Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hoi-yan and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, in the Legislative Council today (May 22):

Question:
 
     Some participants of new sports, or alternative sports, such as kin-ball, dodgebee and cycle ball, have relayed that such sports have been gaining popularity in Hong Kong in recent years, and they are fairly popular among members of the education sector and members of the community.  However, the tight supply of local sports venues has made it difficult for athletes as well as members of the public to find suitable venues for such activities.  Furthermore, as the majority of new sports are at an early stage of development and are not known to members of the public, efforts made to promote such sports have been rather ineffective.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the terms and conditions adopted by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) for vetting and approval of applications for hiring its venues for conducting activities relating to new sports;
 
(2) of the respective numbers of applications (i) received and (ii) approved by LCSD in each of the past five years for conducting activities relating to new sports in its venues, with a breakdown by the District Council districts in which the venues are located;
 
(3) whether the needs and demands relating to the various types of new sports have been taken into account in the planning and design of sports venues, so that sufficient and suitable venues will be provided for such kind of activities; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct relevant studies;
 
(4) whether it will develop multi-purposes sports venues for new sports in order to address the problem of the lack of venues for such sports; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct relevant studies;
 
(5) whether it will take measures to assist in the development and promotion of new sports and facilitate their popularisation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(6) of the roles and duties of the Commissioner for Sports in promoting new sports; and
 
(7) given that a list of sports organisations eligible for hiring school facilities is provided under the "Opening up School Facilities for Promotion of Sports Development Scheme", whether the authorities have put in place any mechanism for selecting organisations relating to new sports for inclusion in the list?
 
Reply:
 
President,
           
     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) is committed to promoting "Sport for All" to encourage members of the public to develop habits of regular exercise through participation in various recreation and sports programmes.  My reply to Hon Chan Hoi-yan's question is as follows:

(1) To cater for different sports, the leisure venues under the management of LCSD are, in general, multi-purpose sports venues with various facilities and markings.  Of these venues, activity rooms of indoor sports centres and a lot of outdoor leisure venues can be used for various sports activities.  For venues with designated use, they can be used for other sports and activities, including various new sports, subject to the suitability of the venues and consent from the venue management.  At present, organisations which would like to hold competitions or training activities for new sports may submit block booking applications to suitable leisure venues.  LCSD will consider such applications in light of factors such as the nature of activities, possible impact on other users in the venues, safety measures during the activities (including whether damage will be caused to the venues or facilities) and ancillary facilities available at the venues.  

(2) The numbers of applications for conducting activities relating to new sports in LCSD venues received and approved by District Leisure Services Offices in the past five years are at Annex.

(3) & (4) In the planning of new sports venues, LCSD will make reference to the guidance in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines and take account of other relevant factors, including policy objectives for sports development, existing provision of sports facilities in various districts, usage rates of existing facilities, demographic changes, views of relevant District Councils, availability of land sites and technical feasibility.  To dovetail the development of various sports, the existing sports venues of LCSD in general can be used for various purposes.

(5) To dovetail with sports development and meet the needs of the public, LCSD reviews from time to time the usage and conditions for use of its facilities and closely monitors the needs of the public.  In order to meet public aspirations for new sports, LCSD will launch a trial scheme in the second half of this year, making the non-peak hour sessions of arenas of designated sports centres available for booking by members of the public directly for activities related to new sports such as dodgebee, kin-ball, dodgeball through the Leisure Link computerised booking system.  Details of the trial scheme will be announced in due course.  

(6) Since his appointment in February 2016, the Commissioner for Sports has been leading the Recreation and Sport Branch of the Home Affairs Bureau in promoting and implementing the Government's three policy objectives and taking forward the various initiatives to promote and support sports development.  Major sports initiatives include Kai Tak Sports Park project, Five-Year Plan for Sports and Recreation Facilities, Opening up School Facilities for Promotion of Sports Development Scheme (the Scheme), Major Sports Events Matching Grant Scheme and District Sports Programmes Funding Scheme.  The above work helps provide a favourable environment and conditions for the development of new sports.

