Following is a question by Dr the Hon Tik Chi-yuen and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (January 17):
 
Question:
 
     It has been reported that according to a recent survey conducted by a community group, it is estimated that about one million grass roots in Hong Kong are facing the risk of food insecurity (i.e. lacking the ability or money to buy food, etc.), yet many members of the food trade are cautious about food donation. They would rather dispose of food which has no commercial value but is still fit for consumption than donate the food concerned while bearing the risk of legal liabilities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the amount of food waste disposed of at landfills each day, and whether it has compiled statistics on or made estimations of the amount of such food waste still fit for consumption; if not, whether it has plans to compile such statistics or make such estimation;
 
(2) whether measures are in place to support or encourage food donation by the food trade; if so, of the details (including the amount of funding incurred by such measures); if not, whether it will consider introducing related measures;
 
(3) given that some members of the food trade who have disposed of large quantities of food have relayed that the trade's desire to donate food is dampened by worries about bearing the risk of civil claims from recipients whose health might be affected after consuming the food donated by them, whether the Government has studied the introduction of or amendments to the relevant legislation, so as to exempt the trade from bearing the legal liabilities involving food donation;
 
(4) as there are views pointing out that the related legal liability issue may be resolved through an agreement made between food donors and the charitable organisations concerned, but there are also views pointing out that under the Control of Exemption Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 71), the liability of donors involving personal injury or death will not be excluded by reference to a contract, whether the Government has studied the related legal points of contention; and
 
(5) as it has been reported that a charitable organisation has recently drafted and submitted the Food Donation (Exemption from Civil Liability) Bill to the Government for reference, whether the Government has examined the relevant proposals; if so, of the follow-up actions; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The reply to the question raised by Dr the Hon Tik is set out below. 
 
     In 2022, a daily average of around 3 302 tonnes of food waste was disposed of at landfills. The quantity decreased by 3.9 per cent as compared to 2021 (a daily average of around 3 437 tonnes). Since much of the dumped food disposed of at landfills has already been mixed with other wastes and is no longer edible and hard to be identified, the Government does not have the statistics on the dumped but still edible food disposed of at landfills.
 
     The Government has always attached great importance to promoting the reduction at source and recycling of food waste. In 2013, the former Environment Bureau launched the Food Wise Hong Kong Campaign to promote a "Food Wise, Waste Less" culture, with a focus on reducing the production of food waste at source. We have promoted slogans such as "Buy, buy, buy, all the food expires. Then, bye, bye, bye. It's all thrown away!" as well as the "Food Wise Eateries" Scheme to encourage eateries to bear social responsibilities and reduce food waste at source together with customers by adopting various means. 
 
     Since 2014, the Environmental Protection Department has also provided funding to local non-profit making organisations through the Environment and Conservation Fund to recover food from the commercial sector and redistribute it to the needy in the community, in order to drive joint efforts of stakeholders in cherishing food. As of December 2023, the fund has approved 89 relevant projects, with a total funding amount of about HK$194 million.
 
     To safeguard people's health, donated food must also be food safety compliant. The Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has compiled a set of Food Safety Guidelines for Food Recovery (the Guidelines) to provide clear guidance to assist organisations in ensuring food safety during the implementation of food recovery schemes. The Guidelines cover areas on the principles of the requirements and liabilities to ensure food safety, thereby eliminating concerns from food donors about the potential liabilities as a result of food safety. The Guidelines have been made available on Government websites since 2013 as a reference for the trades, food recovery organisations and non-government organisations on ensuring food safety and related liability issues. Since the issuance of the Guidelines, different organisations have launched various food donation programmes and have succeeded in donating food to people in need, thereby reaffirming the effectiveness of the Guidelines. The Government has no plan to introduce new legislation for this purpose.

