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Minutes of the 8th Meeting ofCulture, Leisure & Social Affairs Committee (2018-2019)

Central and Western District Council

Date : 13 June 2019 (Thursday)Time : 2:30 pmVenue : Conference Room

14/F, Harbour Building 38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong

Present:ChairmanMr CHAN Chit-kwai, BBS, JP*

Vice-chairmanMr YEUNG Hoi-wing (2:30 pm – 6:24 pm)

MembersMr CHAN Choi-hi, MH, JP (2:30 pm – 4:57 pm)Mr CHAN Hok-fung, MH, JP (2:30 pm – 6:23 pm)Ms CHENG Lai-king*Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan, JP (2:30 pm – 2:55 pm)Mr HUI Chi-fung (2:30 pm – 3:06 pm)Mr KAM Nai-wai, MH (2:30 pm – 4:58 pm)Mr LEE Chi-hang, Sidney (3:01 pm – 6:23 pm)Miss LO Yee-hang, MH (2:39 pm – 6:25 pm)Ms NG Hoi-yan, Bonnie*Mr NG Siu-hong*Mr YEUNG Hok-ming (2:30 pm – 6:23 pm)Mr YIP Wing-shing, SBS, MH, JP (2:30 pm – 6:02 pm)Mr YOUNG Chit-on, Jeremy (2:30 pm – 6:25 pm)

Co-opted MembersMs CHEUNG Ka-yan (2:30 pm – 6:23 pm)Mr CHOW Kam-fai (2:30 pm – 6:24 pm)Ms CHUNG Siu-king*Mr SHAM Chi-hang, Christopher (2:31 pm – 6:10 pm)Ms WONG Kin-ching*

Remarks: * Members who attended the whole meeting ( ) Time of attendance of Members

GuestItem 4Mr LEUNG Po-wah, Taddy Assistant District Social Welfare Officer

(Central Western, Southern and Islands), Social Welfare Department

Item 5Mr LEUNG Po-wah, Taddy Assistant District Social Welfare Officer


Item 7Ms NG Ka-po, Clarrie

Miss TSE Man-chun, Karen

Mr CHONG Hon-ming

Mr CHIU Chi-chung

Mr WONG Kwok-wai

Chief Entertainment Standards Control Officer (Film Services), Film Services Office, Create Hong Kong

Entertainment Standards Control Officer (Film Services) 3, Film Services Office, Create Hong Kong

Chief Health Inspector (Central/Western) 1, Central/Western District Environmental Hygiene Office, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

Senior Environmental Protection Officer (Regional South) 1, Environmental Protection Department

Senior Liaison Officer (Building Management)2, Central and Western District Office

Item 8Dr CHUNG Hiu-wah, Jennifer Medical and Health Officer (Community

Liaison) 2, Department of Health

Item 9Ms CHAN Suk-fan, Bianca Deputy District Leisure Manager (District

Support) Central and Western, Leisure and Cultural Services Department

Item 10Mr LEE Ka-ming, Vincent

Mr LAI Yau-yu, Edmond

Divisional Commander (Air Passenger) 2, Airport Command, Boundary and Ports Branch, Customs and Excise Department

Chief Health Inspector (Food Surveillance), Centre for Food Safety, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

Item 11Mr LEUNG Po-wah, Taddy Assistant District Social Welfare Officer


Item 12Dr CHUNG Hiu-wah, Jennifer Medical and Health Officer (Community

Liaison) 2, Department of Health

Item 13Ms TAN Mime

Mr YAU Wai-fu, William

Ms YANG Ka-yee

Mr CHOW Kin-keung, Jeff

Ms CHAN Suk-fan, Bianca

Assistant Secretary (Greening and Landscape) 2, Development Bureau

Senior Landscape Architect/Vegetation Maintenance (U&Is), Highways Department

Senior Forestry Officer/Tree Management Group, Architectural Services Department

Property Services Manager/Special Duties 13, Architectural Services Department

Deputy District Leisure Manager (District Support) Central and Western, Leisure and Cultural Services Department

Item 14Miss WONG Wai-yan, Agnes

Mr CHAN Kwok-ying

Executive Officer (District Council) 2, Central and Western District Office

Executive Assistant (District Council) 6, Central and Western District Office

Item 15Mr POON Wai-keung

Mr YUEN Hin-sing

Ms LEE Ching-nga, Angela

Ms CHAU Lai-Har

Discipline Master, KCOBA Primary School No.2

Social Worker, The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong

Chief Executive, Sai Ying Pun Kaifong Welfare Association

Social Work Assistant, Caritas Community Centre - Caine Road

Item 16Ms LAI Yin-kitMs CHOI Man-naMs LI Mee-nar, GunaMs LEE Ship

Ms WONG Wai-chun, Janet

Chairman, Yuet Sing Chinese OperaChairman, Yu Sum Chinese Opera TroupeChairman, Elina Cantonese Opera AssociationExecutive Director, Tin Ma Music and Opera

Association LimitedAdministrative Staff and Actress, Hong Kong

Puppet and Shadow Art Center

Ms NG Po-kuenMs CHENG Suk-man

Mr Takahisa HIROHAMAMr LAM Joshua Boaz, Peter

Chairman, Raines Cantonese Opera TroupeChairman, Cantonese Opera Art Study

AssociationMusic Director, Saturday Night Jazz OrchestraManager, Saturday Night Jazz Orchestra

Item 17Ms Ruby KWAN

Ms LEUNG Wai-ting

Ms CHOW Lai-kuen

Ms IU Yan

Mr YU Sai-tang

Mr CHAN Man-tat

Marketing & Programme Manager, Hong Kong Dance Company Limited

Assistant Manager (Marketing & Programme), Hong Kong Dance Company Limited

Artistic Director, Smart Music and Arts Centre Company Limited

Music Director, Smart Music and Arts Centre Company Limited

Chairman of Executive Committee, Amity Drama Club

Vice Chairman, Association De Musique Asie

In Attendance:Mrs WONG HO Wing-sze, Susanne, JP District Officer (Central and Western)Ms YEUNG Wing-shan, Grace Senior Executive Officer (District Council),

Central and Western District OfficeMr LEUNG Po-wah, Taddy Assistant District Social Welfare Officer


Ms TANG Yuen-yan, Connie Community Relations Officer (Hong Kong West/Islands), Independent Commission Against Corruption

Mr YAN Ming-leong Senior School Development Officer (Central Western and Southern) 4, Education Bureau

Dr CHUNG Hiu-wah, Jennifer Medical and Health Officer (Community Liaison) 2, Department of Health

Mr YU Hiu-fung Neighbourhood Police Co-ordinator, Police Community Relations Office, Central District, Hong Kong Police Force

Ms ZHAO Yee, Emily Manager (Hong Kong West) Marketing, Programme and District Activities, Leisure and Cultural Services Department

Ms CHAN Suk-fan, Bianca Deputy District Leisure Manager (District Support) Central and Western, Leisure and Cultural Services Department

SecretaryMiss TING Ka-wan, Stacy Executive Officer (District Council) 5, Central

and Western District Office

Opening remarks

1. The C hairman welcomed all to the 8th Meeting of the Culture, Leisure & Social Affairs Committee (CLSAC) (2018-2019) under the Central and Western District Council (C&WDC) and greeted Mr LEUNG Po-wah, Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Central Western, Southern and Islands) of the Social Welfare Department (SWD), who was attending the meeting for the first time in replacement of Mr NG Wai-lung as the permanent representative of the SWD. The Chairman also reminded Members to duly declare their interest whenever necessary.

Item 1 – Adoption of the agenda

2. The Chairman allowed Mr YEUNG Hok-ming, Mr CHAN Hok-fung and Ms CHENG Lai-king to make a statement. The Chairman said that according to Orders 26 and 30 of the Central and Western District Council Standing Orders (Standing Orders), any statement and question put to a meeting of the Council must be compatible with the functions of the Council. If a Member wished to make a statement in writing at a meeting, he or she was required to send his or her statement to the Secretary ten clear working days before the meeting. A Member who wished to make an oral statement should inform the Secretary before the meeting, but the oral statement should not take more than five minutes. The Chairman said that there would not be any discussion session for the statements made and reminded Members making oral statements that verbal violence and personal attacks on individuals should be avoided, so as not to blemish the image of the District Council.

3. Mr YEUNG Hok-ming said that his statement was a reprimand of the criminal act of Mr HUI Chi-fung. On the morning of 24 April 2018, Mr HUI Chi-fung forcibly took away a mobile phone, which was a Government property, from a female Executive Officer of the Government inside the Legislative Council Complex. He then rushed into a male toilet for some time and accessed the information stored in the mobile phone without permission before returning the mobile phone. The incident caused the female officer in question to feel very frightened. Being a Member of both the Legislative Council and the C&WDC, Mr HUI Chi-fung had acted violently, despicably and illegally. On 11 June, he was convicted of three offences, namely common assault, obstructing a public officer in the performance of a public duty and obtaining access to computer with a view to dishonest gain, and sentenced to 240 hours’ community service and fined $3,800. The incident had blemished the reputation of the C&WDC and failed public expectations towards a District Council Member. It was also a serious breach of the Code of Conduct for Members of the C&WDC and deserved a reprimand. Mr YEUNG said that he had initiated a joint signature campaign earlier on, yet some colleagues considered that as passing a

judgement before trial. But now the case was tried and the judicial process and judgment had been completed. The Court had also ruled that Mr HUI Chi-fung was guilty. Therefore, Mr YEUNG once again initiated a joint signature campaign to censure the criminal act of Mr HUI Chi-fung and hoped Members would refrain from harbouring criminal acts.

