Following is a question by the Hon Lee Chun-keung and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Liu Chun-san, in the Legislative Council today (July 3):

Question:

     It has been reported that residents living in the vicinity of illegal motor racing black spots have been plagued by the rumble of engines emitted by the motor vehicles over the years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it will compile statistics on the number of complaints involving illegal motor racing received by the law enforcement agencies concerned in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by the 18 districts across the territory;

(2) of the number of persons arrested by the law enforcement agencies concerned in each of the past five years for allegedly engaging in illegal motor racing and, among them, the number of those convicted;

(3) whether it knows the illegal motor racing black spots in various districts; if so, of the measures currently adopted by the authorities to combat illegal motor racing at such black spots, and whether they have assessed the effectiveness of such measures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) how it will step up efforts to combat illegal motor racing, for example, whether it will make good use of technology to assist in law enforcement and increase the relevant penalties; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     Having consulted the Hong Kong Police Force (Police) in respect of combating illegal motor racing, my reply to various parts of the question raised by the Hon Lee Chun-keung is as follows:

(1) The number of complaints about illegal motor racing received by the Police in the past five years is set out in the table below:
 

     â€‹The Police does not maintain statistics of complaints about illegal motor racing by district.

(2) The figures for enforcement actions taken by the Police against speeding or illegal motor racing (Note) (including the issuance of fixed penalty tickets, summonses and arrests) by Police Region from 2021 to 2023 is tabulated below:
 

     â€‹The Police does not maintain records of convictions for speeding or illegal motor racing.

Note: In accordance with section 55(1) of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374), a person who takes part in a race or trial of speed on any road between vehicles to which the Commissioner of Police has not given his consent in writing, or in contravention of any conditions imposed on the granting of such consent, commits an offence and is liable to a fine at level 3 and to imprisonment for 12 months.

(3) and (4) While the Police does not maintain records of illegal motor racing blackspots, it will take enforcement actions against speeding or illegal motor racing based on complaints and intelligence received, including sentinel enforcement with the use of various types of speed detectors and mobile enforcement with police vehicles equipped with speed detection and automatic number plate recognition systems. In addition, if an intercepted vehicle is suspected to have been illegally altered (including emission of loud noise as a result of illegal alterations), it will be sent to a Police Vehicle Pound for further examination by a Motor Vehicle Examiner. If an offence is proven to have been committed, the Police will initiate prosecution.

     Speeding or illegal motor racing is a very serious traffic offence that poses significant risks to drivers and other road users. Combating speeding or illegal motor racing is one of the Police's Selected Traffic Enforcement Priorities. The Police will continue to launch operations from time to time to take stringent enforcement action against speeding, illegal motor racing as well as other dangerous driving behaviours; and will follow up on the relevant reports promptly in order to combat unsafe and irresponsible driving behaviour of motorists, to ensure the safety of their own as well as other road users.

     Between 2021 and 2023, the number of speeding enforcement cases handled by the Police decreased slightly by 4.8 per cent, while the number of complaints against illegal motor racing decreased by 98 per cent during the same period. The above figures reflect the effectiveness of the Police's enforcement against speeding or illegal motor racing, and that the penalties of the existing legislation maintain their deterrent effect. The Police will continue the relevant enforcement work and keep reviewing the number of offences and related matters.

     Following is a question by the Hon Sunny Tan and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Liu Chun-san, in the Legislative Council today (July 3):
 
Question:
 
     In the 2024-2025 Budget, the Government has stated that the Airport Authority Hong Kong is taking forward the development of a sea‑air intermodal cargo‑transhipment mode in collaboration with Dongguan, and will actively expand air cargo services, including the handling of cold chain cargo at the "HKIA Dongguan Logistics Park" (Logistics Park). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the number of airlines and freight forwarders participating in the Logistics Park pilot scheme since its launch in April last year, and the freight volume and total value of goods handled by the Logistics Park so far;
 
(2) whether it will seek to expand the Logistics Park, both in scale and size, for the additional provision of better and more diversified logistics facilities and strengthening its logistics support services, including logistics facilities related to cold chain goods, temperature-controlled, high-value goods and goods with relatively short life cycles, and assist the admission of more Hong Kong enterprises into the Logistics Park, so as to further strengthen Hong Kong's positioning and competitiveness as a maritime hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; and
 
(3) of the future plans and measures to proactively encourage different industries to actively dovetail with and seize the opportunities of the Logistics Park, including the use of relevant logistics facilities to develop cross-border e-commerce and import and export businesses?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Hong Kong is an international aviation hub. With regard to air cargo, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is the world's busiest cargo airport. The Government and the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) have been adopting various measures to consolidate Hong Kong's leading position in respect of air cargo.
      
