Author Archives: hksar gov

     Following is a question by Dr the Hon Tik Chi-yuen and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, in the Legislative Council today (January 19):

Question:

     Last month, the Government indicated that the overall recurrent expenditure for the coming financial year would have to be cut by 1 per cent, taking the current financial year as the basis. It is estimated that the 164 non-governmental organisations receiving lump sum grant subvention (NGOs) will each, on average, be subjected to a cut of subvention by about $1.22 million. Calculated on the basis of the current mid-point salary of Point 26 of an Assistant Social Work Officer, this means that each of these NGOs will need to cut two such posts. The social welfare sector is worried that as the existing resources and manpower of these NGOs have already been in acute shortage, the failure to implement appropriate policies will render the underprivileged groups always unable to receive appropriate services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective actual staffing establishments and numbers of subvented staff members of subvented residential care homes for persons with disabilities, residential care homes for the elderly, care and attention homes for the elderly and day care centres for the elderly, in each of the past three years;

(2) whether it has assessed the respective numbers of headcounts and service recipients that have to be cut by the NGOs due to the cut in funding by the Government; and

(3) whether the Labour and Welfare Bureau has considered deploying the various funds of the Government or social resources to make up for the cut in funding for the NGOs?

Reply:

Acting President,

     Hong Kong’s economy has been battered by the COVID-19 epidemic, and all sectors of the community have been generally affected to varying degrees. Faced with an economic downturn, and given the significant increase in recurrent government expenditure in the areas of education, social welfare and healthcare by around 32 per cent from 2017-18 to 2020-21, the Government must exercise extra prudence in managing public finance. As such, the Financial Secretary proposed in last year’s Budget that the Government would implement an expenditure reduction programme to strengthen fiscal discipline. With an objective to trim the recurrent government expenditure by 1 per cent in 2022-23, the programme is applicable to all policy bureaux and departments. Nonetheless, the Government has decided that the cash assistance provided under the social security system, including those under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme and the Social Security Allowance Scheme, would not be reduced under the programme. Moreover, the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Social Welfare Department (SWD) will give subvented and subsidised service units exemption on certain expenditure items on condition that such exemption will not affect the implementation of the expenditure reduction programme, and the SWD has written to the social welfare organisations earlier to explain the Government’s reasons for implementing the expenditure reduction programme and inform them of the specific exemption arrangements.

     My reply to the Member’s question is as follows:

(1) In 2001, the Government introduced the Lump Sum Grant Subvention System (LSGSS), which has largely replaced the conventional social welfare subvention system that was considered to be inflexible, complex and involving too many administrative procedures. The LSGSS seeks to focus on the effectiveness of service delivery and hence allows non-governmental organisations (NGOs) greater flexibility and efficiency in utilising public funds and providing quality services. It also helps simplify administrative work and enhance the quality of service substantively. Subject to their compliance with the requirements of the Funding and Service Agreement and the relevant statutory staffing requirements, the NGOs may determine their staffing establishment in accordance with their human resources policies, and flexibly deploy resources and employ staff to achieve the service output and effectiveness required. The Government does not have the figures on the staffing establishment of the NGOs.

(2) and (3) The Government is committed to building a caring community and looking after the underprivileged. The recurrent expenditure on social welfare has increased from $65.3 billion in 2017-18 by 62 per cent to $105.7 billion in 2021-22. It makes up the biggest share of public expenditure amongst different policy areas, accounting for about 20 per cent of the overall recurrent public expenditure. After such a sustained period of strong growth, social welfare expenditure should enter a consolidation period with focus on implementing various improvement measures to ensure appropriate use of resources.