(7) Given that some schools and parents are concerned that opening up school facilities may pose security and operational problems, and that some places of the activities held under the Scheme are also reserved for students, the Scheme is currently open to national sports associations recognised by the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China and their affiliated club members, district sports associations and sports organisations subvented by LCSD.  These organisations are experienced with proven track record in organising sports programmes, so that the participating schools, students and parents could have more confidence in them.  If other organisations, including organisations promoting new sports or parties which intend to develop new sports, are interested in hiring school facilities to organise sports programmes, they may collaborate with eligible sports organisations (e.g. district sports associations) to join the Scheme.  This could also help these organisations promoting new sports to develop at the community level.

     The Education Bureau and the Home Affairs Bureau will continue to enhance the Scheme and take into account schools' feedback in considering whether to further expand the list of eligible sports organisations so that more school facilities can be used for sports activities.

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, at a media session after attending the Chief Executive's Question Time at the Legislative Council today (May 22):

Reporter: What steps are you going to take in relation to the two Hong Kong asylum seekers in Germany? How does it reflect on Hong Kong's traditional freedom?

Secretary for Justice: Your statement is based on an assumption that I haven't seen the evidence of. It is a statement that is reported in a particular media. I am not able therefore to really comment on that media report or that basis of the assumption at this stage.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     Following is a question by the Hon Jimmy Ng and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, in the Legislative Council today (May 22):
 
Question:
 
     It has been reported that while electronic payment systems whose transactions are conducted by scanning QR codes have become increasingly popular in recent years, this mode of transactions involves certain security risks. For instance, hackers can make use of fake QR codes to trick members of the public into downloading malware, thereby stealing their electronic identities, carrying out overhearing and position tracking, conducting surveillance via their mobile phones, and blackmailing them after stealing sensitive information. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the respective numbers of cases received by the Police in each year from 2014 to 2018 about, and the amounts of money involved in, the technology crimes concerning (i) thefts of credit card information via the Internet, (ii) hacking of computers for stealing information and (iii) blackmailing by using encryption ransomware; among such cases, the respective numbers of those which involved the use of QR codes;
 
(2) whether it will consider enacting legislation to stipulate the required format for QR codes (e.g. the inclusion of information for authentication of the provider's identity) to facilitate users to identify the sources of QR codes, if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(3) of the targeted measures that the Government will introduce to ensure that adequate information security protection is in place to dovetail with the growing popularity of financial technology applications such as QR codes?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     In consultation with relevant bureaux and financial regulator, we have prepared a consolidated reply to Hon Jimmy Ng's question as follows:
 
(1) The number of cases and amounts involved as mentioned in the question and received by the Police between 2014 and 2018 are listed at the Annex. The Police do not maintain the breakdown of technology crime cases involving QR codes.

(2) and (3) The Government has all along through public education reminded the public to be vigilant in protecting their personal and sensitive data when using Fintech, such as using QR Code technology for payment, in order to reduce the risk of data theft. The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) has been working closely with the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre and the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force to enhance public awareness and knowledge of information security, including security related to mobile payment services, through different activities such as seminars, talks and competitions. In 2018, the OGCIO also promulgated the security risks and appropriate preventive and responsive measures regarding the use of mobile payment services (Note 1) and QR Code (Note 2).
 
     In addition, banks and stored value facility (SVF) licensees are required to implement adequate payment security measures pursuant to the supervisory guidelines issued by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. In processing QR code payments initiated by user scanning a QR code with its payment app, a bank or a SVF licensee should verify whether such a code is genuine and valid, and display the payee's name and relevant information so that the user can identify the payee. The public should also check the payee information before making payment with QR code in order to ensure that payment will reach the correct payee.
 
