Following is a question by the Hon Chu Hoi-dick and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, in the Legislative Council today (October 24):

Question:

     In May 2016, the Urban Renewal Authority launched the "Smart Tender" Building Rehabilitation Facilitating Services to strengthen the technical assistance and professional advice provided to property owners in respect of carrying out building repair and maintenance works. "Smart Tender" provides owners' organisations with a DIY tool-kit with guidance on arranging building rehabilitation, arranges independent professionals to provide technical advice and a market estimate on the cost of works, and has put in place an electronic tendering platform to engage contractors, so that owners may make appropriate decisions in arranging building rehabilitation works. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) as the Secretary for Development indicated in October last year that the authorities would consider expanding the functions of the "Smart Tender" electronic tendering platform so that owners' organisations might engage consultants through the platform, of the progress of such work; and

(2) as the media have uncovered in recent years that bid-rigging was suspected to have been involved in the tender exercises for cleaning services of certain housing estates, whether the authorities will consider providing owners' organisations with services similar to those of "Smart Tender" in respect of cleaning and security services; if so, of the details (including the government department/public organisation responsible and the implementation timetable); if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     In consultation with the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) and the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) which is responsible for building management policy, the Development Bureau provides a consolidated reply as follows:

(1) To assist owners to engage consultants for their building repair and maintenance works through the electronic tendering (e-tendering) platform under "Smart Tender", the URA is arranging interested and qualified consultancy firms to register under the e-tendering platform and plans to implement the initiative from early 2019 onwards.

(2) Bid-rigging involves complicated issues. Currently, various government departments and organisations have been adopting a multi-pronged approach to provide support to owners, with a view to preventing and combating the problem of bid-rigging.

     Separately, the Government has been providing a legal framework through the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) (BMO) to assist owners in discharging their responsibilities on building management effectively. To ensure that the BMO keeps pace with societal changes, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) under the HAB has reviewed the BMO and will introduce amendments on various aspects, including procurement of large-scale maintenance projects.  Although the proposed amendments to the BMO cannot solve the problem of bid-rigging and the associated crimes at source, the relevant amendments seek to enhance owners' participation and transparency and accountability in building management, with a view to raising owners' awareness and better protecting their interests. 

     Meanwhile, the HAD has also enhanced support to owners' corporations and owners in discharging their responsibilities on building management. For example, the HAD has launched the Central Platform on Building Management in September 2018, under which one-stop briefings on building management and maintenance are organised regularly. At each briefing, representatives from relevant government departments and organisations will provide information and introduce their services and schemes on building management and maintenance. The Government has been providing assistance through various means to owners in properly managing their buildings. The Government will keep under review the existing services for building owners and introduce new support services as appropriate.

     Following is a question by the Hon Charles Mok and a written reply by the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, in the Legislative Council today (October 24):
 
Question:
 
     Regarding the nurturing and import of information technology (IT) talents, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the respective numbers of funding applications under (i) the Postdoctoral Hub Programme and (ii) the Reindustrialisation and Technology Training Programme, which are implemented under the Technology Talent Scheme, received and approved by the authorities since the Scheme was launched in August this year;
 
(2) of the number of companies involved in the approved applications under the Postdoctoral Hub Programme, and among such companies, the respective numbers of those which are (i) organisations funded by the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF), and (ii) incubatees and innovation and technology tenants of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation/Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (incubatees and IT tenants);
 
(3) of the types of courses and technology involved in the approved applications under the Reindustrialisation and Technology Training Programme, as well as the total amount of grants approved;
 
(4) of the respective numbers of applications for importing talents under the Technology Talent Admission Scheme (TechTAS) received and approved by the authorities since the TechTAS was launched in May this year; the utilisation of quotas by organisations which have been granted quotas (including the number of quotas granted and the number of non-local talents employed); a breakdown of the number of such non-local talents by their nationalities, the regions in which the institutions awarding the relevant degrees to them were located, the number of years for which they have worked in the relevant technology areas, and their average monthly salaries upon arrival in Hong Kong; the number of companies whose applications were approved, and among them, the respective numbers of those which are (i) the ITF-funded organisations, and (ii) incubatees and IT tenants; a breakdown of the number of such companies by business type (i.e. biotechnology, artificial intelligence, cyber security, robotics, data analytics, financial technologies and material science) and by the quota granted (i.e. one to five, six to 10, 11 to 20, 21 to 50 and more than 50 persons);
 
(5) given that the 11 professions covered by the first Talent List promulgated by the authorities in August this year include (i) experienced data scientists and experienced cyber security specialists and (ii) innovation and technology experts, and that under the General Points Test of the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, bonus marks will be given to applicants who meet the specifications of the respective professions under the Talent List, of the respective up-to-date numbers of persons who have been assessed as meeting the specifications of the two professions;
 