     Experience has shown that subvented organisations would adopt different measures to achieve expenditure reduction, including streamlining workflows and reducing various expenses. Facing the heavy blow dealt by the epidemic and the severe challenges posed to our public finance, the Government must strengthen fiscal discipline and introduce expenditure reduction measures with a view to ensuring the sustainability of Hong Kong’s public finance and meeting the long-term development needs of different sectors of the community. The Government hopes that the publicly-funded social welfare organisations will also make optimal use of public resources and formulate expenditure reduction proposals to achieve the objective of the expenditure reduction programme. The Government will not provide additional resources for subvented organisations under the expenditure reduction measures. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Rock Chen and a written reply by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, in the Legislative Council today (January 19):

Question:

     To encourage and support Hong Kong’s young people to go to the Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to work and develop careers, the Government has successively launched the “Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”, the “Funding Scheme for Experiential Programmes at Innovation and Entrepreneurial Bases in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” and the “Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme”. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it knows the details, including the number and percentage, of Hong Kong’s young people who have started up businesses and taken up employment in the various Mainland cities of GBA, with a breakdown by (i) the age group to which they belong, (ii) whether they have started up businesses or taken up employment, (iii) the industry in which they are engaged and (iv) the post they are holding, etc.; if such figures are not available, whether it will compile the statistics on a regular basis;

(2) whether it has established a mechanism to provide support services in respect of housing, laws, employment, healthcare or emergencies to Hong Kong’s young people who have started up businesses and taken up employment in the Mainland cities of GBA; if so, of the number of requests for assistance received last year, with a breakdown by (i) the matter involved and (ii) whether the assistance seekers had joined the aforesaid schemes; if it has not established such a mechanism, of the reasons for that; and

(3) whether it will consider setting up additional Economic and Trade Offices or Liaison Units in other Mainland cities of GBA, or establishing a dedicated department to provide support services to Hong Kong’s young people living on the Mainland; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The objectives of the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) are to further deepen cooperation amongst Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, promote coordinated regional economic development, leverage their complementary advantages to develop an international first-class bay area for living, working and travelling. The development of the Greater Bay Area will not only bring continuous impetus to the development of Hong Kong, but also provide young people of Hong Kong with greater room for development.

     Since the promulgation of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in February 2019, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has maintained close contact with relevant central ministries, the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region to proactively take forward the development of the Greater Bay Area on the basis of “one country, two systems”. Many policy initiatives facilitating Hong Kong residents, especially young people, to work and start new businesses in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area have since been introduced by the Central Government, including measures supporting youth innovation and entrepreneurship, the opening up of positions in the civil service and public institutions for application by Hong Kong and Macao residents, etc. These measures will provide young people of Hong Kong with quality job opportunities and a promising career ladder. The HKSAR Government also introduces various schemes and measures to encourage and support young people of Hong Kong to set their sights on the Greater Bay Area and make the best of the significant opportunities the Greater Bay Area offers them in their personal and career development.

     Upon consulting the Home Affairs Bureau and the Labour and Welfare Bureau, our consolidated reply to Hon Rock Chen’s question is as follows:

(1) To support young people of Hong Kong to work in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area, the Labour Department (LD) launched the Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme in January 2021 to encourage enterprises with businesses in both Hong Kong and the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area to employ university graduates from Hong Kong and deploy them to station and work in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area. The enterprises concerned may make an application to the HKSAR Government under the Scheme and, upon approval, they will be granted a monthly allowance of HK$10,000 for each graduate employed for up to 18 months. To date, LD has received a total of 1 090 preliminary applications for allowance. Breakdowns of the applications by work location, age and occupation of the Scheme participants as well as industry of the enterprises are at Annex.