     In this regard, to fully capitalise on HKIA's advantages in handling high-value, temperature-controlled air cargo and to seize the opportunities brought by cross-border e-commerce, the AAHK is taking forward the sea-air intermodal cargo transshipment mode in collaboration with Dongguan. Under this mode, export cargo from the Mainland can go through security screening, palletisation and cargo acceptance in advance in the upstream logistics park set up in Dongguan. It will then be transported seamlessly by sea to the cargo pier on the airside of HKIA for direct transshipment to overseas destinations through Hong Kong's international aviation network. International air cargo may also be imported into the Mainland through the reverse process. This mode will provide a more seamless and convenient international air network for the cargo in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), improve the efficiency of cross-border air cargo transshipment, and further leverage Hong Kong's function as an air cargo transshipment hub.
 
     With regard to the question raised by the Hon Sunny Tan, my reply is as follows:
 
(1) The AAHK has launched a pilot scheme of the sea-air intermodal cargo transshipment mode by utilising the temporary facilities in Dongguan and HKIA since end 2021 and established the full set of export and import operation procedures in April and December 2023 respectively. Currently, a total of 17 airlines and about 100 freight forwarders are participating in the pilot scheme. Since April 2023, nearly 8 300 tonnes of cargo, with a value of more than $5.8 billion, have been handled under the pilot scheme.
 
(2) and (3) The AAHK and the Dongguan Municipal Government signed a co-operation framework agreement in February 2023 to foster the further development of the sea-air intermodal cargo transshipment mode, including the development of the permanent facility of HKIA Logistics Park in Dongguan (now named as "HKIA Dongguan Logistics Park"). The AAHK plans to complete the first-phase construction of the permanent facility of the logistics park by the end of next year, gradually bringing its cargo handling capacity to one million tonnes per annum.
 
     In order to maximise the benefits of the sea-air intermodal cargo transshipment mode, the AAHK is working with the Dongguan Municipal Government to explore the feasibility of handling different types of cargo in the logistics park, including the development of cold-chain cargo services. At the same time, the AAHK will continue to promote the sea-air intermodal cargo transshipment mode and adopt measures to encourage more airlines and freight forwarders to join. Depending on the progress of the first-phase construction of the logistics park, the AAHK will proceed with the further development of the whole project in an orderly manner, with a view to continuously enhancing the overall handling capacity and functions of the logistics park to meet the international cargo demand in the GBA and enhance Hong Kong's status as an international aviation hub.

     The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) today (July 3) removed one induction cooker model from the record of listed models under the Energy Efficiency (Labelling of Products) Ordinance. Supply of this product model is no longer allowed in Hong Kong with immediate effect.
 
     Details of the product are as follows:
 
Induction cooker

 
     The EMSD administers the Mandatory Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme in accordance with the Ordinance and selects samples of the listed models regularly for conducting compliance monitoring tests to check whether they conform with the energy efficiency and performance characteristics submitted to the EMSD. As the test result of the product concerned showed that it failed to reach the relevant energy efficiency and/or performance characteristics, the EMSD has decided to remove this product model from the record of listed models.
 
     The EMSD has served a notice under the Ordinance to the importer concerned. The importer will publish a newspaper notice to announce the termination of supply of the product concerned.
 
     Members of the public can contact the above importer for enquiries.