(6) of the channels through which the various aforesaid subsidy, training and talents admission schemes are publicised and promoted by the authorities, as well as the relevant details;
 
(7) regarding the talents in specific IT areas who are in short supply in Hong Kong, whether the authorities will draw reference from the practices of governments of overseas countries, such as the implementation of a Capability Transfer Programme by the Singapore Government, and employ foreign specialists to transfer professional knowledge and technical skills to local staff; and
 
(8) whether the authorities will discuss with universities and relevant organisations with a view to organising more IT courses which are recognised by the Qualifications Framework, providing tuition fee subsidies and internship opportunities for students, as well as offering continuing education scholarships and professional certifications for graduates?

Reply:

President,
 
     The required information is as follows:
 
1. As of October 15, 2018, the Postdoctoral Hub Programme has received 189 applications, of which 165 applications have been approved and the remaining ones are being processed. The Reindustrialisation and Technology Training Programme (RTTP) has received 43 training grant applications, of which 34 have been approved, involving 62 trainees.The remaining applications are being processed.
 
2. As of October 15, 2018, the applications approved under the Postdoctoral Hub Programme involve 14 organisations (including two private companies) with Research and Development (R&D) projects funded by the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) and 18 incubatees/innovation and technology (I&T) tenants of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC) and Cyberport. 
 
3. As of October 15, 2018, the RTTP has approved 34 training grant applications, which involve 11 registered public courses and different technology areas such as Industry 4.0 related technologies, information technology (IT), textile and clothing, biomedical and healthcare, automobile technology and environmental technology.The total funding amounts to some $0.68 million.
 
4. Under the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC)'s Technology Talent Admission Scheme (TechTAS), the technology companies/institutes applying for quotas to admit overseas and Mainland technology talent to undertake R&D work in Hong Kong must be tenants or incubatees of the HKSTPC or Cyberport. In addition, they must be engaged in the seven specified technology areas (i.e. biotechnology, artificial intelligence, cyber security, robotics, data analytics, financial technologies or material science).
 
     Since its launch on June 25 till October 15, 2018, the TechTAS has received 156 quota applications. The ITC has approved a total of 139 quotas for 19 technology companies/institutes. Their business areas and number of quotas being awarded are set out in the Annex.
 
     We do not keep information on whether the companies/institutes allotted with quota(s) have received funding from the ITF.
      
     Many technology companies/institutes allotted with quota(s) have made use of the quotas for application to the Immigration Department (ImmD) for employment visa/entry permit for their non-local technology talent. As of October 15, 2018, the ImmD has approved 12 applications. Based on the information provided by the ImmD, details of the non-local persons approved for entry under the TechTAS by regions, locations of degree-awarding institution (for their highest qualification) and monthly remuneration are listed below:
 

 
     The ImmD does not keep information on the number of years of work experience of the concerned non-local persons in relevant technology areas.
 
5. To complement the Talent List of Hong Kong promulgated by the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the ImmD's Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) has since August 28, 2018 provided immigration facilitation to eligible applicants. Applicants who meet the specifications of the respective professions under the Talent List, will be awarded 30 bonus points under the General Points Test of the QMAS, subject to documentary proof. As of September 30, 2018, the ImmD has received seven applications for data scientists and cyber security specialists, and 18 applications for innovation and technology experts under the Talent List. The applications are being processed.
 
6. The Government is committed to promoting the QMAS and other talent admission schemes. The Government launched a new Announcement in the Public Interest (API) for the QMAS on December 20, 2017, which is broadcast in major television stations, major control points and offices of the HKSAR Government outside Hong Kong. The relevant API has also been uploaded to the Youtube Channel and Facebook of the ImmD and Information Services Department to strengthen the publicity.

     In addition, the Government attaches great importance to overseas publicity, including commissioning overseas publicity visits and strengthening the promotion through the economic and trade offices outside Hong Kong, the Invest Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and relevant organisations with a view to attracting talent to come to Hong Kong for development.  After launching the TechTAS, we have promoted and introduced details of the scheme through different channels such as press releases, websites and online social media. We have also issued e-mails or letters to eligible organisations inviting them to participate in the scheme. Furthermore, we have been organising and participating in briefing sessions to introduce details of the scheme to industrial and trade organisations, universities, training bodies and incubatees/I&T tenants of the HKSTPC and Cyberport.
      
     To promote the TechTAS, the ITC, the HKSTPC and Cyberport have disseminated relevant information via their respective websites. In addition, the ITC and the ImmD have held several briefing sessions at the Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport, attracting over 300 participants. The HKSTPC has, through its one-stop business support centre TecONE, provided consultancy services relating to the TechTAS for technology companies/institutes. Cyberport has publicised the TechTAS via its e-newsletter, in addition to offering advisory services and briefings on the scheme to individual interested companies/organisations.
 
