Author Archives: hksar gov

     Following is a question by the Hon Ho Kai-ming and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, in the Legislative Council today (May 15):
 
Question :
 
     Regarding the statistics on injuries caused to employees by accidents arising out of and in the course of employment (work injuries), will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the respective numbers of employees who were incapacitated by work injuries for a period of (i) three to seven days, (ii) eight to 14 days, (iii) 15 to 30 days, (iv) 31 days to three months, (v) more than three months to six months, (vi) more than six months to one year, (vii) more than one year to two years, and (viii) more than two years, in each year since 2014;
 
(2) of the respective numbers of employees injured at work who were assessed, by the Employees’ Compensation Assessment Boards in each year since 2014, to have suffered from the following percentages of permanent loss of earning capacity: (i) 5% or below, (ii) 6% to 10%, (iii) 11% to 20%, (iv) 21% to 30%, (v) 31% to 50%, (vi) 51% to 70%, and (vii) 71% or above; and
 
(3) given that employers and employees may, in respect of work injury cases which entail a period of sick leave exceeding seven days, agree on applying to the Labour Department for making settlement by “Paper Medical Clearance”, of the year since which this approach has been adopted; the number of work injury cases which were settled in this way in each of the past five years?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     My reply to the Hon Ho Kai-ming’s question is as follows:
 
(1) From 2014 to 2018, the number of compensation claims settled in each year involving incapacitation of employees for more than three days as a result of work injuries (including compensation claims reported to the Labour Department (LD) under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance (ECO) in or before the respective settlement year) with a breakdown by the number of working days lost is provided below:
 

Number of working days lost*	Number of settled compensation claims
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Below eight days	12 300	12 407	12 161	11 572	11 963
Eight to below 15 days	6 702	6 508	5 962	5 543	5 572
15 to below 30 days	4 404	4 169	3 951	3 752	3 898
30 to below 90 days	4 701	4 740	4 612	4 384	4 476
90 to below 180 days	2 783	2 902	2 787	2 741	2 788
180 to below 360 days	2 196	2 334	2 366	2 296	2 548
360 to below 720 days	1 765	1 795	1 956	1 801	1 881
720 days or above	2	3	1	2	1
Total	34 853	34 858	33 796	32 091	33 127

*The number of working days lost includes both the number of sick leave days granted and taken and the period of absence from duty certified to be necessary by the Employees’ Compensation Assessment Board under ECO.
 
     If the work injury sick leave of an employee does not exceed three days and no permanent incapacity is involved, the employer should make direct payment of compensation to the employee in accordance with ECO.  LD does not keep statistics on the number of working days lost for this type of cases. 
 
(2) From 2014 to 2018, the number of compensation claims settled in each year involving incapacitation of employees for more than three days as a result of work injuries (including compensation claims reported to LD under ECO in or before the respective settlement year) with a breakdown by the percentage of permanent loss of earning capacity of employees is provided below:
 

Percentage of permanent loss of earning capacity	Number of settled compensation claims
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Assessment not required	19 475	19 484	18 710	18 447	18 907
0% to 5%	14 223	14 221	14 074	12 703	13 274
Above 5% to 10%	744	769	673	649	678
Above 10% to 20%	243	224	207	168	163
Above 20% to 30%	73	66	50	48	41
Above 30% to 50%	53	51	41	42	46
Above 50% to 70%	25	19	17	19	6
Above 70%	17	24	24	15	12
Total	34 853	34 858	33 796	32 091	33 127

 
(3) LD has been providing the “Paper Medical Clearance” option since 1998.  In work injury cases where the sick leave has already ended and the injury does not lead to any permanent incapacity, employers and employees may thereby agree to complete the follow-up procedures for sick leave in writing and LD will issue the “Certificate of Compensation Assessment” direct for settling the claims.  LD does not keep statistics on the work injury cases settled by “Paper Medical Clearance”.  LD will further enhance the follow-up procedures for sick leave by proactively inviting employers and employees of work injury cases which meet the above criteria to settle their claims by “Paper Medical Clearance”, with a view to speeding up the case processing. read more

     A man was fined $8,000 today (May 15) at Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts for operating a money service without a valid licence.

     Officers of the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) on patrol earlier discovered a gold and jewellery shop inside a shopping arcade in Tin Shui Wai suspected of operating money service without a licence.

     Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, a person who wishes to operate a remittance and/or money changing service is required to apply for a licence from the C&ED. Any person who operates a money service without a valid licence commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for six months.