     We will continue to closely monitor the market development and strike an appropriate balance between promoting Fintech innovation and protecting the interest of the public.
 
Note 1: For more details, please visit: www.cybersecurity.hk/en/learning-epayment.php
Note 2: For more details, please visit: www.infosec.gov.hk/english/yourself/carefully.html

     Following is a question by the Hon Mrs Regina Ip and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Chui Tak-yi, in the Legislative Council today (May 22):
 
Question:
 
     Some doctors have relayed to me that while the training cost for doctors is high and both the number and ratio of female medical students have been increasing incessantly in recent years, quite a number of female doctors quit their jobs after getting married because of the excessively long working hours in the public hospitals, so that they can be dedicated to taking care of their families. Such doctors consider that the Hospital Authority (HA) may provide married female doctors with special part-time arrangements to enable them to attend to both family and work. On the other hand, in order to alleviate the manpower shortage situation, HA has implemented measures for retaining staff and strengthening manpower, including (i) rehiring retired or departed doctors, (ii) recruiting locum doctors and nurses since December 1, 2018, and (iii) piloting the fractional work arrangement in the first quarter of 2019 to provide frontline professional staff who cannot work full-time temporarily due to special needs or reasons with special arrangements to work fractionally for a fixed period of time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the respective (i) numbers and (ii) male-to-female ratios of students admitted to the faculties of medicine of the various universities in each of the past five years;
 
(2) whether it knows the (i) number, (ii) male-to-female ratio and (iii) hourly wages of retired or departed doctors rehired by HA in each of the past five years;
 
(3) whether it knows the respective current (i) numbers and (ii) male-to-female ratios of locum doctors in the ranks of Non-specialist and Specialist hired by HA;
 
(4) whether it knows the current (i) number and (ii) male-to-female ratio of Specialists who are currently provided with fractional work arrangements by HA; and
 
(5) as the findings of a survey have indicated that the fees charged by general practitioners and specialists in private practice last year were $300 and $800 per consultation respectively, and the workload in the public hospitals is generally heavier than that in private clinics, whether the Government has assessed if the remunerations currently offered by HA to locum doctors in the ranks of Non-specialist and Specialist (the maximum hourly wages for them being $685 and $762 respectively) are attractive enough; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the negative, whether it will allocate additional resources to HA in order to raise the relevant remunerations and provide married female doctors with special part-time arrangements?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     My reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Mrs Regina Ip is as follows:
 
(1) The tables below set out the respective numbers and male-to-female ratios of students admitted to the faculties of medicine of the two universities in the past five academic years:

Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong

Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong

(2) The Hospital Authority (HA) has implemented the Special Retired and Rehire Scheme (the Scheme) since 2015-16 to rehire suitable serving doctors, nurses and allied health professionals upon their retirement or completion of contract at/beyond their normal retirement age in order to retain suitable expertise for training and knowledge transfer, and to help alleviate manpower issues. Doctors participating in the Scheme are re-employed on contract full-time basis. The basic salary of rehired staff is the last drawn basic salary of the staff before leaving service at normal retirement age, subject to the maximum salary of the prevailing rank. Other terms and conditions of the rehired staff will be on par with new recruits to the rank offered. The number and male-to-female ratio of doctors rehired and serving in the HA under the Scheme as at March 31, 2019 are as follows:
 

 
(3) As at April 30, 2019, the respective numbers and male-to-female ratios of locum doctors in the ranks of Non-specialist and Specialist are as follows:
 

 
(4) To retain experienced hands, the HA is actively considering the introduction of more flexible options in work arrangements without compromising service quality and safety. In this connection, the HA introduced at the end of the first quarter of this year a pilot run of fractional work arrangement for medical staff in Accident & Emergency and Family Medicine departments. Under the arrangement, full-time frontline professional staff who have temporary special needs and compassionate reasons, such as health and family reasons, can work fractionally for a fixed period of time and thereafter resume their full-time duties. The pilot scheme is open for application now and the HA is processing the applications received.
 