7. Having regard to the latest development of the IT sector, we have included experienced data scientists and cyber security specialists in the Talent List of Hong Kong promulgated recently to attract more international technology talents to come to Hong Kong. To address the practical business needs of the industry, the Talent List will be updated from time to time to ensure that the relevant measures match the industry's demand for IT talents.
 
8. Over the years, the Government has been encouraging the universities and other local course providers to apply for and organise IT programmes recognised under the Qualifications Framework having regard to the latest market situation and demand. For example, the Vocational Training Council launched the Higher Diploma in Data Science and Analytics in 2017 and the Higher Diploma in Financial Technology in 2018. The relevant programmes are listed on the Qualifications Register (QR).
 
     In addition, a series of enhancement measures for the Continuing Education Fund (CEF) will be implemented with effect from April 1, 2019. These include doubling the subsidy ceiling to $20,000 per applicant and expanding the scope of the CEF courses to all eligible courses registered on the QR. The QR now covers 14 areas of study and training including computer science and information technology.

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (October 24):
 
Question:
 
     The Producer Responsibility Scheme on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (the Scheme) has been in operation since August 1 this year. Under the Scheme, sellers are required to provide free removal service when they sell a new item of regulated electrical equipment (i.e. air-conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, computers, printers, scanners and monitors) to members of the public. However, quite a number of members of the public have relayed to me that the recycling service operator commissioned by the Government to collect waste electrical equipment (the operator) has failed to meet its performance pledge of collecting such equipment door-to-door within three working days upon receipt of a service request from sellers, with the waiting time even exceeding ten days in some cases. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it knows the number of vehicles and manpower under the operator for providing the recycling service;
 
(2) whether it knows the average number of items of waste electrical equipment collected daily by the operator since the implementation of the Scheme;
 
(3) of the number of licence applications for regulated e-waste disposal (including storage, treatment, reprocessing or recycling of e-waste) received, approved and rejected by the Government so far; if it has rejected some applications, of the reasons for that;
 
(4) of the respective numbers of complaints against the operator and sellers received by the Government since the implementation of the Scheme, and the number of complaints about the disposal of waste electrical equipment on the street;
 
(5) as it has been reported that since the operator’s plant for storing waste electrical equipment is full, the operator has been provided a land on loan by the Government for temporary storage of waste electrical equipment, of the relevant details; whether the operator has breached the contractual requirements by failing to dispose of waste electrical equipment properly;
 
(6) given that the operator has failed to meet its performance pledge, whether the Government will consider reviewing the current mode of commissioning an operator and switching to commissioning multiple recyclers and granting subsidies to them according to the quantity of waste electrical equipment they have collected; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(7) given that the operator turns waste electrical and electronic equipment into materials of value (such as plastics and metals) through processes such as detoxification, dismantling and recycling, of the outlets for such materials and the receiver of the income so generated (if any)?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Producer Responsibility Scheme on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), or in short WPRS, came into effect on August 1, 2018. It covers air-conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, computers, printers, scanners and monitors (collectively referred to as regulated electrical equipment, or REE). The WPRS marks another important milestone in Hong Kong’s waste reduction and recycling efforts, as WEEE generated locally that would have been otherwise exported for disposal or sent to the landfills are now collected and recycled properly into resources.
 
     Currently, an REE seller is required by law to arrange for its customer a statutory free removal service to collect a used equipment of the same class abandoned by the customer. Upon purchase of the REE item, the customer is entitled to ask the seller to arrange for delivery of the new item and removal of the used item on the same day at no extra charge. REE sellers may provide the statutory free removal service on their own or through other collectors. If a seller opts for the service provided by the operator of the Government’s WEEE Treatment and Recycling Facility (WEEE·PARK), i.e. ALBA-IWS, the operator will, after receipt of a service request from the seller, collect the waste equipment three working days from the date of sales as requested by the customer. For instance, if a customer purchases a new item on Monday, the seller may arrange for delivery of the new item and the operator’s removal of the used item on the same day on Thursday.
 
     Since its initial operation in October 2017 and up to the end of September 2018, the WEEE·PARK has processed over 6 900 tonnes of WEEE in total, well exceeding the target amount for its first year of operation. The figure reflects that the scheme has initially achieved its objective.
 
     Our reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Hak-kan is as follows:
 
(1) and (2) The total number of staff currently employed by ALBA-IWS is around 190. Using the combination of its own fleet, outsourced vehicles and in collaboration with relevant industry stakeholders, the operator’s logistics team deploys resources flexibly to meet the demand for collection services. Since the implementation of the WPRS, ALBA-IWS handles around 900 collection orders on average on each working day.
 