     To support young entrepreneurs in Hong Kong to start their businesses in Hong Kong and the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area, the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) has launched two funding schemes under the Youth Development Fund (YDF), namely the Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship) and the Funding Scheme for Experiential Programmes at Innovation and Entrepreneurial Bases in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Funding Scheme for Experiential Programmes), providing entrepreneurial support and incubation services to young people of Hong Kong who plan to start their own businesses. The list of funded organisations was announced in February 2021. The Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship supports 16 NGOs to organise youth entrepreneurship projects, providing capital subsidy to about 230 youth start-ups (involving more than 800 Hong Kong young entrepreneurs) and rendering entrepreneurial support and incubation services to about 4 000 young entrepreneurs. Funded NGOs have started rolling out their youth entrepreneurship projects and received positive response thus far. Subject to the latest epidemic situation, the funded NGOs will gradually assist young entrepreneurs in settling in innovative and entrepreneurial bases in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area. Meanwhile, the Funding Scheme for Experiential Programmes supports 15 NGOs to organise short-term experiential projects at innovative and entrepreneurial bases in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area, with a view to deepening Hong Kong young people’s understanding about the entrepreneurial bases in the Mainland, as well as the relevant policies and support measures on innovation and entrepreneurship. This may facilitate young people to consider establishing their businesses in the relevant entrepreneurial bases in future. About 700 young people will benefit from these programmes.

     Besides, HAB also subsidises NGOs through the Funding Scheme for Youth Internship in the Mainland (FSYIM) to organise Mainland internship activities for the young people of Hong Kong, with a view to enabling them to personally experience the actual workplace environment in the Mainland, so as to acquire a deeper understanding of the Mainland employment market, work culture and development opportunities. In particular, being one of the major cooperation initiatives between Hong Kong and Guangdong, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Hong Kong Youth Internship Scheme launched under the FSYIM has covered all the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area since 2019, providing about 1 000 diverse internship placements. Subject to the latest epidemic situation, HAB will continue to enhance and expand the relevant schemes, with a view to enabling young people of Hong Kong to learn about the opportunities in the Greater Bay Area through different ways.

(2) and (3) LD has set up a dedicated website to provide practical information about working and living in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area for Hong Kong graduates participating the Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme. LD has also organised talks to help the participants make good preparation for their employment and living in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area. After the participants’ assumption of duties, LD will proactively follow up and keeps in close contact with relevant authorities of the Guangdong Provincial Government to render the participants appropriate support and assistance. It is understood that many enterprises have offered the participants assistance outside the workplace, including arranging residence for the participants and coaching by experienced staff, to help the participants adapt to the local life. The HKSAR Government is particularly grateful to the Guangdong Provincial Government for providing each participant a monthly living allowance of up to RMB1,000.

     To support young people of Hong Kong who have set up businesses in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area, the Government will establish an Alliance of Hong Kong Youth Innovative and Entrepreneurial Bases in the Greater Bay Area (the Alliance). Sizeable organisations from Guangdong and Hong Kong with proven track record, such as innovative and entrepreneurial bases, universities, NGOs, scientific research institutes, professional bodies, venture funds, etc. will be invited to join and set up a one-stop information, publicity and exchange platform jointly to support young entrepreneurs of Hong Kong in the Greater Bay Area. In addition, members of the Alliance and representatives of Hong Kong young entrepreneurs will meet with the governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong regularly to review the latest position of innovative and entrepreneurial development, listen to the concerns of the stakeholders, deal with problems faced by entrepreneurs, and refine the mechanism in light of the experience gained, with a view to making the Alliance an effective platform for addressing the entrepreneurial-related issues.

     Apart from the abovementioned supportive measures to young people of Hong Kong on their employment and start-ups in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area, the HKSAR Government has been providing different kinds of practical assistance to Hong Kong people and enterprises in the Mainland through the various Mainland Offices including the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong (GDETO). GDETO is located in Guangzhou in the Guangdong Province providing services in five provinces, i.e. Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi and Hainan. GDETO has also established designated Liaison Units (LUs) in Shenzhen, Fuzhou in the Fujian Province and Nanning in the Guangxi Province. GDETO attaches great importance to the development of young people of Hong Kong in the Mainland and provides them with a wide variety of support, such as free legal advisory service and assistance in seeking internship opportunities. Meanwhile, GDETO disseminates practical information through different channels, including talks, the weekly Newsletter on Trade and Business, the WeChat official account of GDETO, the website of GDETO and the thematic website of the Greater Bay Area.