     Members of the public may report any suspected unlicensed money service operation to the Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk). read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Kenneth Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, in the Legislative Council today (May 15):
 
Question:
 
     In recent years, the Government has been committed to promoting district greening to enhance the liveability of Hong Kong. “Hong Kong 2030+: Towards a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030”, published in 2016 by the Development Bureau, mentioned that the Government had developed the Greening Master Plans (GMPs) for the urban areas and completed the recommended greening works, and it had been progressively extending the GMP initiative to the districts in the New Territories, including Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing, Islands District, Tai Po and North District. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the current greenery coverage and green space per capita in Hong Kong;
 
(2) of the total number of trees and shrubs planted in the urban and rural areas in each of the past five years by the various government departments (with a breakdown by District Council district); the carbon dioxide in tonnes that could be absorbed by those trees and shrubs each year and its percentage in the total carbon emission of Hong Kong;
 
(3) of the total expenditure and a breakdown of such expenditure incurred in each of the past five years by the various government departments on the management and maintenance of the trees and shrubs in the urban and rural areas;
 
(4) of the respective numbers of greening works implemented in each of the past five years by the various government departments for the buildings under their management, and set out in a table the details of such works (including (i) the name of the building, (ii) the District Council district in which the building was located, (iii) the type of the works (e.g. roof greening, vertical greening, sky garden, terrace planting, etc), (iv) the greening area, (v) the expenditure on the works, (vi) the annual expenditure on maintenance and (vii) the annual expenditure on repairs); and
 
(5) of the latest implementation progress of the GMPs for the New Territories; when the relevant greening works are expected to commence and complete; whether the authorities have provided guidelines on the planning, design and implementation of such works; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Urban greening will not only beautify the environment, but will also help to moderate temperature and improve air quality. The Government has been incorporating quality landscape and greening in public works projects to make Hong Kong more liveable.
 
     Apart from the implementation of the Greening Master Plans (GMPs), public works projects are required to incorporate greening elements in planning and development stages. For example, new government building projects should have greening measures on 20 to 30 per cent of the site area (including roof greening and vertical greening), new at-grade road projects should allow for space for quality greening and landscape works, and soft landscape provisions should be integrated in the highway structure projects to enhance our street environment.
 
     The reply to the Hon Kenneth Leung’s five-part question is as follows:
 
(1) Around 78 per cent of Hong Kong’s total land area is vegetated, i.e. covered under woodlands, shrublands and grasslands. The Government has not done any calculation on green space per capita.
 
(2) The total number of trees and shrubs planted by the Government in the urban and rural areas in the past five years is shown at Annex A. Statistics on planting are not kept on District Council district basis. As calculated by the Environmental Protection Department in 2018 in accordance with the methodologies specified in the guidelines published by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the total greenhouse gas (GHG) uptake by carbon pools of woodlands, shrublands and grasslands in Hong Kong in 2016 was 454 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, which accounted for about one per cent of the total GHG emissions in Hong Kong. The Government has not compiled the GHG uptake by the plants planted in the past five years.
 
(3) Managing and maintaining the trees and shrubs on government land and at government facilities is part and parcel of the regular duties of various departments, which are discharged with their overall resources. There is no separate expenditure breakdown for the management and maintenance of trees and shrubs.
 
(4) The greening works implemented on the government buildings in the past five years are set out at Annex B. Greening works is an integral part of a building project. The expenditure on maintenance and repairs of the greening works is also part of the overall expenditure on building maintenance and repairs. Separate breakdown is not available.
 
(5) The greening works under GMPs for the New Territories (NT) Southeast (Sha Tin and Sai Kung Districts) and NT Northwest (Tuen Mun and Yuen Long Districts) were completed in October 2017. The Civil Engineering and Development Department is finalising the GMPs in NT Southwest (Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing and Islands Districts) and NT Northeast (Tai Po and North Districts), and will seek funding approval from the Legislative Council Finance Committee in 2019, with a view to commencing the works in 2020, which will take about three years. 
 