     Following is a question by the Hon Kenneth Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, in the Legislative Council today (January 17):

Question:

     It is learnt that in recent years, the number of marine pleasure vessels has increased sharply, and most of the owners of such vessels berth their vessels at typhoon shelters near the urban areas, resulting in an acute shortage of berthing spaces at those typhoon shelters. In addition, some vessel owners have relayed that some vessels which are berthed at fixed locations at typhoon shelters (such as fish drying barges (i.e. vessels used by fishermen to dry seafood), decommissioned engineering vessels and barges, or even damaged yachts (commonly known as "dead vessels") are used to occupy berthing spaces, while the spaces on both sides of these vessels are leased to pleasure vessels for berthing, with some vessel owners being solicited for rewards when berthing their vessels at typhoon shelters. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective numbers of Classes I to IV licensed vessels registered in Hong Kong in the past year; how such figures compare with those in 2021 and 2022;

(2) of the number of vessels berthing at typhoon shelters and sheltered anchorages in Hong Kong in the past year, together with a breakdown by vessel type; how such figures compare with those in 2021 and 2022;

(3) of the details of the Marine Department's efforts to combat illegal activities by vessels berthing at typhoon shelters in the past five years, including (i) the number of inspections conducted, (ii) the number of non-compliant cases, (iii) the types of non-compliant acts, (iv) the number of prosecutions instituted, and (v) the number of convictions;

(4) whether it will continue to step up inspection and law enforcement actions, including studying the introduction of smart technologies for enforcement, so as to ensure the proper use of berthing places at typhoon shelters; and

(5) whether it will consider setting up a dedicated department to coordinate the policy and management of typhoon shelters and sheltered anchorages, including re-planning and rationalising all berthing places at typhoon shelters in Hong Kong, reviewing the "first-come-first-served" mode of operation for berthing spaces at typhoon shelters, as well as studying the feasibility of recovering all berthing spaces at typhoon shelters and then centralising their management by the Government?

Reply: 

President,

     The Government is committed to ensuring that sufficient sheltered spaces are provided within the Hong Kong waters for local vessels (including working vessels and pleasure vessels) to take refuge during typhoons or inclement weather, so as to safeguard the safety of the vessels and their crew members. There are currently 14 typhoon shelters located in different parts of Hong Kong waters, providing 423 hectares of sheltered space for use by vessels. Apart from typhoon shelters, local vessels can also choose to berth at 18 sheltered anchorages. Under normal weather conditions, local vessels may be anchored at any safe and suitable locations within Hong Kong waters according to their daily business and operational needs subject to no obstruction being made to marine traffic.

     The Marine Department (MD) carries out assessments of the territory-wide supply and demand situation of sheltered spaces on a regular basis. In the latest round of the Assessment of Typhoon Shelter Space Requirements 2022-2035, it is estimated that the supply of sheltered space substantially meet the demand of local vessels throughout the period up to 2035. The relevant report has been uploaded onto the website of the MD for public information in January 2023. In general, the MD conducts assessments every five years, and the next round of assessment is expected to commence in 2025.

     After having consulted the MD, replies to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Kenneth Lau are as follows:

(1) The numbers of licensed Classes I to IV vessels in Hong Kong and the year-on-year change in the past three years are shown as follows:
 

(2) The MD does not keep statistics on the daily occupancy of typhoon shelters and sheltered anchorages, but maintains records on the highest occupancy of typhoon shelters during the passage of typhoons to ensure that the demand for sheltered spaces by vessels during inclement weather can be accommodated. In the past three years, the highest occupancy of typhoon shelters during typhoons by classes of vessels are attached at Annex.

(3) In order to ensure safe navigation of vessels, the MD conducts inspections across the waters of Hong Kong from time to time, including those conducted in typhoon shelters. According to records, in the past five years, the MD conducted a total of about 49 000 inspections in various typhoon shelters and initiated 2 038 prosecutions against the irregularities of vessels. The irregularities included vessels suspected of operating without a licence, vessels being let for hire or reward without permission, vessels carrying an amount of people in excess of the number specified by law, inadequate life-saving appliances or fire fighting apparatus on board the vessels, failure to produce insurance policy, breaching of licence conditions, failure to paint the mark of certificate in the most conspicuous positions on both sides of the deckhouse, failure to keep the full licence on board, dwelling vessels entering or remaining in the closed area, absence of an operator holding Local Certificate of Competency on board, pleasure vessels being used for non-pleasure purposes. As at December 31, 2023, convictions were made for a total of 1 843 cases while another 195 cases were in process.