     At present, the majority of the young people of Hong Kong who are working, starting their businesses or studying in the Mainland are staying in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area. The HKSAR Government will continue to provide support and services to these young people through GDETO (including Shenzhen Liaison Unit). read more

     Following is a question by Dr the Hon Johnny Ng and a reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, in the Legislative Council today (January 19):
 
Question:
 
     The Government launched the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) in June 2006 to attract highly skilled or talented persons globally to settle in Hong Kong, so as to enhance the international competitiveness of Hong Kong. In order to attract non-local talents more proactively to enrich Hong Kong’s talent pool, the Chief Executive announced in the 2021 Policy Address that the Government would further increase the annual quota of QMAS to 4 000. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the total number of talents granted approval to come to Hong Kong under QMAS last year, with a tabulated breakdown by (i) the country/place from which they came, and (ii) the industry in which they were engaged/the sector to which they belonged before coming to Hong Kong;
 
(2) whether it has assessed (i) if the talents admitted under QMAS meet the talent needs of various industries, and (ii) their effectiveness in promoting local economic and social development; and
 
(3) whether it will (i) step up the publicity and recruitment work on QMAS, so as to cater for the development needs of Hong Kong’s economy and industries, and (ii) review the implementation of QMAS, so as to complement the National 14th Five-Year Plan and the development strategies of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area?
 
Reply:
 
President,

     Human capital is an important driving force for enhancing Hong Kong’s competitiveness and promoting economic development. Against the backdrop of an ageing population and a declining labour force, Hong Kong needs sufficient quality talents to meet the needs of a knowledge-based economy and its diversified development of industries.

     Having consulted the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Immigration Department (ImmD) and other relevant bureaux and departments, my consolidated reply to the question raised by Dr the Hon Johnny Ng is as follows:

(1) The Hong Kong SAR Government launched the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) in June 2006. As of end 2021, a total of 36 689 applications from close to 100 countries/regions had been received. Among them, 9 131 applicants were allotted with quotas.

     The breakdowns of the applications received under the QMAS by year of application received, and the quotas allotted by year of approval, the industry/sector to which the applicants belonged and the places from which they came are tabulated as follows:
 

Year	Applications Received (note)	Quotas Allotted (note)
2006 (June to December)	587	83
2007	627	239
2008	1 358	564
2009	1 296	593
2010	1 177	329
2011	1 674	286
2012	1 965	298
2013	1 787	332
2014	2 341	373
2015	1 829	208
2016	1 575	273
2017	1 932	411
2018	3 314	555
2019	5 896	874
2020*	3 966	1 709
2021**	5 365	2 004
Total	36 689	9 131

 
Note: The applications with quotas allotted in a year may not correspond with the applications received in the same year.
* In 2020, the annual quota for QMAS was increased from 1 000 to 2 000.
** In 2021, the annual quota for QMAS was increased from 2 000 to 4 000.
 

Industry	Quotas Allotted
Financial and Accounting Services	2 264
Information Technology and Telecommunications	2 188
Architecture, Surveying, Engineering and Construction	704
Academic Research and Education	579
Commerce and Trade	573
Manufacturing Industries	554
Business Support and Human Resources	383
Legal Services	342
Arts and Culture	329
Human Health and Veterinary Services	288
Broadcasting and Entertainment	211
Sports	195
Logistics and Transportation	178
Catering and Tourism	53
Others	290
Total	9 131

 

Country/Region	Quotas Allotted
The mainland of China	8 039
The United States of America	183
Canada	160
Australia	157
The United Kingdom	95
India	71
Singapore	65
Malaysia	63
Taiwan, China	45
New Zealand	44
Others	209
Total	9 131

 
     Talents allotted with quotas need to complete the relevant procedures before they settle in Hong Kong. The COVID-19 epidemic in the past two years has slowed down the pace of talents coming to settle in Hong Kong. The ImmD will continue to maintain contact with the talents allotted with quotas and provide possible facilitation arrangements for their early settlement in Hong Kong.