4. Mr CHAN Hok-fung said that his statement was in response to a murder case in Taiwan and about plugging an existing legal loophole to prevent Hong Kong from becoming a haven for criminals. The SAR Government’s decision to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance had aroused social controversy. Just a day before the meeting, roads were occupied which had seriously affected traffic in the Central District. It eventually developed into a serious violent incident of storming the Police defence lines, which had threatened people’s livelihood and the safety of the public. He said they understood that the public had positive and negative views towards the amendment bill, which was a normal thing. They welcomed rational expression of views but condemned violent behaviour. The Government should listen to the public, no matter whether they were supporters or opponents. In fact, Mr CHAN noticed that the Government had initiated important amendments to the amendment bill on two subsequent occasions to accommodate various voices and minimize differences. Unfortunately, serious violent storming still occurred a day before the meeting. To this end, they wanted to condemn violence, particularly the black hand who was planning and inciting this violent storming and hiding behind the scenes. They also condemned the Professional Teachers’ Union for calling on class boycotts, undeniably bringing political disputes into schools and pushing students to the frontline of conflict. This was an irresponsible act which deviated from the duties of teachers. Finally, they extended their deep concerns to the police officers and reporters who had sustained injury during the mob attack while carrying out their duties the day before. He wished them all a speedy recovery. This statement was made by Mr YEUNG Hoi-wing, Mr YIP Wing-shing, Mr CHAN Hok-fung, Mr CHAN Choi-hi, Mr LEE Chi- hang, Mr YEUNG Hok-ming, Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan, Miss LO Yee-hang and Mr YOUNG Chit-on .

5. Ms CHENG Lai-king asked whether the Secretariat would note down the statement made by Members in the minutes of the meeting and whether the related audio recording would be made known to the public.

6. Miss TING Ka-wan , Secretary of the CLSAC under the C&WDC, responded that the audio recordings of all meetings would be uploaded onto the District Council website. The contents of the statements read by Members would also be recorded.

7. The Chairman reminded Members that when they made a statement, the

content of the statement should not tarnish the reputation of the District Council. The content of the statement would be noted down.

8. Ms CHENG Lai-king said that she was making a statement today on behalf of the five District Council Members of the Democratic Party, including Mr KAM Nai-wai, Ms NG Hoi-yan , Mr NG Siu-hong, Mr HUI Chi-fung and Ms CHENG Lai-king. Ms CHENG said that they were very angry and strongly reprimanded the Carrie LAM Government for their negligence of the peaceful demonstration by 1.03 million citizens on 9 June 2019 demanding the Government to withdraw the amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (the Extradition Bill). The Carrie LAM Government turned a deaf ear to the demand. She even inflamed people’s anger by saying that the Bill would continue its second reading at the Legislative Council on 12 June 2019. They reprimanded the Police for conducting high-profile indiscriminate search and checking the items of all young students inside the Admiralty MTR station and its vicinity on 11 June. They believed that the Police’s act was insulting to young students. The day before the meeting, i.e. 12 June 2019, outside the Central Government Offices and the Legislative Council Complex in Admiralty, they saw young students, teachers and social workers demonstrating peacefully with permission to assembly granted. They saw friends from the religious sector singing hymns and asking everyone to stay peacefully. At the scene, Ms CHENG also asked many police officers to ensure a peaceful assembly. At 3 o’clock, the people assembled were suddenly shot and disrupted by the Police, the assembly was further described as a riot later. She pointed out that it was the Chief Executive and the Commissioner of Police who defined the assembly as a riot. They believed that the Police was using strong force to suppress the students and fire at them indiscriminately. The Police shot young students directly, which was no different from murder. Members felt very angry and asked why the June 4th Tiananmen event in 1989 had to stage again in the Central Government Offices in Admiralty, Hong Kong. They questioned the Chief Executive if she had examined her own conscience, who often claimed herself to be a mother of two sons and yet ordered to shoot. They maintained that the Chief Executive should immediately withdraw the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and resign from office to allay public anger. In their opinion, if the Chief Executive continued this way, the whole society of Hong Kong would lose its future because of her. Ms CHENG said that her statement ended here.

9. There was clamouring at the meeting.

10. The Chairman asked Members to remain calm and said that they were breaking the rules of the meeting. The Chairman had the power to demand someone to leave. He hoped that Members could abide by the rules of the meeting and said that there would be opportunities for Members to express their views. The Chairman

said there were quite a number of issues for discussion at the meeting and hoped Members could follow his arrangement.

11. Members had no comments on the agenda. The Chairman announced that the agenda was adopted.

Item 2 – Confirmation of the minutes of the 7th meeting of CLSAC (2018-19)

12. Mr KAM Nai-wai asked whether the information on “compassionate rehousing” requested to be supplied by the SWD as mentioned in the minutes of the last meeting was available for Members’ reference. He said that he had not received the paper and asked whether the relevant information could be provided to him after the meeting.

13. The Chairman stated that the relevant information could be provided to Mr KAM after the meeting.

14. Members had no comments on the draft minutes of the 7th meeting of CLSAC. The minutes of the meeting were confirmed.

Item 3 – Chairman’s report

15. An assessment meeting for the Culture in the District proposals had been held on 5 June. At the meeting, Members met with representatives of various groups in order to conduct assessments, and then deliberated on the proposals to be recommended for approval by the CLSAC. Six projects were recommended to this meeting.

Item 4 – 2019-20 Business Plan and Report on Work Progress in the Central and Western District of Central Western, Southern and Islands District Social Welfare Office of Social Welfare Department(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 27/2019)(2:41 pm to 3:06 pm)

16. Mr LEUNG Po-wah , Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Central Western, Southern and Islands) of the SWD, briefed on the Report on Work Progress in the Central and Western District and 2019-20 Business Plan of the Central Western, Southern and Islands District Social Welfare Office (CW/S/IDSWO) of SWD. He said that the CW/S/IDSWO of SWD had organised various service plans and projects on six strategic indicators last year, including large-scale regional

activities such as the Recognition Ceremony for Carers of Persons with Disabilities cum Expo for Social Enterprises by Subvented Rehabilitation Agencies, District Welfare Planning Forum, Service Quality Group for Residential Care Homes for the Elderly (RCHEs) and Service Quality Group for Residential Care Homes for Persons with Disabilities (RCHDs). In order to actively promote collaboration among stakeholders in different districts, the CW/S/IDSWO continued to organise District Collaboration Projects to subsidize non-government organisations (NGOs) to launch 10 projects in the Central and Western District. A total of 39 NGOs and local organisations had participated. The total number of participants was over 2 000, including 267 volunteers. The CW/S/IDSWO also encouraged active participation by elderly through the Opportunities for the Elderly Projects to promote neighbourhood support networks. Last year, the CW/S/IDSWO had subsidised NGOs to implement 13 new projects in the Central and Western District. The total number of participants was about 3 900, including some 300 volunteers. The Department thanked Members for their support to the CW/S/IDSWO in the past year. The annual report on work progress and related project details were set out in the Annex to the Paper. For the year of 2019-20, the CW/S/IDSWO had set the theme “Inspiration of Love, Care and Integration” and continued to adopt the six strategic indicators to actively liaise with different sectors in the district, including welfare agencies, schools, local groups and commercial organisations. It was hoped that by encouraging cross-district cooperation, community resources could be brought together, created and shared for the co-planning of diversified and appropriate activity programmes, allowing elderly, young people, disabled people, families and groups in the district to join together to promote love and care in the family, mutual help in the neighbourhood and spirit of care and inclusiveness in the community. The CW/S/IDSWO would also continue to implement regular activity programmes like Opportunities for the Elderly Projects and District Collaboration Projects. It would also focus on the implementation of the new schemes, including the “Dementia Community Support Scheme”. The Scheme was a pilot scheme implemented at 20 District Elderly Community Centres (DECCs) from 2017 to 2019. Due to its success, the SWD had joined forces with the Hospital Authority in 2019-20 to expand the Dementia Community Support Scheme to all 41 DECCs in the territory through a medical-social collaboration model to provide cross-sectoral and inter-disciplinary support services to elderly persons with mild or moderate dementia and their carers in the community. In the Central and Western District, the Scheme would be implemented in two DECCs to enhance care service elements at the community level. A care programme would be prepared for the elderly participating in the Scheme, with arranged activities and services to enhance the cognitive and self-care ability of elderly in the light of the needs of the elderly and their carers in different areas. Stress management training for carers would also be provided and carer support groups being organised. The CW/S/IDSWO had also promoted public awareness of dementia at the community level through the