(4) In order to ensure smooth navigation in the passage areas of typhoon shelters and crack down on irregularities by local vessels, the MD not only carries out patrols in typhoon shelters from time to time, but also conducts special operations and fire drills in typhoon shelters with the Police and the Fire Services Department from time to time. To strengthen law enforcement, the MD has reached an agreement with the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Water Supplies Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the electric companies to conduct joint operations at typhoon shelters regularly. During routine inspections or joint operations, if any vessels are suspected of violating the Electricity Ordinance, the Waterworks Ordinance or the Food Business Regulation, the MD will refer such cases to relevant departments for follow-up. In addition, the MD has also purchased drones in recent years to support investigation and law enforcement, and will review whether there are suitable smart technologies solutions on the market for related purposes.

(5) It is the established policy of the Government to provide sheltered spaces in Hong Kong on a territory-wide basis for local vessels to take refuge during inclement weather. The MD is always willing to listen to the views of various sectors of the community, participate in study of matters relating to the management of typhoon shelters and work with the industry to discuss the issues of typhoon shelter management.

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Siu-hung and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (January 17):
 
Question:
 
     On promoting the use of electric vehicles (EVs), will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the latest numbers of private cars and EVs in Hong Kong, and the latest proportion of the number of EVs in the number of private cars in Hong Kong; the respective (i) total numbers of vehicles, (ii) numbers of EVs (and their proportions in the total numbers of vehicles), and (iii) numbers of hybrid vehicles (and their proportions in the total numbers of vehicles) owned by various policy bureaux/government departments in each of the past three years (set out in the table below);
 

 
(2) given that in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on the Estimates of Expenditure 2023-2024, the Government indicated that some government departments were not able to switch to EVs in accordance with the green procurement practice when they procured new government private cars and when government private cars were due to be replaced, and it was mainly because the models of EVs available on the market were unable to meet the actual operational needs of the departments concerned (such as the need to attend to service calls at any time or travel long distances and engage in outside operations for a long time, thereby making it difficult to have enough time to recharge EVs), of the Government's proposals to address the relevant problems, so as to increase the usage of EVs among government departments;
 
(3) as there are views reflecting that the lack of EV charging facilities in the car parks of some civil servant quarters and government properties has hindered the use of EVs by civil servants, whether the Government has reviewed the relevant situation and taken follow-up measures (such as installing additional EV charging facilities); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(4) to encourage more members of the public to switch to EVs, whether the Hong Kong Housing Authority will consider setting up a separate application queue in its public car parks for the monthly parking spaces with EV charging facilities installed to give EV owners priority in applying for such parking spaces?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     In consultation with the Housing Bureau, the Transport Department and the Government Logistics Department (GLD), I would like to reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan as follows:
 
(1) As at end-November 2023, the total numbers of private cars and electric private cars (e-PCs) in Hong Kong were 645 490 and 72 011 respectively, with e-PCs accounting for about 11.2 per cent of all private cars.
 
     According to the statistics of the GLD, the numbers and percentages of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid vehicles in the government fleet under various departments in the past three years are tabulated in Annex.
 
(2) The Environmental Protection Department updated the green procurement practice for government vehicles in July 2021, setting out the use of EVs as the standard when procuring or replacing government private cars with five seats or less, unless circumstances such as operational needs that render the use of EVs infeasible. The Government has been following the green procurement practice in procuring EVs, having regard to the operational needs of the policy bureaux and departments as well as the actual market situation.
 
     Statistics of the GLD showed that 55 (about 63.2 per cent) of the 87 government private cars with five seats or less (including both new and replacement vehicles) procured by the Government in 2023 were EVs. According to the information from the departments concerned, the main reason for not switching to EVs is that current models of e-PCs available on the market are unable to meet the actual operational needs, such as long hours of outdoor operations, thereby making it difficult to have sufficient time for recharging. As quick charging support is required for the daily operation of some government vehicles, relevant government departments have started installing quick chargers progressively for quick top-ups with a view to expediting the transition of their fleets to EVs.
 
(3) The Government updated the Joint Circular on Green Government Buildings in March 2023, stipulating that all parking spaces for private cars, motorcycles and light goods vehicles (whether indoors or outdoors) within the boundaries of newly built government buildings with tender documents issued on or after April 1, 2023 must be fully equipped with medium EV chargers. As for existing government buildings, where technically feasible, efforts would be taken to provide EV charging facilities for all parking spaces for private cars, motorcycles and light goods vehicles. It is also noted that relevant bureaux/departments have planned to install EV chargers in the car parks of their staff quarters. We will provide technical and policy support regarding future installation of EV charging facilities for them to assist in following up on the related matters.
 