(2) The QMAS is always an important channel to attract highly skilled or talented persons globally to settle in Hong Kong, thereby enhancing the city’s international competitiveness. With their international and Mainland perspectives, the talents who have settled in Hong Kong under the QMAS help the city fully capitalise on its advantages in closely connecting places around the world and the mainland of China, and strengthen Hong Kong’s status as Asia’s World City.

     The QMAS is not sector-specific. Eligible applications will be short-listed for further assessment by the Advisory Committee on Admission of Quality Migrants and Professionals (the Advisory Committee). The Advisory Committee comprises official members and non-official members from different sectors of the community appointed by the Chief Executive. Through a rigorous selection process, the Advisory Committee allots quotas under the QMAS to highly skilled or talented persons who meet Hong Kong’s development needs. The Advisory Committee will consider the socio-economic needs of Hong Kong, the backgrounds of the candidates (such as academic attainment, professional training/qualification, work experience, international perspective, language proficiency and future development plan in Hong Kong) and other relevant factors, and make recommendations to the Director of Immigration on the best approach to allocate the quotas.

     The Government will continue to review the arrangement and effectiveness of the QMAS to attract more highly skilled or talented persons to develop their careers and settle in Hong Kong with a view to enlarging Hong Kong’s talent pool.

(3) Attracting talents is one of the priority policy areas of the Government. Further to the Government’s initiative to increase the annual quota of the QMAS from 1 000 to 2 000 in 2020, the Chief Executive announced in her Policy Address in October 2021 that the annual quota would be doubled to 4 000 to attract talents from all over the world to work in Hong Kong. Besides, under the QMAS, eligible applicants who meet the professional specifications of the Talent List of Hong Kong will be awarded bonus points under the “General Points Test” of QMAS. Upon the completion of a review on the Talent List in 2021, the Labour and Welfare Bureau added to the list the professions of “financial professionals in compliance in asset management” and “professionals in Environmental, Social and Governance”. The scope of some existing professions has been expanded to cover experts of “medical and healthcare sciences”, “microelectronics”, “integrated circuit design” and “arts technology”, and the requirements on legal and dispute resolution professionals have been refined, with a view to complementing Hong Kong’s future policy direction to develop the key areas of finance, innovation and technology, arts and culture, as well as dispute resolution services.
 
     The HKSAR Government has been actively promoting the QMAS and various talent admission schemes through the network of the Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs) overseas and on the Mainland and Invest Hong Kong’s (InvestHK) offices overseas and on the Mainland to attract talents from around the world to come to Hong Kong. Through different means and channels, such as meetings, online platforms, social media and electronic communications, the ETOs have been actively promoting the various talent admission schemes and introducing the development opportunities in Hong Kong to the key stakeholders in political, business and professional sectors. The ETOs have also hosted or participated in different events to this end. For example, they have promoted Hong Kong’s advantages and encouraged talents to come to Hong Kong in business seminars, and organised talks at universities to introduce to students and graduates the employment opportunities in Hong Kong.
 
     InvestHK has been actively working with relevant bureaux, the ImmD, the ETOs, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, foreign chambers of commerce and human resources consultancies to showcase to global talents the opportunities in Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area by organising different kinds of global promotional events (including webinars) and through social media and other digital promotional platforms. InvestHK has rolled out promotional initiatives, including a thematic website on talent attraction (www.liveworkhongkong.gov.hk), flyers, presentation decks and promotional videos. Arrangements have also been made for the overseas and Mainland talents in Hong Kong to share their stories at different events for reference by those interested in coming to Hong Kong for career development.

