplementary in nature, set up for EVs to top up their batteries at times of occasional needs. They do not serve as daily charging facilities or their alternatives. Potential buyers of e-PCs shall fully consider the daily charging arrangements required and shall not rely on public charging facilities for daily charging of their e-PCs.

     The demand for public charging facilities hinges on a number of factors such as the technological development and market situation of e-PCs and charging facilities.  It may not be necessary to set a ratio between the number of public charging facilities and that of e-PCs. The report published by the International Council on Clean Transportation in October 2017 also pointed out that there were no universal benchmark for the ratio of the number of EVs to that of public chargers, as the ratio may vary from several times to 25 times in different places. Such figures only serve to reflect the distribution of EVs chargers under different actual circumstances in different places.

     In the light of the rapid changes in the usage of EVs, the Government is reviewing various policies and measures on promoting the use of EVs. Our efforts include exploring ways to encourage installation of charging facilities to tie in with the usage of EVs.

(8) The Steering Committee on the Promotion of Electric Vehicles (the Committee) discusses and advises the Government on strategies and initiatives in promoting the use of EVs. The Committee’s meetings are conducted confidentially to encourage frank and open discussion. The Government will consider various factors including the Committee’s advice in decision-making and implementation. We have no plan at this stage to disclose the discussion of the Committee. read more