“Dementia Friendly Community Campaign” and encouraged care and support for persons with dementia and their carers. The campaign was launched in September 2018 and would last for three years. The CW/S/IDSWO, together with the DECCs and the Neighbourhood Elderly Centres in the community, organised activities at the district level to actively encourage the public to join “Dementia Friends” information sessions and register as “Dementia Friends”, and take action to care and support persons with dementia and their families with a view to building a dementia friendly community. Besides, the SWD had been conducting a three-year “Support for Carers Project” since October 2018. Many property management companies were invited to join the project. Brief training was provided to property management personnel on understanding the sign and symptoms of the elderly persons with dementia and the needs of their carers, and mastering the information of the community resources for the elderly persons in order to assist them in linking up the community resources timely. Regarding “co-parenting” public education activities, the CW/S/IDSWO would organise a series of support or treatment groups and diversified activities to facilitate the divorced parents to adapt to life after divorce; to have a better understanding of the importance of parental co-responsibilities in raising their children; and promote the message of “joint custody of children”. The CW/S/IDSWO would also collaborate with the related departments, schools and medical sectors in strengthening child protection and prevention of domestic violence. Moreover, new services were introduced, including visiting services for RCHEs and RCHDs. Visiting medical practitioner services were provided to residents in private and self-financing RCHEs and RCHDs for free, these services included on-site medical treatment, regular health assessments and medical examinations for residents, formulation of personal care plans, and training on health care and infection control for staff working in the institutions. In the Central Western, Southern and Islands District, the service was provided by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. In the first quarter of 2019, a four-year Pilot Scheme on Multi-disciplinary Outreaching Support Teams for the Elderly and Pilot Scheme on Professional Outreaching Team for Private Residential Care Homes for Persons with Disabilities were launched. District-based professional teams comprising social workers, registered nurses (psychiatry), clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists were providing outreaching support services for the service users of private RCHEs and RCHDs to meet their social and rehabilitation needs. In the Central Western, Southern and Islands District, the above two Schemes were operated by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and the Christian Family Service Centre respectively. For early identification of and support to pre-primary children and their families with welfare needs, the SWD had launched a three-year “Pilot Scheme on Social Work Service for Pre-primary Institutions” in the 2018/19 school year in phases to provide social work services to pre-primary children and their families in more than 700 aided child care centres and subsidized kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-child care centres in Hong

Kong. In the Central and Western District, a total of 10 pre-primary institutions had participated in Phase 1 of the Pilot Scheme. The Phase 2 service would be implemented later. To further strengthen the support for at-risk and hidden children and youths aged 6 to 24 who had emotional and behavioural problems and with various online misconduct problems, the SWD had subsidised NGOs to set up five Cyber Youth Support Teams (CYSTs) to proactively contact and interact with them through cyber means to provide professional social work intervention, including online and offline counselling and group/programme services. On the Hong Kong Island, the service was operated by St. James’ Settlement and the service was launched in December 2018.

17. The Chairman thanked Mr LEUNG Po-wah for his briefing and invited discussion on the Paper. Questions and views raised by Members were as follows:

(i) The Vice-chairman said that the Government would allocate $20 billion for the procurement of property units for social welfare purposes. The Central and Western District would have 12 units, of which 8 were meant for use by elderly people. He asked whether the existing planning work of the SWD had covered the units concerned. If yes, the Vice-chairman hoped that the Department could consult the District Council as soon as possible.

(ii) Mr CHAN Choi-hi asked the SWD to supplement after the meeting the situation of elderly in the Central and Western District waitlisting for residential care homes, the under-supply of after-school support service in the Central and Western District and the under-supply of various social services (such as for children, family, elderly and ethnic minorities) in the Central and Western District. He also said that there were more ethnic minorities in the Central and Western District, but he could not get a clear idea of the services provided to ethnic minorities in the SWD’s report. He hoped that the SWD could provide the relevant figures to Members. Mr CHAN said that he had participated in the 2019 District Welfare Planning Forum held in January this year. He had also expressed his views on the topics of the Forum. He found that the outcome of the Forum was less than remarkable and considered that future Forums should incorporate more ideas from different aspects and angles.

(iii) Ms CHENG Lai-king said that elderly population in the Central and Western District was the highest among all districts in Hong Kong. For the elderly in the Central and Western District, the young-olds were

willing to do volunteer work, whereas the elderly awaiting residential care home service found it difficult to obtain a place in local elderly homes operated by NGOs. The elderly on the waiting list were not familiar with the operation of the entire system. Regarding the allocation of $20 billion by the Government for the purchase of residential care home units, she would like to know whether the care homes provided under this funding were operated by NGOs. She also expressed that the public had confidence in the homes operated by NGOs. She hoped that representatives of the SWD could inform Members once they knew the location of units to be procured with the fund so that the views of nearby residents could be solicited. Regarding the work plan, she hoped that the SWD could do more dementia friendly work so that the public could know more about the disease.

(iv) The Chairman stated that residential services for persons with disabilities, residential services for elderly and aged home services were inadequate. With increased resources, he asked the Government what new elements would be available in the above three areas and whether the waiting time could be shortened. Besides, the Chairman enquired about the services covered by the CYSTs andthe ways adopted by the Department to guide those at-risk and hidden youths.

18. Mr LEUNG Po-wah , Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Central Western, Southern and Islands) of the SWD, responded as follows:

(i) The Financial Secretary had announced in the 2019-20 Budget that $20 billion would be allocated to procure property units over a span of about three years, mainly for the provision of facilities relating to family and child care services, elderly services, rehabilitation services and youth services. Since RCHEs and RCHDs generally required a larger area and their technical and layout requirements were more stringent, so it was more appropriate to set them up in special premises. Therefore, this funding would not cover the aforesaid residential care services (RCS). In order that the relevant procurement plan could be implemented as soon as possible, the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the SWD were seeking to submit the funding application to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in July 2019. Upon completion of the relevant funding procedures, the SWD would brief District Councils on the specific proposals of welfare facilities in various districts and listen to Members’ comments.

(ii) The SWD understood that there was a strong demand for RCS in the society. The Department would increase the supply of RCS through various means. Apart from developing new contract RCHEs, the SWD would continue to implement the Special Scheme on Privately Owned Sites for Welfare Uses so that more welfare facilities could be provided through in-situ expansion or redevelopment.

(iii) The SWD’s Pilot Scheme on Residential Care Service Voucher for the Elderly provided an extra option for elderly persons in need of RCS by allowing them to receive early RCS through existing non-subsidized places available.

(iv) The SWD encouraged private developers to provide different types of social welfare facilities, including residential care homes, in private development projects. The Department would also purchase an additional 5 000 EA1 places in the territory under the Enhanced Bought Place Scheme in the coming five years to increase the supply of residential care places for elderly and enhance the quality of service provided by private RCHEs.

(v) The CYSTs could reach out to young people through cyber means and support children and young people with various online deviant behaviours. If these young people were willing to meet, the CYSTs would contact and chat with them through offline activities such as group meetings and individual talks. For those young people who preferred only online interactions, social workers would continue to contact them online with the hope to build up a relationship with them for future follow-up. As the service was provided through cyber channels, the five CYSTs had set no geographical service areas. If a young person was willing to meet, the social worker would arrange offline contact with him/her according to his/her place of residence.

(vi) The information on service provision and the waiting list would be provided after the meeting. Information on service arrangements such as RCS and community care services (CCS) for the elderly would also be provided to Members to inform them of the services available in the district.

(vii) The SWD thanked Members for their comments on the District Welfare Planning Forum. The Department would exchange more views on the format of the Forums and listen to the different views of the participants.

19. The Chairman asked the SWD whether they could provide the figure requested by Mr CHAN Choi-hi.

20. Mr LEUNG Po-wah , Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Central Western, Southern and Islands) of the SWD, said that supplementary information on the major services provided to the elderly and children would be provided after the meeting.

21. The Chairman said that there was not much coverage on services for ethnic minorities in the Report.

22. Mr LEUNG Po-wah , Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Central Western, Southern and Islands) of the SWD, said that the SWD would commission NGOs to set up three dedicated outreaching teams to proactively approach and assist ethnic minorities in need to improve their connection with mainstream welfare services. The SWD had formally invited NGOs to submit service proposals. When the service providers and service details were known later, the information would be reported to Members.

23. The Chairman requested the SWD to supplement the information at future meetings.

(Post-meeting note: The SWD would provide the information in writing after the operating agency of the dedicated outreaching teams was announced.)

24. Mr LEUNG Po-wah , Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Central Western, Southern and Islands) of the SWD, agreed to it.

25. The Chairman concluded the discussion.

(Post-meeting note: The SWD had submitted the relevant supplementary information to the Secretariat of CLSAC after the meeting)

Item 5 – Draw up a White Paper on Social Welfare(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 28/2019)(3:06 pm to 3:15 pm)

26. The Chairman invited discussion on the Paper. Questions and views raised by Members were as follows:

(i) Mr CHAN Choi-hi said that three White Papers on Social Welfare had been published before 1997. Some 20 years had lapsed after reunification, our social environment or people’s livelihood had undergone major changes. The reply from the SWD stated that the Government had been providing various services, including the Elderly Services Programme Plan and the Hong Kong Rehabilitation Programme Plan. He asked the SWD whether the Department knew the shortfall in various services in the Central and Western District. He hoped that the SWD could provide the data to Members after the meeting so that Members could have a better picture of the current supply of social welfare services. If such information was not available, Mr CHAN considered it a rather major negligence. Besides, Mr CHAN asked whether the various types of services currently provided by the Government were adequate and whether those services were sufficient to cope with the rapid changing social demands. He was sceptical of the sufficiency of service provision and considered that the level of social welfare services provided this year might not be able to meet the altered demand brought about by social and economic changes several years later. He also said that it was necessary for the Government to conduct 5-to-10-year social welfare planning and study according to population size and social welfare needs. Mr CHAN was also concerned about the service quality of elderly homes. He pointed out that many elderly people were suffering from malnutrition. During his visits to elderly homes, he noticed that the said phenomenon was rather serious. He asked whether the menus of elderly homes would be different before and after the inspection, whether dieticians would be arranged to conduct health check for the elderly, whether the food arrangement of elderly homes was humane and whether the elderly’s dietary condition was satisfactory. In his opinion, it was necessary for the Government to examine the nutritional condition of the elderly and their medical supply in elderly homes.

(ii) The Chairman considered that White Paper was a means to collect public opinions. If the Government could draw up and publish a white paper on a regular basis for discussion and consultation, it would be easier to gather opinions of various parties and conducive to the formulation of the next stage of work. Although the Government was currently revealing their work and service orientation through different channels, such as the Budget and Policy Address, and collecting feedbacks, a White Paper was a more comprehensive, broader and focused report on welfare policies. The Chairman hoped that the Government could

consider the above opinions.