    

     Following is a question by the Hon Edmund Wong and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Liu Chun-san, in the Legislative Council today (July 3):
 
Question:
 
     It has been reported that on the evening of the Tuen Ng Festival holiday on the 10th of last month, some members of the public who drove back to Hong Kong under the Quota-free Scheme for Hong Kong Private Cars Travelling to Guangdong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (the Scheme) had to spend at least about four hours on the road before they arrived at Hong Kong due to severe traffic congestion at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Zhuhai Port. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the five dates with the highest numbers of private vehicles arriving and departing via the HZMB Hong Kong Port on a single day since the implementation of the Scheme (set out by the respective numbers of outbound and inbound private vehicles);
 
(2) whether the authorities have reviewed with the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Authority the situation on the 10th of last month with long queues of vehicles departing from the HZMB Zhuhai Port and returning to the Hong Kong Port; if so, of the contents of the review;
 
(3) given that at present, applicants are only required to reserve with the authorities the date and time of their vehicles' departure from Hong Kong under the Scheme, whether the authorities will consider further requiring applicants to register the date and time of their return trips to Hong Kong, so as to effectively control the maximum number of private vehicles using the HZMB ports for clearance at the same period of time; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(4) of the number of cases detected by the authorities since the beginning of this year involving private vehicles travelling to Zhuhai via HZMB outside the reserved/assigned specified date and time; the measures currently put in place by the authorities to prevent such acts, and whether relevant measures will be enhanced to eradicate such acts; if so, of the details?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     "Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles" (the Scheme) allows eligible Hong Kong private cars to travel between Hong Kong and Guangdong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) without the need to obtain regular quotas. It facilitates Hong Kong residents' self-driving to Guangdong for business, visiting families or sightseeing on a short-term basis, thereby further making good use of the HZMB and promoting the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Since the implementation of the Scheme in July 2023, the Scheme has been well received by Hong Kong citizens. At present, there are over 64 000 Hong Kong single-plate private cars with the valid permit to travel under the Scheme. The usage of the HZMB has also recorded new highs, among which vehicles under the Scheme account for about 40 per cent. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has all along been monitoring and listening to the opinions from applicants and users about the Scheme while maintaining close communication with the relevant Mainland authorities to implement enhancement measures in a timely manner, with a view to providing citizens with better convenience and travel experience.
      
     Having consulted the Security Bureau and the Transport Department, our reply to Hon Wong's question is as follows:
 
(1) Since the implementation of the Scheme in July 2023, the top five record dates for outbound and inbound private cars using the HZMB Hong Kong Port in a single day are as follows:
 

(2) and (3) The HKSAR Government has been closely monitoring the operation of the HZMB, especially the clearance and traffic conditions at the HZMB ports during peak days and periods, and has been discussing with the relevant Mainland authorities on enhancing port clearance arrangements. For the HZMB Hong Kong Port, relevant departments have been taking various measures to enhance the clearance capacity, such as deploying manpower flexibly, optimising workflow and making use of innovative technology, etc., as well as operating additional private car clearance kiosks during peak periods to cater for the increasing vehicular flow; TD's mobile application "HKeMobility" has also added real-time traffic snapshots of the HZMB Hong Kong Port vehicle clearance plaza, allowing travellers to more easily obtain the port situation and hence travel flexibly. 
 
     For the HZMB Zhuhai Port, the HZMB Authority stated that since the implementation of the Scheme, relevant authorities have been striving to improve the efficiency through various aspects of work. Relevant authorities are enhancing the facilities and arrangements at the Zhuhai Port, including increasing the clearance lanes for private cars, enhancing the facility clearance efficiency, setting up information dissemination system on instant port clearance situation, stepping up publicity to guide travellers to avoid travelling during peak periods and arranging on-site dispersal, etc. The HKSAR Government will continue to maintain close liaison with the relevant Mainland authorities to closely monitor the operation of the HZMB, continue to study various enhancement measures including return trip booking matters, and implement the feasible measures as soon as possible, with a view to ensuring smooth traffic flow at the HZMB and better use of the HZMB.
 
(4) As stipulated in the terms and conditions of application for the Scheme, if any vehicles are found violating the travel arrangement (including travelling without a reservation or beyond the specified time), relevant government authorities of the two places may refuse to allow the relevant vehicles to travel to Guangdong via the HZMB, and may deprive them from making another reservation, or even revoke the relevant licences issued to them.
 