(4) The Hong Kong Housing Authority classifies applicants for monthly parking spaces in its car parks into different priority categories according to the prevailing policy, and determines the priority of applicants for parking spaces allocation by ballot based on the type of parking spaces and the category of the applicant. For the sake of fairness, the same mechanism for determining the priority of allocation of monthly parking spaces is applicable to both applicants for EVs space and applicants for non-EVs space. Nevertheless, for the best use of resources, if the applicant's vehicle is an EV and he/she is allocated with a monthly parking space according to his/her priority, he/she is allowed to select a space with EV charger according to his/her priority before other applicants with non-EVs.

     Special traffic arrangements will be implemented in Happy Valley today (January 17). The arrangements will come into effect one and a half hours before the start of the first race and will last until the crowds have dispersed after the race meeting.

A. Traffic arrangements before the commencement of the first race

1. Road closure

     Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Queen's Road East and the up-ramp outside the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) will be closed except for vehicles heading for Aberdeen Tunnel.

2. Traffic diversions

– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Village Road and the up-ramp outside HKJC will be re-routed one way northbound;
– Traffic along eastbound Queen's Road East heading for Wan Chai and Happy Valley will be diverted to turn left to Morrison Hill Road;
– Traffic along southbound Morrison Hill Road heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via Sports Road and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Traffic along Queen's Road East cannot turn right to Wong Nai Chung Road except for vehicles heading for Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Queen's Road East will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Morrison Hill Road to turn right at the junction of Wong Nai Chung Road and Queen's Road East; and
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Happy Valley or Racecourse will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Canal Road East, southbound Morrison Hill Road, Sports Road and Wong Nai Chung Road.

B. Traffic arrangements before the conclusion of race meeting

1. Road closure

     The following roads will be closed from about 35 minutes before the start of the last race:

– The up-ramp on Wong Nai Chung Road outside HKJC leading to Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Queen's Road East and the up-ramp leading to Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Village Road and the Public Stands of HKJC;
– Westbound Leighton Road between Wong Nai Chung Road and Canal Road East; and
– Southbound Morrison Hill Road between Leighton Road and Queen's Road East.

     In addition, southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between the up-ramp leading to Aberdeen Tunnel and the Public Stands of HKJC will be closed from about 10 minutes before the start of the last race.

2. Traffic diversions

     The following traffic diversions will be implemented from about 35 minutes before the start of the last race:

– Eastbound Queen's Road East at its junction with Morrison Hill Road will be reduced to one-lane traffic heading for northbound Canal Road flyover;
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Wan Chai will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Canal Road East, U-turn slip road beneath Canal Road flyover, Canal Road West and Hennessy Road;
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Canal Road East, eastbound Leighton Road and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Traffic along southbound Morrison Hill Road will be diverted to turn left to eastbound Leighton Road;
– Traffic along southbound Morrison Hill Road heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via eastbound Leighton Road and Wong Nai Chung Road; and
– Traffic along westbound Leighton Road will be diverted to Wong Nai Chung Road.

C. Learner drivers prohibition

     Learner drivers will be prohibited to turn left from Caroline Hill Road to Leighton Road between one and a half hours before the start of the first race and one hour after the last race. In addition, learner drivers will be prohibited from accessing the following roads within the above period of time:

– Shan Kwong Road between Yik Yam Street and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Village Road between its upper and lower junctions with Shan Kwong Road;
– Percival Street between Hennessy Road and Leighton Road;
– Canal Road East; and
– The service road leading from Gloucester Road to Canal Road flyover.

D. Suspension of parking spaces

     Parking spaces on southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Sports Road and Blue Pool Road will be suspended from 11am to 7pm during day racing, from 4.30pm to 11.59pm during evening racing, and from 5pm to 11.59pm during night racing.

     Any vehicles found illegally parked within the precincts of the above affected areas will be towed away without prior notice.

     Actual implementation of road closure and traffic diversion will be made by the Police at the time depending on traffic conditions in the areas. Motorists should exercise tolerance and patience, and follow the instructions of Police on site.

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (January 17) that due to big waves, red flags have been hoisted at Silverstrand Beach and Clear Water Bay Second Beach in Sai Kung District. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at these beaches.