(i) Every year, the Government would regularly conduct consultation and planning on the development and arrangement of welfare services in the coming year through a three-tiered framework, i.e. district, central and various advisory committees. At the district level, the SWD collected views of local residents and stakeholders through the District Welfare Planning and Coordination Committee, the annual District Welfare Planning Forums and the regular meetings of the District Co-ordinating Committees on various services (grouped by service nature). Staff were also sent to attend the relevant committees of District Councils to listen to comments. For central level, it included having meetings with the industry through the Hong Kong Council of Social Service to understand the views of the industry on the service priority arrangements for the coming year. After consolidating the information, the Administration would consult the Social Welfare Advisory Committee and forward the views to different advisory committees responsible for the respective service areas, such as the Elderly Commission, the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee and the Women’s Commission for them to analyse the co-ordinated views and plan on social welfare services, and the substance would be covered in the Policy Address and Policy Agenda published by the Chief Executive.

(ii) Although the planning mechanism was more focused on reviewing the planning development of each year, the implementation of service arrangements or service measures was not limited to one year. Some might even become on-going measures where recurrent funding and resources were often involved.

(iii) Apart from the Licensing Office of Residential Care Homes for the Elderly under the SWD which conducted inspections at RCHEs, the SWD also had the Service Quality Group (SQG) Scheme where members could observe the living condition and the service provision of RCHEs through surprise visits, with advice provided to the RCHEs afterwards. Regarding the SQG’s visits, the RCHEs would not be informed about the relevant date and time in advance. The SWD wished to enhance communication with the RCHEs through these visits and provide advice on their services.

(iv) For service category with a waiting list, according to available information, the number of elderly waitlisting for subsidised places at various kind of residential care homes was about 41 000. The waiting list for other categories of places would be provided to Members later.

28. The Chairman considered that social welfare was an important policy area of the Government. There was also the need to make more in-depth planning for the future. Apart from the three-tiered consultation framework, a better approach was to draw up a White Paper on Social Welfare so that all sectors, including the academic community, could focus on relevant ideas. The Chairman concluded the discussion on this item.

Item 6 – Request to handle the procedural matters relating to application for Community Care Fund Elderly Dental Assistance Programme in a more humane manner (C&W CLSAC Paper No. 29/2019)(3:15 pm to 3:23 pm)

29. The Chairman indicated that the CLSAC had received a written reply from the Food and Health Bureau (FHB), saying that the Community Care Fund Elderly Dental Assistance Programme would accept Chinese or English address proof provided by eligible elderly applicants. The CLSAC had invited their representatives to attend the meeting, but the FHB said that their staff was unable to attend. The Chairman invited Members who submitted the Paper to supplement on the subject.

30. The Vice-chairman said that the leaflet of Elderly Dental Assistance Programme clearly stated that elderly applicants should provide address proof in Chinese, while service organisations also filed applications on behalf of the elderly in line with the requirements of the leaflet. Nonetheless, the majority of elderly only had address proof in English. When the applicants furnished the English address proof, they were still asked to provide a Chinese translation of the address. The Vice-chairman considered that such handling was unreasonable and non-user-friendly, and requested the department to make changes to the above-mentioned process. Though the department had apologized in their written response and clarified that English address proof was acceptable, the change was not yet made to their online leaflet. The Vice-chairman hoped that the Government could rectify the information as soon as possible and promptly notify the relevant service units to spread the correct information.

31. The Chairman said that the Government usually requested the public to

provide a Chinese address for address proof. Now the FHB had rectified the procedure, which was considered acceptable. The Chairman invited discussion on the Paper. Questions and views raised by Members were as follows:

(i) Mr YEUNG Hok-ming said that apart from the problem of address proof, the elderly had encountered many difficulties in using the programme service. To him, the Government’s failure to send staff to attend the meeting and listen to the views of Members was a disrespectful act. He censured the department for that. Mr YEUNG further said that the SWD was the department implementing elderly services and they understood the particular needs of the elderly. Nevertheless, for the appointment service and medical service provided by the Hospital Authority, the elderly was required to fill in forms or even go online to make appointments. Their arrangement was not user-friendly and had caused certain trouble to the elderly. He hoped that government departments could remind themselves of the above situations and think more about the needs of their service clients and make people-oriented arrangements.

(ii) Mr CHAN Hok-fung said that the Community Care Fund Elderly Dental Assistance Programme was very popular among the elderly as it served their need. Although the number of elderly people in the Central and Western District was relatively high, elderly applicants for the Programme in the Central and Western District were relatively low. Mr CHAN suspected that it was due to the high threshold for application. As a result, not many senior citizens could enjoy the service. Besides, the Programme required the elderly to submit their applications through organisations. If an elderly had not participated in any elderly centre activities, he could hardly access such information. Mr CHAN hoped that the Government could broaden the eligibility of the Programme to benefit more elderly people. Besides, he hoped that the participating organisations of the Programme, such as social welfare organisations, could promote more on the Programme and display posters in various places to inform the elderly about the programme-related addresses and application procedures. Mr CHAN also said that his office often received enquiries on the Programme from the elderly. He encouraged participating organisations of the Programme in the Central and Western District to contact Members’ offices more and regularly conduct briefings on the Programme at Members’ offices so that more elderly people could learn about the Programme.

32. The Chairman considered that the funding allocated to the Community Care Fund each year was very high and the Fund was also very important. He agreed that the CLSAC should write to ask the reasons why the department did not send staff to attend the meeting, and invite them to attend future meetings to explain to Members the operation and rules of the Programme and respond to the concerns of the Members. The Chairman concluded the discussion on this item.

Item 7 – Concern over impact of filming work on residents and community(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 30/2019)(3:23 pm to 3:53 pm)

33. Mr KAM Nai-wai asked the consolidated written reply came from which government department.

34. The Chairman said that the reply came from the Film Services Office of Create Hong Kong (CreateHK).

35. Mr KAM Nai-wai said it was stated in the reply that for large-scale filming, the production crews might contact the relevant District Council members, local representatives or affected residents in advance to seek their support and cooperation. Mr KAM asked what was a large-scale filming, who would define the scale of a filming project as large or small, and whether the production crew would stop the filming work if it did not gain the support and collaboration of Members. He continued to say that his office had recently received a letter from a film company giving notice about the shooting of a film entitled “Violence in Rage”. He foresaw that blasting scenes would be involved. However, the letter was not addressed to District Council member. Mr KAM was unsure whether the letter was forwarded to Member via the District Office. The letter only thanked the recipient for their support of the filming work in Hong Kong. It had not sought the consent of the recipient to the filming work, nor had it mentioned whether blasting scenes would be produced. The letter was issued on 10 June and the filming work was carrying out in about 2 weeks’ time (22 June). Mr KAM asked if consultation would be conducted on filming work and requested the Department to explain how such consultation process would be undertaken.

36. Ms NG Ka-po, Chief Entertainment Standards Control Officer (Film Services) of the Film Services Office (FSO) under CreateHK, said that generally speaking, it was not necessary to apply to the Government for filming in public places, but the production crew must comply with the laws of Hong Kong and avoid obstructing public access while filming. If the production crew had plans for location filming at public place such as pedestrian footpath, it would usually serve a shooting notice to

the Police Public Relations Branch in advance and the notice would be forwarded to the relevant police district for reference. The notice was a voluntary one and not a statutory requirement. If car crash and action scenes on the road would be filmed, the production crew must apply to the FSO. The FSO would then forward the application to the relevant departments, including the Transport Department and the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), and notify or consult the local District Council member or Area Committee through the relevant District Office. If comments on or objections to the filming were received, the FSO would discuss the filming plan with the production crew again and coordinate the views expressed by various parties in order to minimize the impact of filming work on the local community. Since filming work entailed a more open and flexible approach and frequent changes, the FSO would generally finish processing the applications within 7 working days. Hence, extensive local consultation would not be conducted, except for large-scale filming. As for the definition of large-scale and small-scale filming work, Ms NG said that the scale of filming would depend on the locations and the number of equipment/vehicles/actors involved. Even for shooting and blasting scenes, there would also be scale of varying degree. Boarding and alighting by the roadside, actors chatting on the pavement and minor traffic accidents were generally considered as smaller scale filming work. The FSO would remind the trade to discuss with the FSO as soon as possible if large-scale filming in public place was planned and allow more time for the FSO to handle the application with relevant departments, including giving notices or making consultations through the District Offices.


(i) Ms NG Hoi-yan said that she had asked the staff of the District Office about a filming production at Caine Lane Garden in December last year to clarify the filming location. However, on the day of filming, the production crew had closed the entire Caine Lane Garden for filming and the use of the Garden by residents was affected. She said that the Department had attached an apology letter from the production crew in its reply and roughly stated that the Garden was used by the production crew for filming and there was road closure. Besides, she asked how the Department would handle scenes such as blasting, frantic car chases, gun shooting and deal with production teams claiming on paper that the filming would not affect public use of government facilities but doing the opposite during actual filming.

(ii) Mr YEUNG Hok-ming said that Members were not obstructing filming work and the development of the film industry. Nevertheless, there were

frequent location filming at the end of Water Street at the early hours during which road closure and extensive laying of wires were seen. Mr YEUNG believed that extensive laying of wires would pose safety hazards. Nearby residents had also complained about the effect of lighting on them. Some residents had reported to the police but the police officers arriving at the scene only recorded the information of the production crew and left. Mr YEUNG also said that he had never received any notice on location filming. He proposed that the Department should consider drawing up guidelines. If the filming work would affect the residents, the production crew should inform the residents in advance to allow residents to make appropriate arrangements. He hoped that the Department would coordinate and facilitate smoother filming work.