     While pursuing its efforts to nurture local talents, the HKSAR Government will continue to adopt an open talent attraction policy and step up publicity and promotion to attract the high-quality talents needed for Hong Kong’s future economic development, with a view to seizing the tremendous opportunities brought about by the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the National 14th Five-Year Plan and the Belt and Road Initiative, and supporting the long-term economic development of Hong Kong. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Luk Chung-hung and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, in the Legislative Council today (January 19):
 
Question:
 
     Some taxi owners have relayed that they have all along been facing the problems of “difficulties in taking out insurance policies and high insurance premiums”. Earlier on, an insurance company which provided insurance services for about 10 000 taxis suddenly issued notices on termination of insurance policies to its taxi insurance policyholders, almost causing 10 000 taxis to cease operation. Subsequently, the Insurance Authority (IA) invoked the powers under the Insurance Ordinance to appoint managers to take full control of the affairs and property of the insurance company concerned. The managers revoked such notices immediately afterwards, and the issue was settled temporarily. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it will conduct a study on the issues of taxi owners taking out insurance, so as to completely resolve the problem of “difficulties in taking out insurance policies and high insurance premiums”;
 
(2) whether the authorities have conducted investigations into whether the insurance company concerned violated the relevant legislation or the guidelines issued by IA; if so, of the details, and how the authorities will hold the company responsible; and
 
(3) whether it will improve the existing notification mechanism for termination of taxi insurance policies by extending the notice period for termination of insurance from seven days currently to one month?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     In consultation with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Insurance Authority (IA), my reply is as follows:
 
(1) As regards taxi insurance, like other motor insurance businesses, insurers underwrite and determine premium level based on commercial principles, taking into account factors such as accident rates, accident severity, past claim records, etc. In recent years, there has been an increase in taxi accident rate, the business environment of the taxi insurance industry has been unsatisfactory and taxi insurance premiums have risen. The Government understands the taxi trade’s concerns about insurance matters and has been maintaining close communication with the taxi and insurance trades in this regard. The Joint Subcommittee on Issues Relating to Insurance Coverage for the Transport Sector (Subcommittee) was set up last year in the last term of Legislative Council (LegCo) to explore and discuss the problems encountered by the taxi sector in procuring insurance and to make recommendations to tackle such problems. At present, the Government is actively following up on the recommendations of the Subcommittee.
 
     The IA notes that currently some insurers have adopted measures to enhance risk differentiation in order to facilitate more accurate underwriting decisions and setting of premium for individual policies. These measures include deducting the excess for policy holders who can provide video footage of the accident at the time of claim application and offering discount on premiums to policy holders who can provide specified information concerning the drivers (including traffic offence records of the drivers) at the time of application.
 
     In addition, with the coordination of the FSTB and IA, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Hong Kong has suspended the levies on motor insurance for a year with effect from October 1, 2021 (equivalent to 3 per cent of the gross premiums of policies), so as to alleviate the financial burden of the public amidst the impact of the epidemic. This measure will directly reduce the cost of motor insurance and benefit various transport sectors, including the taxi trade.
 
     The Government has all along been highly concerned about the problems encountered by the taxi trade when taking out insurance, which are not only related to insurance matters but also to the overall taxi operation and management. The Government is reviewing and will submit a host of measures to improve the development of the taxi industry, which include exploring how to enhance taxi service quality through professional fleet management so as to provide better service to passengers. We also aim to provide passengers with better protection through introducing the taxi-driver-offence points system and increasing penalties for illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward by motor vehicles. The Government will consult the LegCo Panel on Transport on relevant suggestions later.
 
     According to the understanding of the Transport Department (TD), the taxi trade is exploring various measures to reduce traffic accidents, which include requiring rentee taxi drivers to provide Certificate of Previous Conviction to taxi operators, centralising the management through fleet operation and strengthening training to drivers, etc. The taxi trade is also participating in the testing of various anti-collision warning, lane keeping warning and devices that could monitor drivers’ condition and driving behavior. TD will continue to follow up closely with the trade on the testing progress and effectiveness with a view to identifying suitable safety devices to be installed on taxis. TD will also continue to work with the Police to enhance drivers’ awareness of driving safety through various measures including regulation, enforcement, publicity and education, etc.
 