(5) The hourly wages of locum doctors in the ranks of Non-specialist and Specialist are determined with reference to the remuneration of HA contract full-time doctors and the prevailing market situation. In addition to adjusting their pay annually in accordance with the pay offers approved by the HA Board, the HA also keeps in view its manpower situation and monitors changes in the labour market so as to conduct timely reviews to meet service needs and enhance service quality. The locum scheme welcomes applications from all qualified persons including married women.

     Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the opening ceremony of the 7th ICAC Symposium today (May 22):
 
Chief Justice Ma (Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, Mr Geoffrey Ma Tao-li), Secretary General Wen (Secretary General of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Mr Wen Hongwu), Deputy Commissioner Zhao (Deputy Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the HKSAR, Mr Zhao Jiankai), Simon (Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Mr Simon Peh), Ms Andersen (Executive Director of the World Justice Project, Ms Elizabeth Andersen), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good morning. I am honoured to be here to open the 7th ICAC Symposium, jointly organised by the ICAC and the World Justice Project.
 
     Through their concerted efforts, the symposium has attracted well over 500 professionals from more than 50 countries and regions. We have here today anti-corruption experts and law enforcers, judges, prosecutors and legal practitioners, regulators, compliance offers, auditors and academics. Despite their different backgrounds, they all share a deep-rooted commitment to fighting corruption, to building a fair, prosperous and inclusive society for all.
 
     This symposium is also a welcome opportunity to acknowledge the 45th anniversary of the ICAC, and to pay tribute to the Commission's critical role in helping to realise today's Hong Kong, one of the most law-abiding societies in the world.
 
     Corruption was once part of the everyday lives of the people of Hong Kong. Bribery and extortion were rife. To quote from the ICAC's own history: "Ambulance crews would demand tea money before picking up a sick person … Offering bribes to the right officials was also necessary when applying for public housing, schooling and other public services. Corrupt police officers offered protection to vice, gambling and drug activities … Corruption had become a major social problem in Hong Kong, but the Government at the time seemed powerless to deal with it."
 
     But that was history. In response, the ICAC was born. From its beginnings, in February 1974, it made a difference, and a very significant one. Over the years, it has brought about a profound transformation in our day-to-day lives. The Commission has wiped out systemic and syndicated corruption in the civil service and reduced overall corruption to minimal levels in business and the larger community. No less laudatory, its anti-corruption standards and best practices for business organisations are commended and applied worldwide.
 
     Today, Hong Kong boasts a vibrant international economy underpinned by the rule of law and free enterprise. Indeed, Hong Kong has been ranked the freest economy in the world for the past 25 years in a row by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation.
 
     In Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, Hong Kong is consistently ranked among the cleanest economies in the world. In the 2018 Index, Hong Kong placed 14th out of 180 countries and territories, alongside Austria and Iceland, and ahead of such countries as Belgium, Ireland, Japan, France and the United States.
 
     In the latest Rule of Law Index, published in February by the World Justice Project, Hong Kong was ranked 16th among 126 countries and territories for its overall rule of law performance. We placed ninth, overall, in the "absence of corruption" category.
 
     All these rankings show that we've come an extraordinarily long distance – from a hotbed of vice to one of the world's least-corrupt societies. There are clear and compelling reasons behind this sweeping change.
 
     First, since its establishment, the ICAC has operated with an independent status ensured, initially through the colonial government, and since 1997, by the Basic Law. And, from the beginning, the ICAC adopted an anti-graft strategy combining law enforcement, corruption prevention and public education. That strategy, I'm pleased to say, is time tested and remains effective to this day.
 
     These efforts, however, would have been futile without our unwavering adherence to the rule of law, the defining ideology of Hong Kong, and a formidable system of checks and balances. They include an independent judiciary, independent advisory committees monitoring the ICAC's work and a free and enterprising press.
 