(iii) Mr KAM Nai-wai asked if the Government had set any clear guidelines with the trade. If yes, the guidelines should be publicized to let the public know about the requirements to be observed by the production crews. He understood that production crews were not required to make applications for all filming works but they should notify the public in advance. Moreover, he asked in case of large-scale filming work being carried out, whether the Government would send staff to see if the production crew was complying with the relevant requirements and ensure that the filming work would not cause nuisance to residents. Mr KAM also suggested that the FSO should consider setting up consultation channels and public enquiry hotlines.

(iv) Mr CHAN Choi-hi considered it necessary to establish communication channels for filming work. He cited the example on 24 November 2017 when filming was carried out at a noodle shop at the junction of Queen’s Road West and Hill Road. At its peak, some 100 to 200 people had gathered there and caused considerable noise nuisance. However, no department or production crew had consulted or notified the local community beforehand, nor had any hotline been provided. He assumed that even if complaints on the filming work were lodged, government departments did not have a mechanism to deal with them.

(v) Mr CHAN Hok-fung said that he had never received any filming notice nor being consulted on it. He pointed out that there were blasting scenes at a filming production taken at a private place in Sai Ning Street earlier. However, the production crew had not given any advance notice. He was taken aback when he received enquires from the public. He asked

the Department how they processed the filming notice, and whether they would send staff to monitor each filming to ensure that the production crew complied with the relevant requirements. Besides, how the Department would define new media creative productions such as “YouTuber” production.

(vi) Ms WONG Kin-ching pointed out that there were a number of film and television productions in Kennedy Town that affected residents in certain ways. For example, the filming equipment placed on the roadside affected the residents’ access, the filming work in private places at night created loud noises and strong lighting was seen during filming work at night. Ms WONG asked whether it was necessary to apply to the Department for filming on traffic lanes and in private places, and whether scenes of blasting or shooting were considered large-scale filming. She also said that filming was often seen near her home but she had never received any relevant filming notices. Since strong light was used during filming at night, she asked if application for all night shootings were obligatory. She asked how the Department would notify residents and the coverage of such notice.

38. Ms NG Ka-po , Chief Entertainment Standards Control Officer (Film Services) of the Film Services Office under CreateHK, responded as follows:

(i) Regarding the production team’s application for closing off the end section of the road beside Caine Lane Garden for shooting a film but placing the filming equipment inside the Garden without prior application to the relevant department (the Leisure and Cultural Services Department), the film company concerned had submitted a written apology for their negligence. However, they said that residents were not disallowed from entering or leaving the Garden.

(ii) Applications for filming at all government venues were required. The production crew could apply directly to the relevant departments.

(iii) The FSO would remind the trade from time to time about precautions to be taken for filming in public places, including co-ordination with affected persons or Building Management Offices in advance or giving prior notice to them; placing “filming in progress” signs and the contact phone number of the production crew for public enquiries at the filming location; and serving notification to the Police.

(iv) If the production crew had to film on the road, application for road closure must be filed to the FSO in advance.

(v) As for shooting at night, the production crew must comply with the noise standards under the environmental legislation for noise control and minimize the impact of noise and light sources on nearby residents.

(vi) Moreover, since the coverage of the serving notice was subject to the scale of filming and the extent of its impact, the FSO had not set any specific rules for filming notice but would assist the production crew to serve notices as appropriate.

(vii) The “Guide to Filming in Hong Kong” published by the FSO also provided detailed information on the points to note during filming work in public places. The Guide had also been uploaded onto the FSO website.

(viii) Due to the large number of location filming in public places and the manpower constraints, the FSO could only send staff to monitor larger filming work such as those involving road closure, large number of staff or large-scale action scenes to ensure that the filming work would not cause great impact on the public.

(ix) The use of special effects materials for shooting and blasting scenes was subject to statutory control, the production crew must obtain a permit issued by the relevant department in advance. The support services provided by the FSO for location filming did not cover productions made solely for private or personal sharing.

39. The Chairman opined that Members might not be satisfied with the response to the on-site monitoring of filming work.

40. Ms NG Ka-po , Chief Entertainment Standards Control Officer (Film Services) of the Film Services Office under CreateHK, added that although the FSO could not send staff to monitor all filming work in public places, it had deployed staff to monitor large-scale and overseas filming production in the Central and Western District. The FSO understood that location filming would have an impact on the use of public places. It also understood that Members were concerned about the impact of filming work on the public. The FSO would reflect Members’ views to the trade organisations and remind them to act cautiously and comply with relevant requirements while doing location filming, so as to minimize the possible impact on

the public.

(Post-meeting note: The FSO had a hotline (9389 3121) for public enquiries. It had also provided the public with the promotion leaflet on “Support Filming in Your Community” through the Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of various districts.)

41. The Chairman said that Members supported the filming business in Hong Kong. However, it was necessary to strike a balance between keeping tranquillity for residents and sustaining filming work. It was suggested that if the filming work lasted over one day, the FSO should confirm with the production crew on the first day of filming the relevant filming arrangements and the requirements for compliance, so that the production crew could refer to them for the remaining shooting time. Besides, the Chairman opined that consultation on filming work should be carried out properly.

42. Mr CHAN Choi-hi asked the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the Police how they would follow up the complaint case on filming noise on 24 November 2017.

43. Mr CHIU Chi-chung, Senior Environmental Protection Officer (Regional South)1 of the EPD, said that the EPD had received an e-mail which was a noise complaint against a film company using firearms in filming. The e-mail was sent to the EPD and the HKPF. The EPD had went to inspect on-site on the same night but the production crew was not seen using firearms then. The staff of the Department had advised the production crew to take appropriate measures to minimise the impact.

44. The Chairman asked the departments concerned about their way of dealing with consultation on filming application.

45. Mr WONG Kwok-wai, Senior Liaison Officer (Building Management) 2 of the Central and Western District Office, said that in the case of a consultation case forwarded by the FSO, apart from consulting Member of the constituency, the District Office would also consult the views of the Chairman of the Area Committee concerned and the views of the Chairman of the Working Group on Traffic and Transport under the Area Committee in writing, and then forward their comments to the FSO for consideration.

46. The Chairman asked how the residents could have access to the information of the filming work.

47. Mr WONG Kwok-wai, Senior Liaison Officer (Building Management) 2 of

the Central and Western District Office, said that when the comments of the relevant Member and Chairmen were forwarded to the FSO, the District Office would suggest in the correspondence that the FSO or the applicant should consult the local residents if necessary.

48. Ms NG Ka-po , Chief Entertainment Standards Control Officer (Film Services) of the Film Services Office under CreateHK, added that for road closure arrangement, the FSO would request the production crew itself to give notice and provide a contact telephone number in writing to affected persons so that appropriate mutual adjustment could be made. The written notice would be filed at the FSO for verification when necessary.

49. The Chairman concluded the discussion on this item.

Item 8 – Difficult to get a dose of vaccine after major outbreak of measles(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 31/2019)(3:53 pm to 4:05 pm)


(i) The Vice-chairman said that although the peak of measles had now passed, he was still concerned about how the Government could prevent the recurrence of measles peaks in future and whether the measles vaccines were sufficient to cope with potential outbreak.

(ii) Mr CHAN Hok-fung said that many children born in Hong Kong were vaccinated against measles and were basically resistant to measles. After the measles incident at the airport, he questioned why such a major outbreak could occur in Hong Kong. He also asked government department like the Department of Health (DH) if they had a certain stock of vaccines for protection against measles. He considered that the risk of measles outbreak was high for outbound travellers. When the outbreak occurred at the airport, there had been a shortage of vaccines. He asked whether it was because the Government had underestimated the risk of measles outbreak, so no sufficient vaccines were available to tackle with the situation. He asked if the Government would improve the arrangement for vaccinations to avoid the scramble for vaccines or their short supply in the event of an outbreak.

(iii) Ms CHENG Lai-king said that children born in Hong Kong were

vaccinated against measles during the period of 1 to 3 years old. She asked the Government whether there was any way to verify whether a person was duly vaccinated so as to avoid panic during the outbreak of measles. Some members of the public had not received such vaccination, she asked if it was due to the presence of more non-locals in Hong Kong in recent years and hence their babies had not been vaccinated against measles in the Maternal and Child Health Centres.

(iv) Mr SHAM Chi-hang said that there were parallel-imported vaccines in the market earlier on and the public was very worried. He suggested that the Government should further strengthen the regulation on the importation and tracing of vaccination and set up an authentication system to enable members of the public to find out through online channels whether an agency was providing parallel-imported vaccines. At present, public and private hospitals were sharing electronic patient record. Smart chips were also used by the Immigration Department. He asked whether the Government could use chips to store the medical records of the public in future so that they would know what vaccines they were lacking and re-vaccinate accordingly. This measure could give the public peace of mind.

(v) The Chairman pointed out that there was indeed a tight supply of vaccines when the measles cases occurred, and many people were stranded.

51. Dr CHUNG Hiu-wah , Medical and Health Officer (Community Liaison) 2 of the DH, responded as follows:

(i) As at 10 June 2019, the Centre for Health Protection of the DH had recorded a total of 79 cases of measles infection, including 29 cases associated with staff working at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). Apart from the cases at the HKIA, most of the patients in the remaining cases had records of travel during the incubation period. At present, there was no sustained transmission of measles in the community. In fact, due to high volume of travel among local passengers, there had been record of sporadic cases of measles infection in the past. For example, an average of 0 to 5 cases of measles infection per month were recorded in Hong Kong during the period from 2016 to 2018.