     In planning and designing the GMPs, departments have followed the technical circulars and guidelines promulgated by the Development Bureau, including adoption of the “Right Tree Right Place” principle, use of the “Street Tree Selection Guide” in selecting suitable plant species which echo the GMP greening themes of the districts and enhancing vegetation diversity. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Abraham Shek, and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, in the Legislative Council today (May 15):   Question:        T… read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Claudia Mo and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (May 15):
 
Question:
 
     It has been reported that inbound Mainland tour groups (IMTGs) carrying out activities like shopping and dining in the Kowloon City district have caused serious nuisances to local residents, and that a pedestrian was knocked down and killed in an accident that occurred in To Kwa Wan last month. Regarding IMTGs, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the number of traffic accidents involving tourist coaches that occurred in the Kowloon City district in each of the past five years, and the resultant casualties;
 
(2) of the number of law enforcement operations carried out by the Police in the Kowloon City district, in (a) each year and (b) each month of the past five years, against tourist coach drivers who contravened traffic regulations, together with a breakdown by the type of (i) contraventions and (ii) actions taken (e.g. ordering to leave and issuance of fixed penalty notices); the respective locations of the 10 major black spots of the various contraventions;
 
(3) of (i) the number of IMTGs and, among them, (ii) the number of those conducting activities in the Kowloon City district, on average each day in each month of the past five years; whether it has assessed the impacts of such activities on residents in the Kowloon City district;
 
(4) whether it will, targeting at issues concerning contraventions of traffic regulations by tourist coach drivers, raise the relevant penalties and study new measures for traffic improvements; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(5) given that the Government is urging the trade to divert IMTGs joining Victoria Harbour cruises to embark and disembark at piers other than the Kowloon City Ferry Pier, of the progress of the work and the feedback of travel agents, as well as the expected completion time; of the progress so far of the discussions among the Government, operator of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (KTCT) and members of the tourism industry on making use of KTCT for diverting tour groups; and
 
(6) whether it will set limits on (i) the number of same-day Mainland visitors, (ii) the number of IMTGs, and (iii) the area of activities of IMTGs, in order to mitigate the impacts of the relevant tourism activities on residents of various districts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Government attaches great importance to the sustainable and healthy development of the tourism industry. Whilst ensuring that the industry brings about benefits to society, we also continuously seek to minimise as far as possible the impact of tourist activities on the local community. The Government has been in close liaison with the travel trade, the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC), district personalities and Legislative Council Members in driving the implementation of various targeted mitigation measures to tackle the impact by visitors to Hong Kong on the local community.
 
     In response to the question raised by the Hon Claudia Mo, with relevant bureaux and departments consulted, my reply is as follows:
 
(1) The traffic accident statistics kept by the Transport Department (TD) do not have a breakdown by tourist coaches, so only relevant figures on non-franchised single-deck buses (including tourist coaches) can be provided. During the past five years, the numbers of traffic accidents involving non-franchised single-deck buses that occurred within the area under the Kowloon City District Council’s purview and the resultant casualties are set out in Annex 1. 
 
(2) The tourist hotspots in To Kwa Wan and Hung Hom (including areas in the vicinity of To Kwa Wan Road, San Ma Tau Street and Mei King Street, areas around Chi Kiang Street, Sung On Street and Bailey Street, as well as areas near Sze Chuen Street) have been listed by the Police as priority locations for actions against illegal parking. Appropriate enforcement actions are taken in respect of the illegal parking situation of tourist coaches. The Kowloon City Police District deploys staff to carry out crowd management and traffic enforcement actions in such tourist hotspots on a daily basis. 
 
     Between May 2017 and April 2019, the Police issued a total of 4 192 fixed penalty notices to tourist coaches relating to traffic contraventions in the Kowloon City Police District (including To Kwa Wan and Hung Hom districts). The relevant monthly and yearly figures are set out in Annex 2. The Police have not kept any breakdown of the types of contraventions and enforcement actions, as well as information about black spots of the various contraventions and figures of fixed penalty notices before May 2017.
 
(3) At present, TIC is responsible for trade regulation and has issued clear guidelines requiring that travel agents in Hong Kong must, prior to receiving any Mainland inbound tour group, register with TIC and provide information about the tour group in advance. In this regard, TIC reports to the Government on the situation of Mainland inbound tour groups visiting Hong Kong from time to time. It also participates in the inter-departmental meetings convened by the Government before peak periods of visitor arrivals, such that relevant Government departments and attraction operators can better grasp the estimated number of tour groups visiting Hong Kong during the holidays and make corresponding arrangements. The daily average of Mainland inbound tour groups that travel agents registered with TIC in each month during the past five years is set out in Annex 3.
 