(2) The IA is an independent regulatory body established under the Insurance Ordinance (Cap. 41) (IO). Pursuant to the IO, the IA performs statutory supervisory functions, which include requiring insurers to consistently maintain sufficient solvency for the promotion of stable development of the insurance industry as well as protection of existing and potential policy holders.
 
     Through its supervisory work and the market intelligence collected, the IA discovered that the investment activities and asset allocation of Target Insurance Company Limited might have breached the statutory requirements under the IO, and there were also suspected deficiencies in its corporate governance. The IA thus decided to exercise its power to appoint Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu on January 7, 2022 to take control of the affairs and assets of the company to ensure its normal operation and conduct a detailed assessment of its financial position. The IA will, upon analysis and examination of all the evidence, decide on the way forward, including taking action against any illegal acts or misconduct in accordance with the law.
 
(3) An insurance policy is a commercial contract under which both the policy holder and the insurer are entitled to terminate the policy in accordance with the relevant provisions of the contract. Prevailing third party risk insurance policies for motor vehicles (including taxis) generally require a notice period of seven days for policy termination. This arrangement aims to provide convenience to policy holders who have decided to sell off their vehicles to recover the residual premiums as early as possible. The Government and the IA welcome the views of stakeholders, and will discuss with the insurance industry on how to improve the arrangement.
 
     Thank you, President. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Paul Tse and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (January 19):
 
Question:
 
     The Government announced earlier that the Food Truck Pilot Scheme (Pilot Scheme) would end by the middle of this year due to “the unsatisfactory business development”. There are comments that the Pilot Scheme is “too detached from reality” and has ended up being a “big mistake” inflicting heavy losses on investors, and that whatever can be done should be done to remedy the “big mistake” rather than dropping the Pilot Scheme and washing one’s hands of it. Some members of the public attribute the failure of the Pilot Scheme to the Government’s poor planning. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it can assess how much private capital, effort and time have been spent on the Pilot Scheme from the former Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development encouraging investor participation, the selection panel screening the various applicants for licences (including requiring them to prepare proposals and participate in a cooking contest), the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau deploying manpower and resources for the regulation of food trucks, to finally the policies failing to align with business development and investors successively closing down their businesses to reduce loss, and whether it will learn a lesson from this;
 
(2) as it is learnt that in the past, the Government would cancel the operating licences of on-street cooked food stalls (commonly known as “Dai Pai Dong”) and mahjong parlours only by ceasing to issue new licences and would not revoke a licence until the death of the licensee concerned, whether the Government has assessed beforehand the losses that these food truck investors would suffer as a result of its announcement of the sudden “end of life” of the Pilot Scheme and its failure to provide proper “hospice” service for these food truck investors;
 
(3) as it has been reported that in the face of the Government’s decision to end the Pilot Scheme, the only food truck operator still in business that specialises in hamburgers has no choice but to seek to secure a brick-and-mortar shop, whether the Government will provide the investor concerned or other investors who wish to continue operating food trucks with assistance in securing a brick-and-mortar shop or other appropriate support, so as to reduce the losses they suffer; and
 
(4) as the Chief Executive has earlier announced the introduction of the fifth round of the Anti-epidemic Fund, whether the aforesaid food truck operator is eligible for the relevant subsidy; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Food Truck Pilot Scheme (the Scheme) was launched on February 3, 2017. The Scheme is operated on a pilot basis, with the objective of promoting food trucks as a tourism project and has since been extended twice to February 2022. The Scheme has been running for almost five years. Its operation mode as a tourism project has been fully tested and its development is unable to achieve the policy objective. The Government has decided to end the Scheme, but will extend it for about four months until June 1, 2022, to allow sufficient time for the operators to make corresponding arrangements.
 