(ii) At present, the Government was responsible for the procurement of 8

types of single or combined vaccines for the Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme (HKCIP), including Hepatitis B vaccines, combined Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccines (MMR vaccines) and combined Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Varicella vaccines (MMRV vaccines). The Government was also responsible for the procurement of seasonal influenza vaccines and pneumococcal vaccines for the Government Vaccination Programme and the School Outreach Vaccination Pilot Programme. The Government had signed contracts with the respective vaccine suppliers to ensure that there were sufficient supply of vaccines for use in the aforementioned vaccination programmes.

(iii) In view of the measles infection cases at the HKIA, the DH considered that it was of utmost importance to ensure adequate measles vaccines to be provided to children under the routine HKCIP, staff working in the airport and healthcare workers at the Hospital Authority who had higher priority for vaccination. At the time, the DH had already ordered additional quantities of measles vaccines from the two vaccine suppliers to meet local demands. These additional vaccines had been delivered to Hong Kong.

(iv) As regards the measles vaccine supply in the private healthcare market, since measles vaccine was included in routine vaccination programme, the private healthcare market normally did not have a large quantity of measles vaccines in stock. Noting the upsurge in demand for measles vaccines in the private healthcare market, the DH had maintained close liaison with the vaccine suppliers and requested them to suitably reallocate and increase the supply of measles vaccines to Hong Kong to meet local demands. The DH’s Centre for Health Protection would keep an eye on the situation and take appropriate measures as needed to ensure that there were enough measles vaccines available.

(v) According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if a one-year-old child received one dose of MMR vaccine, his immunisation against measles was 93% effective; and two doses of MMR vaccine were 97% effective. Even after vaccination, the immunisation was not 100%. Therefore, Dr CHUNG reminded the public to keep good habits of personal hygiene and environmental hygiene.

(vi) Dr CHUNG would respond to Members’ comment on vaccination

records when discussing issues related to vaccination records later.

(vii) Regarding Member’s view on tracing the imported vaccines, Dr CHUNG would reflect it to the relevant units for their information and reference.


Item 9 – Concern over vacancy rate of seasonal lifeguards at public swimming pools in the Central and Western District during peak months in 2018 was as high as 71.4%(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 32/2019)(4:05 pm to 4:21 pm)


(i) Ms CHEUNG Ka-yan was concerned that within one week after the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Swimming Pool was re-opened after the annual maintenance, it had to close the main pool due to lack of sufficient lifeguards. The Kennedy Town Swimming Pool also closed the leisure pool when there was shortage of lifeguards. Ms CHEUNG said that it was the onset of the swimming season and asked how the Department would deal with the situation.

(ii) Mr CHAN Hok-fung said that the vacancy rate of lifeguards in the Central and Western District was relatively high. The residents of Kennedy Town often complained that the leisure pool was frequently closed. Mr CHAN found the situation disturbing, saying that the leisure pool was not opened all the time during the summer season and would be closed for annual maintenance in the winter. He asked whether the Department had studied the solution to the above situation. On the other hand, Mr CHAN pointed out that another problem faced by the Central and Western District was that many residential developments in the district had hired quite a number of lifeguards to work at their swimming pools. He asked the Government whether it would consider setting different remuneration package for lifeguards working in different districts in the light of geographical manpower shortages and attracting lifeguards to work in individual districts through salary differences. He also suggested that the Government should consider hiring retired lifeguards with good physical fitness.

(iii) The Vice-chairman said it was a worrying fact that some of the swimming pool facilities of the Kennedy Town Swimming Pool were temporarily closed for 142 days in 2018 due to insufficient lifeguards on duty. In other words, the swimming pool facilities were not fully open throughout the swimming season. He asked whether the situation was a result of the inferior remuneration package offered to lifeguards by the Government compared to that of the private market. He opined that the above situation would not change if the Government did not improve the salary of lifeguards. He said the Government had to study how to attract available lifeguards to join the Government. He also asked the Department about the issue of lifeguard training.

(iv) Mr SHAM Chi-hang said that if the seasonal lifeguard vacancies in the peak season of 2018 were as high as 71.4%, the situation was very serious. He agreed that the remuneration package for lifeguards should be on par with market price and the salary for lifeguards should be increased. He also suggested that the Government should adopt a two-way recruitment approach by allowing members of the public in possession of life-saving medallions to work as lifeguards through placements under the guidance of experienced lifeguards, so as to alleviate the acute manpower shortage. Mr SHAM also said the Government could consider liaising with the fitness training centre at the University of Hong Kong to increase the chances of recruiting lifeguards.

(v) Mr KAM Nai-wai said that the relevant topic was discussed in the Council before. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) had said that additional lifeguards were only required during the summertime. Therefore, seasonal lifeguards were employed. Mr KAM believed that the Government had recruitment difficulty because all parties were employing lifeguards in summer. He said that in the absence of any financial constraints, the Government should immediately improve the remuneration package of lifeguards and consider hiring more full-time lifeguards with good recruitment terms. He said that if the Government did not improve the remuneration package of lifeguards, no matter how many more swimming pools were built, it was still useless. In wintertime, the Government could arrange lifeguards to engage in duties other than lifesaving services or provide training to them.

(vi) Mr CHAN Choi-hi referred to the Department’s statement that they had tried to seek assistance from the Civil Aid Service for the provision of first-aid services. However, Mr CHAN was still concerned about the adequacy of lifeguards. He did not want to see the Kennedy Town Swimming Pool closing down some swimming pool facilities on temporary basis due to insufficient lifeguards on duty. He maintained that the Government should tackle the shortage of lifeguards in a targeted manner. If there was still manpower shortage after salary adjustment, the Department could study the problem from the aspects of grade management, rank promotion and team morale and take other feasible measures, such as recruitment of temporary workers to fill the vacancies of lifeguards.

(vii) Ms CHENG Lai-king said that the two public swimming pools in the district were open all year round. She asked whether the Government could consider hiring full-time lifeguards instead of seasonal lifeguards. She believed it was necessary for the LCSD to make lifeguards feel that their work was promising and stable. Otherwise, lifeguards would only choose to work in the private market, while the Government could not open the public swimming pool facilities for public use. Ms CHENG hoped that the representative present at the meeting could reflect as soon as possible to the senior management of LCSD that the Department had to address the problem of ranking and remuneration package of lifeguards to solve the problem of manpower shortage.

54. Ms CHAN Suk -f an , Deputy District Leisure Manager (District Support) Central and Western of the LCSD, responded as follows:

(i) This year, the LCSD had successfully created two lifeguard posts on civil service terms and two full-year full-time lifeguard posts on non-civil service contract terms in the Central and Western District. It was hoped that this could alleviate the shortage of lifeguards in the district.

(ii) The LCSD had stepped up promotion on the recruitment of lifeguard through various channels and streamlined the recruitment procedures. The Department had also adjusted the pay level, fringe benefits and contract gratuity of lifeguards with reference to market trends. The Department would continue to recruit seasonal lifeguards, re-employ qualified retired civil service lifeguards to serve as seasonal lifeguards and extend the contract period for post-retirement contract service lifeguards. The Department also had a training programme for persons

who had yet obtained lifeguard qualifications to provide them with training, placement and employment opportunities, with a hope to assist them to qualify as seasonal lifeguards.

(iii) The safety of swimmers was of prime concern to the LCSD. The Department would consider the closure of some facilities or other manpower deployment only when there was no other feasible alternative. The Department hoped to open all swimming pool facilities for public use wherever practicable.

(iv) In response to the needs of particular venues, the LCSD was considering seeking voluntary life-saving services from local organisations to alleviate the shortage of lifeguards in the district.

(v) Ms CHAN said that she would note down Members’ views and promptly reflect them to the Department in order to study their feasibility.

55. The Chairman considered that the representative of the LCSD should reflect the views of Members to the Department and report the findings to Members in writing. The Chairman concluded the discussion on this item.

Item 10 – Request the Government to step up monitoring of the inflow of food products containing cannabis into Hong Kong(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 33/2019)(4:21 pm to 4:37 pm)


(i) Mr CHAN Hok-fung was concerned about the issue of inflow of food products containing cannabis into Hong Kong through online shopping which was difficult to regulate. He asked the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) how they monitor cannabis products mailed into Hong Kong and how those products were searched and controlled during customs clearance to ensure that the products contain no cannabis ingredients, and whether C&ED would assign undercover officers to try to purchase cannabis products online.

(ii) Mr SHAM Chi-hang said that the C&ED had an established screening mechanism for various foods and there was intelligence exchange among companies under the mechanism. In the face of the relaxation of

cannabis in Canada, he guessed that the local government would probably not inspect food products containing cannabis. If a more rigorous screening mechanism was not present in Hong Kong, the situation could be very dangerous. Mr SHAM asked whether the Government would have a more stringent screening mechanism so that any industry operator in the know could report the info to prevent such products being sold in stores and upload the related suspicious information to the C&ED homepage for public information.

(iii) The Chairman believed that after the legalisation of cannabis in Canada, young people were more susceptible to cannabis. There had been a case of university student planting marijuana in the student quarters in Hong Kong. This was a serious problem. It was also bad for young people and students. The Government should strictly enforce the law and enhance related education to prevent young people from addiction to drugs.

57. Mr LEE Ka-ming, Divisional Commander (Air Passenger) 2 of Airport Command under the Boundary and Ports Branch of C&ED, responded as follows:

(i) The C&ED always paid attention to dangerous drugs control in various parts of the world and had been conducting spot checks at various control points in accordance with intelligence-led and risk management tactics to intercept the inflow of dangerous drugs into Hong Kong. In addition to strengthening risk management, C&ED would increase the use of sniffer dogs and technology to enhance enforcement.