(3) As at October 21, 2018, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has issued a total of five waste disposal licences for e-waste (e-WDLs), with another 12 applications being processed. There were another six applications deemed invalid or withdrawn by the applicants because of non-conforming land uses or the operations concerned being within the scope of exemption under the legislation.
 
(4) From the implementation of the WPRS on August 1 up to October 21 this year, the EPD has received a total of 57 complaints, of which 33 involved REE sellers, 19 were on the operator’s services and five of general nature. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) does not keep separate statistics on complaints about the disposal of WEEE on streets. However, according to FEHD, their frontline staff did not observe any major change in the number of waste REE found at refuse collection points before and after the implementation of WPRS.
 
(5) The WEEE·PARK is a government facility and its operator provides collection and treatment services under the WPRS. As the service demand at the initial implementation stage of the WPRS exceeded the projected demand, the EPD has made available some vacated places in the Kowloon Bay Waste Recycling Centre, which has ceased operation and is to be demolished, as a short term measure, for the temporary storage of WEEE collected from the public to be transferred to WEEE·PARK for treatment. There was no breach of the contractual requirement on the part of the operator in relation to this short term measure.
 
(6) Following adjustments made after the initial period, the scheme has been operating smoothly in general. The operator has been able to collect the waste equipment from customers three working days after receipt of the service requests. Only in certain special circumstances (less than 0.1% of the cases), the operator might take longer time to arrange for the collection, for instance, from more remote locations in the outlying islands due to the need to accommodate the conveyor schedule. In terms of treatment performance, as mentioned above the actual quantity processed by the operator up to the end of September has exceeded its target quantity for its first year of operation. There is no question of the operator being unable to meet the contractual requirements.
 
     The design capacity of the WEEE·PARK is about 30 000 tonnes per year, which is roughly half of the amount of waste REE generated in Hong Kong every year. There is room for existing and potential recyclers to participate in the market for treating waste REE. If necessary, the WEEE·PARK may increase its capacity by arranging an additional shift in the operation of the facility to cope with the demand. As mentioned above, up to October 21 this year, the EPD has issued a total of five e-WDLs, with another 12 applications being processed. We encourage licensed recyclers to take part in the recycling and treatment of waste REE. We will also continue to keep abreast of the market development to ensure that the overall handling capacity locally is adequate to underpin the implementation of the WPRS.
 
(7) Under the contract, the Government will determine and pay the operator the operation fee calculated based on the actual weight of WEEE collected and treated. The operator will properly separate and remove small amount of harmful substances such as heavy metal (e.g. mercury, lead) and greenhouse gases from WEEE by using advanced technologies and equipment. Other parts of WEEE will be dismantled and shredded, followed by safe sorting and screening procedures to turn them into sorted plastic and metal materials of high quality for reuse in other industrial productions. The remaining small amount of waste that cannot be recycled or reused will be sent to the landfills or other EPD recognised treatment facilities for proper handling. Any income or expenditure arising from the disposal of such recyclables and waste is borne by the operator in full. 

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, at a media session after touring the Hong Kong Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge on its first day of operation this morning (October 24):

Secretary for Transport and Housing: Today we have the official opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge which is serving Hong Kong citizens and tourists from overseas. As we can see, they are all very excited and trying to be the first ones to board the bus, buy the ticket and exit the Departure Hall. So I would expect this would provide Hong Kong citizens and tourists a very pleasant travel experience.

Reporter: Given what you are seeing on the first day of the Bridge opening, do you think that the existing quota and also the capacity of the Hong Kong Port area will suffice to provide for the number of visitors and people who are going through the Port area, in the medium to long term?

Secretary for Transport and Housing: I would say that the capacity of handling is going to increase in the years to come. As we can see, there are roughly about 100 cross-boundary coaches from Hong Kong to the Mainland. Also, I was given to understand that some 30 000 tourists will be coming over from the Mainland to Hong Kong. We will keep a close watch of the situation and try to mobilise more resources in enabling our handling capacity so as to give all Hong Kong residents and passengers a pleasant travelling experience.

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

     Hong Kong Customs seized about 6 600 kilograms of suspected duty-not-paid water pipe tobacco with an estimated market value of about $2.6 million and a duty potential of about $15 million at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound on October 22.

     Through risk assessment, Customs officers inspected a container arriving in Hong Kong from Jordan. Upon inspection, Customs officers found the batch of suspected duty-not-paid water pipe tobacco in the container.

     Investigation is ongoing.

     Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying duty-not-paid tobacco commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected illicit tobacco activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).