     No less vital, the people of Hong Kong have, from the beginning, spoken out against corruption. Today, they treasure the core values of honesty and wholeheartedly support Hong Kong's anti-corruption efforts. In that regard, I believe that the ICAC's wide-ranging public education initiatives make a significant difference. It begins with our civil service, which is 190,000-strong. The ICAC's Ethical Leadership Programme brings together more than 150 Ethics Officers from all government departments and bureaux. Through regular integrity training, the Commission reached over 32,000 government officers at all levels last year.
 
     Then there's the Business Ethics Development Centre, established in 1995 under the ICAC's Community Relations Department. It works with 10 local chambers of commerce. Last year, the Commission's preventive education programmes reached some 44,000 employees at every level.
 
     The ICAC also develops education programmes for our youth and at every stage, from kindergarten right through to university. Such online platforms as Instagram, YouTube and Facebook have been used to promote anti-graft messages. Last year, the Commission launched a multi-language publicity programme to communicate our probity culture to ethnic minorities and new arrivals in Hong Kong.
 
     There's a great deal more to the ICAC's public education programme. But to take just one additional example, the Commission produces TV drama series based on completed cases. These are used to educate the public about corruption and enlist their support in preventing it. The latest drama series was broadcast from April into this month and I have heard positive comments about it.
 
     The ICAC's annual household survey conducted by independent polling institutions consistently finds that the Hong Kong public is highly intolerant of corruption. In last year's survey, on a scale of zero to 10, with zero representing total rejection and 10 total tolerance of corruption, the mean score came in at 0.5. In addition, 98.4 per cent of the respondents said they had not personally come across corruption in the past 12 months. That, ladies and gentlemen, makes a powerful statement about the lack of corruption in Hong Kong.
 
     With our success, the ICAC is prepared to share its experience with its counterparts. In fact, from its early days, the ICAC has attached great importance to establishing and maintaining rapport with overseas anti-corruption and law-enforcement agencies.
 
     The accession of Mainland China to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in 2006 opened up new communications opportunities for the ICAC. Under the Convention, the Mainland has designated the ICAC as the agency in Hong Kong to assist other state parties in building anti-corruption capacity.
 
     Since 2017, the ICAC has stepped up its efforts in anti-corruption training for Belt and Road countries, particularly the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations within the United Nations Convention. That's what I refer to as capacity building, and we've made it one of Hong Kong's contributions to the Belt and Road's people-to-people connectivity.
 
     Indeed, the ICAC has initiated communication already with more than 40 Belt and Road countries. To date, it has provided four tailor-made training programmes for more than 100 participants – from Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Similar training arrangements for the anti-corruption agencies of Bhutan, Mongolia, the Philippines, Serbia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste are in the pipeline. In addition, over the past two years, the ICAC has presented a Chief Investigators' Command Course to some 60 participants. They came from 12 overseas countries, many also along the Belt and Road, and from the Mainland, Macao and Hong Kong.
 
     Corruption remains a global issue today and is affecting all countries, rich and poor, north and south. The World Economic Forum estimates that the global cost of corruption is at least US$2.6 trillion. That's 5 per cent of the world's gross domestic product. And the World Bank tells us that businesses and individuals pay more than US$1 trillion in bribes each and every year. In the words of the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, corruption robs societies of schools, hospitals and other vital services, drives away foreign investment and strips nations of their natural resources. The global efforts in fighting corruption must therefore continue. This symposium is an excellent opportunity for the ICAC and other anti-corruption agencies all over the world to exchange experience, ideas and initiatives, and will help enhance the effectiveness of this global fight against corruption. I wish you all a very rewarding three days at the Symposium and, for our guests from overseas and the Mainland, a very pleasant stay in Hong Kong.
 
     Ladies and gentlemen, I declare the 7th ICAC Symposium open. Thank you very much.