(ii) The current situation of online shopping for cannabis was not as serious

as mentioned by Members. According to the data from 2016 to April 2019, there were only 4 cases of online shopping for cannabis in 2017, 17 cases in 2018 and only 5 cases from January to April 2019. Although the situation was not too serious, the C&ED recognised the importance of anti-drug publicity to prevent young people giving a try simply because cannabis products were easily available. Cannabis, cannabis buds and food products containing cannabinoid were controlled under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, penalties for the use of these were no different from the use of drugs. The C&ED also hoped to enhance publicity. A press statement was released in November 2018 to inform the public that apart from cannabis itself, any food products and beverages containing cannabis were also subject to the control of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. Letters were also sent to carriers,

including air and maritime transport operators and express courier operators, to remind them to be vigilant of suspected products containing cannabis entering into Hong Kong amongst other goods. If found, they should notify the C&ED immediately for interception action.

(iii) Since cannabis products mainly enter into Hong Kong through postal parcels, the C&ED would generally, upon interception of the parcel, arrest the receiver when he came to pick it up. Therefore, it was not an appropriate way to appoint undercover agents to check cases of dangerous drugs.

(iv) The C&ED had been paying close attention to the situation of online purchase of cannabis products. For food products containing cannabis, the C&ED had also informed the Centre for Food Safety to remind food importers not to import cannabinoid-infused food and beverages. Importation of such food products was a criminal offence.

(v) As regards the uploading of information to the webpage, if the C&ED uploaded a particular food product to the list without concrete proof that it was containing cannabis, it would cause unfairness to the food importer. All along, the C&ED worked on evidence. The C&ED would conduct investigation if there was evidence to show that the importer was importing products containing cannabis. Then based on the evidence and subject to legal advice obtained from the Department of Justice, the C&ED would consider whether it was necessary to initiate prosecutions.

(vi) Mr LEE appreciated the Chairman’s concern about the exposure of young people to cannabis. He believed that genuine cannabis smokers would not make the mistake of shopping the wrong products, but he worried that the public could mistakenly purchase cannabis-infused confectionery, beverages and products in foreign places where cannabis was legalized. He also reminded the public that some countries had legalized cannabis products in the domestic market, but still imposed controls on the export of such products. Hence, if export of cannabis product was discovered by the local government, it also constituted an offence. On top of this, the Hong Kong Government was another interception point for the inflow of dangerous drugs into Hong Kong.

(vii) By the end of 2018, anti-drug publicity of the C&ED had covered the 12 overseas Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices, tourism associations,

major airlines and Hongkong Post to facilitate the work of the Department.

58. Mr LAI Yau-yu, Chief Health Inspector (Food Surveillance) of the Centre for Food Safety under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, said that since food containing cannabinoids was already a dangerous drug, so he had nothing to supplement on the issue.

59. The Chairman said that Members could continue to monitor the issue of inflow of cannabis products into Hong Kong.

60. Mr CHAN Hok-fung said that the C&ED had tried its best to prevent the inflow of cannabis products into Hong Kong. However, products like cannabis-infused confectionery and cannabis products purchased through private online shopping were more difficult to be intercepted and handled. He asked whether the Government would consider liaising with foreign governments, such as in case a manufacturer was found importing cannabis products into Hong Kong through online shopping, the Government would sort out matter through certain control measures; whether the Government would step up inspection on the sale of cannabis products at stores and online shops to monitor the sale of cannabis products; and whether any case of shops selling cannabis products was found.

61. Mr LEE Ka-ming , Divisional Commander (Air Passenger) 2 of Airport Command under the Boundary and Ports Branch of C&ED, said that the C&ED mainly conducted interception operations at the control points. The sale of cannabis products in Hong Kong was under the purview of the HKPF. The HKPF would take action upon receipt of relevant report. The main duty of the C&ED was to ensure that cannabis products could not enter into Hong Kong through the border.

62. Mr YU Hiu-fung, Neighbourhood Police Co-ordinator of the Police Community Relations Office of Central District under the HKPF, responded that the Police was concerned about drug cases and there were internal guidelines for that. They would carry out territory-wide operations to intercept drug inflows into Hong Kong and dismantle drug distribution networks at all levels. Furthermore, the Police would endeavour to prosecute the masterminds of drug trafficking syndicates for acts of conspiracy; actively invoke Section 56A of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Cap. 124) to request the courts to impose heavier penalties when tackling cases involving drug traffickers using juveniles to commit the crime; state the aggravating factors during court trials in order to push for higher penalties for convicted drug offenders; conduct financial investigations targeting syndicated drug offenders to restrain and confiscate proceeds from drug trafficking and to combat related money laundering

crimes. Besides, the Police would strengthen intelligence collection efforts, as well as exchange intelligence with overseas and Mainland law enforcement agencies to undertake joint action and financial investigations in a timely manner. The HKPF would also organise and participate in international seminars on a regular basis to understand the global drug trends, promote international cooperation to combat drug trafficking activities and drug proceeds laundering. In addition, the HKPF maintained close ties with the Narcotics Division, the Government Laboratory, the Education Bureau and other stakeholders for monitoring work and identification of emerging drug trends.

63. The Chairman asked if the HKPF was less likely to go to retail outlets to check products containing cannabis.

64. Mr YU Hiu-fung, Neighbourhood Police Co-ordinator of the Police Community Relations Office of Central District under the HKPF, said that for the cannabis-infused confectionery sold in the market, the HKPF took arrest action mainly through public reporting. It would also send undercover agents to purchase the products or investigate the source of the products after receiving reports to understand how the public could purchase the products and then carry out further actions. So far, the HKPF had not made any arrest of this nature.

65. The Chairman considered that the HKPF should carry out publicity to remind the public to make relevant reports so that the lawbreakers could be brought to justice. The Chairman concluded the discussion on this item.

Item 11 – Oppose the Government abolishing the arrangement of “elderly waitlisting for resident care homes and using Community Care Service Voucher at the same time”(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 34/2019)(4:37 pm to 4:53 pm)

66. The Chairman asked Members who submitted the Paper if they had any additional questions.

67. Mr KAM Nai-wai added that he had family member using the Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly (Community Voucher). He did not understand why the Government had not responded to his question. He cited a report which said that if an elderly who was waitlisting for RCS and using Community Voucher at the same time, he could only choose one of them. However, the reply from the SWD only stated that existing service users were not affected. He asked whether this implied that new users would be affected and whether the SWD had a new policy in

place. Mr KAM also said the reply of the SWD had pointed out that there were now over 40 000 elderly waitlisting for various kinds of subsidised RCS and the average waiting time for Care and Attention places and Nursing Home places were 23 and 27 months respectively. Yet Mr KAM believed that the actual waiting time was longer than that. He asked why the figures provided by the SWD were not consistent with the reality.

68. Mr LEUNG Po-wah , Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Central Western, Southern and Islands) of the SWD, said that the written response was referring to the arrangement of Community Voucher, while the earlier report was about changes to service matching regarding CCS and RCS for elderly when SWD updated the “Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services”. Under the two phases of Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly, if the elderly had to waitlist for RCS, they could continue to use the Community Voucher in parallel.

69. The Chairman asked whether the elderly could continue to use their Community Voucher while waitlisting for RCS. If an elderly waitlisting for RCS was using the Community Voucher, whether his name would be removed from the Central Waiting List; whether the status of his case would change from active to inactive; and whether these meant that the elderly could only choose one between the two.

70. Mr LEUNG Po-wah , Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Central Western, Southern and Islands) of the SWD, said that in case an elderly waitlisting for RCS had a need for support and assistance from CCS during the long waiting period, and he opted for Community Voucher, his application for RCS would become an inactive case. If the elderly expressed a desire to concurrently waitlist for RCS while using the Community Voucher service, he could choose to re-activate his RCS application to become “active case” at any time. Under these circumstances, he could continue to use his Community Voucher and then move into residential care home immediately once a place was allocated. Therefore, the arrangement did not imply that the elderly could not waitlist for RCS once they had used the Community Voucher. Regarding the waitlisting figures, Mr LEUNG said that the figures in the reply referred to the average waiting time for Care and Attention places and Nursing Home places. If an elderly specifically requested to waitlist a particular home or had special religious or dietary request, his waiting time might be longer. The figures provided in the reply were based on the average waiting time required for successful allocation of places at the above two categories of aged home under the waitlisting system in the past three months. It was earlier reported that those waitlisting for RCS could not waitlist for CCS at the same time. The information might stem from the SWD commissioned the Sau Po Centre on Aging of the University of Hong Kong in

2013 to update the local “Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services” in accordance with the latest internationally recognised clinical assessment tools, in order to enhance long-term care service matching and the application of clinical data in care services. The existing assessment mechanism had been in use since 2000 and 19 years had lapsed. The new standardised assessment mechanism could better distinguish the service needs of the elderly in CCS and RCS. It could also make the most suitable care service matching recommendation based on the physical condition of individual elderly, such as a better understanding of the different nursing needs of elderly with cognitive impairment, with the hope that more precise services could be provided to the elderly-in-need. The updated standardised assessment mechanism had no impact on the actual arrangements for the allocation of services for the elderly. Under the new mechanism, if an elderly was recommended for RCS, he could waitlist for the service and use CCS at the same time. In this case, his application for RCS would be changed into an inactive case. In future, if the physical condition of the elderly deteriorated or his family members considered that CCS could no longer meet the needs of the elderly, they could change the waitlisting application for RCS into an active case any time without the need to wait all over again. The SWD also hoped that this measure would encourage elders who were willing to live in the community to remain in the community. This arrangement was in line with the existing mechanism. Under the new mechanism, if an elderly was recommended for CCS and his physical condition deteriorated while waiting for CCS, he could waitlist for RCS after re-assessment without the need to file a fresh application and wait all over again. If the elderly had been successfully allocated and was receiving CCS but his physical condition deteriorated, he could waitlist for RCS after re-assessment. This arrangement was also the same as the existing mechanism.