     My reply to the question raised by the Hon Paul Tse is as follows:
 
(1) In the 2015 Budget, the Government put forward its plan to study the introduction of food trucks. The Scheme has been positioned as a tourism promotion project and implemented in the form of a pilot scheme. The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) and the Tourism Commission (TC) of CEDB have, within their policy framework, all along been offering a lot of support by refining the Scheme in response to the operational difficulties and challenges faced by food trucks so as to expand the business opportunities and operation flexibility of food trucks. Such work includes:
 
(i) Exploring new operating venues continuously and introducing eight new operating venues in addition to the original eight designated venues;
 
(ii) Relaxing restrictions by offering a more flexible operation schedule so as to facilitate the operators to secure operation locations and trading periods with more business opportunities, including allowing food trucks to operate in different venues at day time and night time, bid for available vacant pitches either by drawing lots or on a first-come-first-served basis, and swap trading periods of the same venue with other operators;
 
(iii) Taking suggestions of the operators to identify new operating venues;
 
(iv) Expanding the mode of operation by allowing food trucks to participate in self-identified events which are open to the public, with publicity packages and appropriate licences. Since the commencement of the Scheme, operators have applied for operation in 109 self-identified events and all applications were approved; and
 
(v) Reducing the operating costs of operators substantially by allowing them to opt whether to operate at individual venues and pay rental fees for operation days only.
 
     In addition, in view of the impact of the riots in 2019 and the epidemic brought to the operation of food trucks, the Government has launched a series of helping measures for food trucks, including waiving all licence fees and first vehicle examination fees for food trucks, providing a one-off subsidy of $80,000 to operators, offering 75 per cent rental concession at government venues, and facilitating rental reduction of 30 per cent and 20 per cent for food truck venues at the two theme parks respectively.
 
     Apart from policy support, the business performance of food trucks, being a commercially operated project, also hinges upon the operating conditions and strategy of the operators. They will be able to generate profits if their business strategy meets the preference and affordability of customers. However, the business development of food trucks being a tourism promotion facility was not satisfactory. Their business was better only in the first year after the implementation of the Scheme in 2017 but deteriorated continuously in the subsequent two years. Three of the 15 food trucks have already withdrawn from the Scheme, and currently among the remaining 12 food trucks, only half maintain relatively regular operation. As for the current 12 operating venues, only three have frequent food truck operation. Since the development of the Scheme cannot achieve the policy objective, we decided to end the Scheme.
 
(2) When the Scheme was launched in early 2017, it was explicitly stated that the Scheme would be operated on a pilot basis. Even though the Government has been providing various support to food truck operation, and refining and extending the Scheme on a number of occasions in the past five years, food trucks are operated on a commercial basis and they are to attract customers by their own characteristics. Since the implementation of the Scheme, most of the 15 food trucks have either withdrawn from the Scheme or suspended their operation, notwithstanding some are still in operation. As TC does not keep the commercial information of the operators’ profit, we are unable to comment on the profit and loss situation of individual operator.
 
(3) It will be food truck operators’ commercial decision whether they will continue running their businesses in other modes of catering businesses after the conclusion of the Scheme. If they so decide, they are required to follow the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department’s existing procedures to apply for an appropriate licence.
 
(4) In response to the latest development of the epidemic situation, the Government announced on January 5, 2022, to tighten social distancing measures with effect from January 7, and on January 14, to further extend the corresponding measures until February 3, so as to contain the latest wave of the epidemic as soon as possible. The Chief Executive announced on January 14 that measures for the fifth round of the Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF) would be rolled out. The measures partly target at premises directly affected by the latest round of the tightening of measures, including premises that have been asked to close or catering business premises where dine-in service at night has been banned, and partly target at trades, though not directly affected by this round of measures, which have not seen any business revival and not recovered since the onset of the epidemic. The operation of food trucks is not directly affected by the latest round of tightened measures, and hence they are not covered under the measures of the fifth round of the AEF. read more