     At present, the TD transmits the travel booking information under the Scheme to the law enforcement departments of the Hong Kong Port on a regular basis with a view to facilitating the daily work at the HZMB Hong Kong Port of the departments, and identifying eligible vehicles travelling to Guangdong via the HZMB. The TD has also been maintaining close liaison with the Mainland authorities and conducting random checks on the vehicle crossing records of the Scheme from time to time to ensure that applicants comply with the terms and conditions of the Scheme. Since the travel booking system has been implemented for a short period of time and refined from time to time, the TD currently does not have more representative statistical data on non-compliant cases of travel bookings.

     Following is a question by the Hon Elizabeth Quat and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (July 3):

Question:

     There are views that Hong Kong will become a "super-aged society" as defined by the World Health Organization, with the number and proportion of the elderly continuing to increase, and while the application of gerontechnology can effectively help the elderly to live more independently, healthily and comfortably, the Government should also endeavour to promote the use of gerontechnology among service providers and the elderly. To further promote gerontechnology and encourage the elderly to make good use of technology to enhance their quality of life, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it will introduce elderly technology vouchers to provide subsidies for the elderly of grass-roots families to purchase gerontechnology products, digital devices or Internet services so that they can acquire technological products such as emergency alarm system, "AI home fall detection alarm devices", smart watches with tracking and health monitoring features, personal health dashboards to help them improve their lives and narrow the digital divide through new technology; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2) as it has been reported that local start-ups and small and medium enterprises often encounter difficulties such as insufficient funds, lack of promotion platforms and manpower shortage in the research and development (R&D) as well as promotion of gerontechnology products, of the measures the Government has put in place to support and drive these enterprises in the R&D and promotion of gerontechnology products;

(3) as the Jockey Club "age at home" Gerontech Education and Rental Service funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust is a four-and-a-half-year pilot scheme providing one-stop gerontechnology services to the elderly, including education service, rental service together with cleaning and maintenance services, whether the Government will consider, by drawing reference from the model of the scheme, launching a similar pilot scheme in housing courts with a high elderly population, so as to build up the confidence and capability of ageing in place among the elderly and their carers; and

(4) of the measures put in place to assist hidden elders in using gerontechnology products and carry out the relevant promotion; whether it will study the establishment of gerontechnology service teams and commissioners in all 18 districts across the territory and complement the work of the District Services and Community Care Teams, so as to reach out to the community to assist hidden elders in choosing, purchasing/renting and applying gerontechnology products?

Reply:

President,

     The Government has been encouraging elderly persons to make better use of gerontechnology, enhancing digital trainings for them, improving their quality of life, and relieving the burden of their carers.

     In consultation with the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and the Housing Department, I reply to the Member's question as follows:

(1) and (3) The Government allocated $1 billion in 2018 to set up the Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care (I&T Fund), which subsidises eligible elderly and rehabilitation service units to procure, rent or trial technology products, including sensor systems which can detect a frail elderly person who has left his/her bed and monitor the risk of him/her falling or encountering accidents, wearable sensors which can measure biological signs such as heart rhythm and blood pressure, body composition analysers which can measure health parameters, intelligent anti-wandering systems which can be integrated with indoor positioning and wireless gate sensor. As at June 2024, the I&T Fund has approved grants totalling about $750 million, subsidising about 2 000 service units to procure or rent over 21 000 technology products.

     The 2023 Policy Address announced that the Government would inject additional $1 billion into the I&T Fund in 2024-25 and expand its scope to cover gerontechnology products suitable for household use. Eligible service units can procure suitable technology products for lending to elderly persons and carers for use at home. In addition, the SWD has expanded the coverage of the Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly to the rental of assistive technology products since September 2023. These two measures can extend the application of gerontechnology from residential care homes (RCHs)/community service units to elderly persons' residence.

     The Government launches different measures to assist elderly persons in need to install indoor emergency alarm systems (EAS) such that they may call for help promptly during emergencies. The SWD launched the District Services and Community Care Teams – Pilot Scheme on Supporting Elderly and Carers in March 2024, which would refer needy elderly persons, persons with disabilities and their carers to install and use EAS. The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) and the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) have been providing subsidies to eligible elderly households residing in their housing estates to install and use EAS since 1996 and 1997 respectively. The HA and the HKHS have expanded the coverage of the subsidies concerned to mobile/wireless EAS since February 2021 and January 2020 respectively. In addition, the SWD provides similar subsidies to eligible elderly persons receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance.