(4) In view of the traffic situation in To Kwa Wan and Hung Hom, TD has been endeavouring to identify suitable locations in the two districts for providing additional on-street pick-up/set-down points and parking spaces for use by tourist coaches where road safety is not compromised and traffic conditions permit, as well as granting short-term tenancy (STT) car parks for parking of tourist coaches. Currently, there are a total of 96 on-street metered parking spaces and 110 lay-bys for pick-up or set-down purposes provided by TD in To Kwa Wan and Hung Hom, as well as 73 parking spaces in STT car parks, for use by tourist coaches. TD has also designated “No-stopping Restriction Zones” in suitable road sections in the districts, which limit the pick-up and set-down activities of coaches in restricted hours, so as to maintain smooth traffic flow. Moreover, the Government has offered a discounted fee of $6 per half an hour between 9 am and 8 pm in the temporary car park at the junction of Bailey Street and Sung Ping Street in a bid to encourage parking of tourist coaches at the car park.
 
     As regards traffic enforcement, the Police have been closely monitoring the situation of illegal parking or picking up/setting down passengers by tourist coaches in the above-mentioned districts, taking stern enforcement actions against those which have caused serious obstruction to traffic and posed a safety risk. Starting from January 2019, the Kowloon City Police District has been implementing special traffic control measures around Chi Kiang Street, Sung On Street and Bailey Street, as well as around To Kwa Wan Road, San Ma Tau Street and Mei King Street during daily peak periods of tourist coach movements. Under the control measures, tourist coach drivers have to follow the instructions of the police officers on the spot and drive to designated locations for pick-up and set-down.
 
     To further strengthen the control of the flow of tourist coaches and enhance road safety, the Government plans to establish additional designated passenger pick-up/set-down areas for tourist coaches in the districts. Consideration is being given to using the temporary car park at the junction of Bailey Street and Sung Ping Street as a pick-up/set-down area; providing ten additional on-street metered tourist coach parking spaces at the junction of Hung Hom Road and Bailey Street; and providing four additional lay-bys at appropriate sections of Chi Kiang Street.  To dovetail with these measures, the Government plans to expand the “No-stopping Restriction Zone” for coaches at appropriate road sections on the periphery of tourist hotspots within the districts so as to restrict the pick-up/set-down areas for tourist coaches on public roads, thereby encouraging tourist coaches to use the designated pick-up/set-down areas mentioned above.
 
     Besides, the Police have started to take enforcement actions by means of mobile video recording at tourist hotspots in To Kwa Wan and Hung Hom. They use hand-held video cameras to record instances of traffic contravention on an irregular basis in order to combat obstruction to traffic flow and strengthen the deterrent effect. The Police also plan to launch a pilot scheme on Electronic Fixed Penalty Notices within 2019-20. The frontline law enforcement officers will then be able to access data on vehicles parked illegally via their mobile smart devices and print out fixed penalty notices without delay, with enhanced efficiency in enforcement.
 
     As regards the recent traffic accident involving a tourist coach, the Police are still investigating the case. Subject to the results of the Police’s investigation, TD will review the conditions of the road section concerned and take appropriate follow-up measures.
 
(5) The Government has been liaising with the trade on the feasibility of channelling some harbour cruises to the public landing steps near the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (KTCT) (namely the Runway Park Pier at Kai Tak), and conducted several site visits to the pier. The trade has indicated that they would consider using the pier and made some suggestions about the enhancement of ancillary facilities. The Government welcomes the trade’s positive attitude and looks forward to their early confirmation of the detailed arrangements. The Tourism Commission is actively co-ordinating with the relevant departments with a view to completing the follow-up on pertinent suggestions about the enhancement of ancillary facilities as soon as possible.
 
     Insofar as KTCT is concerned, the cruise terminal is managed by a terminal operator under commercial principles. The ancillary commercial area of KTCT is equipped with catering and other supporting facilities, and all shops have currently been leased out.  The Government is open to the proposal of channelling some inbound tour groups to KTCT and has been co-ordinating with different stakeholders, including arranging for the trade several visits to KTCT and meeting with the terminal operator and shop owners. Nonetheless, the proposal is contingent upon the willingness of the trade and shop owners, and boils down to their commercial decision. Should the trade be interested in using the facilities in KTCT, they are welcome to approach the terminal operator and shop owners for further discussion.
 
(6) The tourist receiving capability of a tourism destination depends on many different factors, including the travel modes of visitors from various source markets, the attractions and facilities of the travel destination, the types of tourism products available in the market, etc.  Furthermore, there is no universally accepted way to set a cap on tourist receiving capability (including numbers of tourists and areas of their activities).  The Government will continue to be proactive in enhancing Hong Kong’s various ancillary tourism facilities so as to balance the impact of the tourism industry on the economy and people’s livelihood. read more