     Jockey Club "age at home" Gerontech Education and Rental Service is funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, administered by The Hong Kong Council of Social Service and operated by three social welfare organisations. The Government welcomes non-governmental organisations in launching this kind of pilot scheme which provides education, rental as well as cleaning and maintenance services related to gerontechnology products, and will keep in view the implementation effectiveness of and stakeholders' feedback to such services.

(2) Eligible elderly and rehabilitation service units can apply for the I&T Fund and partner with technology research and development (R&D) companies to trial their newly developed technology products designed specifically for the nursing and rehabilitation needs of elderly persons or persons with disabilities. The ceiling for the relevant grant is $5 million per application.

     The annual Gerontech and Innovation Expo cum Summit (GIES) promotes the use of technology by all sectors to address the challenges brought about by an ageing population and the rehabilitation needs of persons with disabilities. Since its launch in 2017, the event has attached over 1 000 exhibitors to showcase more than 3 500 gerontechnology products and application solutions from both Hong Kong and other places around the world, attracting over 230 000 visitors. The GIES comprises forums/thematic talks and workshops, which serve as a platform drawing together stakeholders from Hong Kong, the Mainland and abroad, including representatives of the innovation and technology sector, the academia, the social welfare sector and technology product users, to engage in dialogue and collaboration for broader adoption of gerontechnology. The GIES also provides a platform for businesses to exhibit the inventions and design concepts of gerontechnology products, allowing the public to get close to and learn about gerontechnology products and solutions as well as driving the public and different sectors to actively adopt gerontechnology and promote the industrialisation, marketisation and popularisation of gerontechnology.

     The Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) endeavours to promote and support applied R&D activities which can contribute to exploitation of innovative ideas as well as upgrading of technology levels by industries. Through funding schemes under the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF), the ITC subsidises and encourages universities, local public R&D institutes (such as R&D Centres), and private enterprises to conduct R&D in various technology areas (including gerontechnology), and conduct trials on the R&D results in the public sector, including over 70 projects that involve gerontechnology, with a total approved funding of over $250 million. The Research Talent Hub under the ITF also provides funding support for technology companies conducting or planning to conduct R&D activities in Hong Kong to engage research talents to carry out R&D work.

     In addition, the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund funded the establishment of the Gerontechnology Platform in 2021 to promote the development and application of gerontechnology by way of promoting engagement, cross-sector partnership and collaboration. The Platform has provided start-ups and small and medium enterprises with over 1 800 support and consultancy services on the design or development of gerontechnology products to date. It also completed the testing of 10 theme-based gerontechnology products in RCHs in end 2023, including fall prevention, companion robot, health monitoring, transferring and lifting, infection control, anti-wandering, communication, care food, smart environment and cognitive training. With reference to the experience of product testing, the Platform and industry partners have jointly developed the Gerontechnology Product Evaluation Frameworks, covering the essential elements, workflow, reference test plan, etc, of gerontechnology product evaluation, for reference and adoption by the sector. This allows product developers to understand user requirements for different types of gerontechnology products, and improve the products' functionalities based on users' feedback.

(4) The SWD has expanded the service scope of all 214 subvented elderly centres in the territory to the promotion of gerontechnology since October 2023, in order to drive the application of gerontechnology in the community. Elderly centres organise different activities such as seminars and workshops to promote digital technology, so as to keep the elderly abreast of the latest technological developments, and enable them to access and learn to use technology products, such as smart phones, tablets and applications. Elderly centres will also provide support to their members when they encounter difficulties in using digital technology. In addition, Support Teams for the Elderly set up under District Elderly Community Centres identify hidden elderly and other elderly persons with potential service needs through outreaching and networking, and provide suitable assistance to them, including assisting them in using technology products.

     Meanwhile, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer has also launched the ICT Outreach Programme for the Elderly across different districts in the territory, organising various activities for the elderly to experience digital living. Service organisations have incorporated gerontechnology elements into their activities, such as providing cognitive training and functional strengthening activities for the elderly through motion sensing games and gerontechnology products, so that they can experience the benefits of digital technology to daily life.