71. Discussion on the Paper was invited. Questions and views raised by Members were as follows:

(i) Mr KAM Nai-wai said that he did not understand the answer from the representative of the SWD. He said that after announcing a series of new policies, the SWD gave another round of explanations that members of the public and Members could not understand and then said that the arrangement remained unchanged. He considered the practice a failure. He asked that for an elderly using Community Voucher and treated as inactive RCS case, if his original waiting time for RCS should be five years, whether it mean he could check in the residential care home after a place was allocated five years later, or whether that could be done only if the elderly had informed the SWD he wanted to revert his inactive case to an active one. Mr KAM asked the SWD to explain clearly what was active and inactive case under the mechanism, and what changes the

SWD had made after the public protest earlier on.

(ii) Ms CHENG Lai-king said that the SWD would extend the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly to September 2020. She asked whether elderly persons were using the services with physical vouchers and whether the Pilot Scheme would be further extended. She also hoped that the SWD could promote the Scheme to let elderly persons with financial difficulties know how to use the Community Voucher.

(iii) The Vice-chairman asked about the difference between active and inactive case. If an elderly was using the Community Voucher, his case would become an inactive case. As such, what impact it had on his waiting time.


(i) If an elderly was using the Community Voucher, his application for RCS would become an inactive case. However, there was still record of the elderly applicant’s original application. If his physical condition deteriorated or he found that the Community Voucher could not meet his needs, he could re-activate his application for RCS at any time and change it back to an active case without having to waitlist afresh. If the elderly did not prefer prolonged use of CCS once he started using the Community Voucher and would like to waitlist for RCS at the same time, he could also make this choice. Under such circumstances, the case would remain active at all times.

(ii) The Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly

was a pilot scheme which commenced in 2013. The second phase of the Pilot Scheme launched in 2016 was extended to all 18 districts in Hong Kong. A full review on the Pilot Scheme would be conducted to see and plan the future development of the Community Voucher.

73. Mr KAM Nai-wai said that he did not understand the explanation given by the representative of the SWD and did not understand why the SWD announced new policies that involved no changes. He hoped that the SWD could make further explanations in writing. He also hoped to furnish a written request to the SWD for sending their representatives to give supplementary explanations later.

74. The Chairman asked the SWD to provide a written explanation on the policy. He considered that the SWD was misleading in the definition of active and inactive cases. He knew that the Government had no intention to mislead the public, so it was necessary for the SWD to make clarifications after the meeting.

75. Mr LEUNG Po-wah , Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Central Western, Southern and Islands) of the SWD, said that he would supplement relevant information after the meeting.


Item 12 – Request the Government to fully implement electronic vaccination records as soon as possible to enhance the public’s medical records(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 35/2019)(4:53 pm to 5:03 pm)

77. This agenda item was chaired by the Vice-chairman.

78. The Vice-chairman invited discussion on the Paper. Questions and views raised by Members were as follows:

(i) Mr CHAN Hok-fung said that the society was starting to get things done electronically now. People of older age found it hard to locate their vaccination cards. He asked whether the Government could save all existing records in the computers, or even invite the public to submit their vaccination cards to the Government for record saving purpose to avoid presence of fragmentary records, which could help the public recall what vaccination they had missed. He asked whether the information could be stored in the chip when the new smart identity card was replaced so that the public and the medical staff could immediately access the relevant information and the physical condition of the person through the identity card. He continued to ask the Government whether it could do better in respect of vaccination cards, how it could make good the record of those who had no electronic vaccination records in the past, and whether it would consider converting vaccination records to e-records in the long run.

(ii) Mr YEUNG Hok-ming said the Government stated that there were vaccination records for persons born after May 1997. He asked whether the Government could gradually save the records of those born before that year into the computer and whether doctors from private hospitals or

clinics could be asked to save their file records in the DH’s database. Hence, when someone was seeking public medical treatment, the medical staff could check at which clinic or private hospital the patient had taken his vaccination. This could also help the hospitals to grasp the health conditions of the public in the event of a major infectious disease outbreak. Mr YEUNG asked if the Government could issue relevant guidelines to private hospitals or doctors for compliance.

(iii) Apart from the smart ID cards and sharing of medical records, as elderly patients might need to be assisted by their carers, Mr SHAM Chi-hang asked whether the contact particulars of three to four carers of the patient could be added to the electronic database to remind the carers that the elderly had to take vaccination or attend medical appointment a few days later.

79. Dr CHUNG Hiu-wah , Medical and Health Officer (Community Liaison) 2 of the DH, responded as follows:

(i) In order to consolidate and digitalise the clinical records of the DH clients and to tie in with the launch of Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS) of the FHB, clinics of the DH had adopted the Clinical Information Management System (CIMS) in phases since 2014. The DH’s CIMS currently captured electronic records of vaccines administered by the DH, which mainly included (1) vaccines under the Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme administered since 2013; (2) childhood seasonal influenza vaccines administered by the DH under the Government Vaccination Programme since 2013; and (3) childhood seasonal influenza vaccines administered by the DH under the School Outreach Programme since 2018.

(ii) Since 2016, the DH in a stepwise approach, had been uploading CIMS health records within the sharable scope to the FHB’s eHRSS for sharing electronic health records, including immunisation records, among participating public and private healthcare providers who had secured patients’ informed consent. Details of the territory-wide eHRSS were provided in the supplementary information furnished by the FHB. As indicated in the said information, the FHB planned to launch the initial functions of the Patient Portal in the second half of 2020. Patients would be able to access some of their key electronic health records, including vaccination records. They would also be able to self-input some health information/data into the eHRSS, including vaccination records.

However, as Dr CHUNG was the representative from the DH, she could not give response in relation to the system on behalf of the FHB.

(iii) Regarding Member’s suggestion about setting up a reminder for follow-up consultation and injection and the question on whether unrecorded past vaccination data of the public could be included in the electronic records, Dr CHUNG said that the views would be reflected to the FHB and the DH.

80. The Vice-chairman asked whether two-way sharing of electronic records of the public and private sector had been in place since 2016.

81. Dr CHUNG Hiu-wah , Medical and Health Officer (Community Liaison) 2 of the DH, said that CIMS health records within the sharable scope had been gradually uploaded to the eHRSS of the FHB since 2016. The eHRSS was not the same as eHealth. Since both systems were managed by the FHB, Members might have to ask the FHB if they wanted to know the relevant information.

82. The Vice-chairman asked whether the government system would have a record of vaccinations taken by the public in private hospitals.

83. Dr CHUNG Hiu-wah , Medical and Health Officer (Community Liaison) 2 of the DH, said that the eHRSS was under the purview of the FHB, so she was unable to provide a full response. However, according to the understanding of Dr CHUNG, the private sector participating in eHRSS could input records, such as vaccination, through the system to enable healthcare personnel who access the system data to get the relevant information.

84. The Vice-chairman concluded the discussion on this item.

Item 13 – Greening the environment and promoting community building(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 36/2019)(5:03 pm to 5:30 pm)

85. This agenda item was chaired by the Vice-chairman and the Vice-chairman invited the Member concerned to supplement on the discussion Paper

86. The Chairman said that Hong Kong would be affected by a number of typhoons this year. It was therefore necessary to take precautions against typhoons. The public had expressed appreciation and content towards the replanting of trees in individual parks by the LCSD. Nonetheless, the consolidated reply from government

departments indicated that replanting work would be determined pending the findings of the study and review on replanting trees which would only be available in 2020. T he Chairman considered such arrangement pretty slow.

87. The Vice-chairman invited discussion on the Paper. Questions and views raised by Members were as follows:

(i) Mr SHAM Chi-hang said that in the midst of abnormal weather, some trees were facing collapse and some of them were stonewall trees. He asked the Government whether it could take the opportunity to identify suitable places to replant all potentially dangerous trees for their safe growth in order to slow down their risk of collapse. After removing the trees, cleaning and soil replacement should be arranged at the vacated land so that it could be revitalised and planted with other vegetations.

(ii) Mr YOUNG Chit-on pointed out that in the past year, government departments had carried out numerous trees replanting and related slope works. However, the number of trees that had fallen amounted to tens of thousands. The Government had only arranged to replant a thousand trees, about 20% of them were located in the Mid-Levels. He understood that the Government had established standards for defining tree risks, but it was difficult to explain to the public about the concepts and it was difficult for the public to understand the relevant standards. If the suitability to arrange in-situ replanting of trees was considered in accordance with the existing guidelines of the Tree Management Office of the Development Bureau, the public might mistakenly think that the Government was not doing enough in tree replanting.

(iii) Mr NG Siu-hong said that the Government often notified Members only when the health condition of the trees was already relatively poor. It was hoped that the Government could enhance greening and tree maintenance work and appoint professional arborists to inspect trees. He also hoped that the Government could consider enacting legislation on trees so that tree management work and human protection of trees could be done better. Regarding tree replanting, Mr NG opined that that the Government could replant small or medium-sized trees at the collapsed tree site at the junction of Robinson Road and Mosque Junction, and asked why replanting could not be done there. He said that many trees had fallen in the Central and Western Districts and Mid-Levels but no replanting work was arranged. He also referred to the popular use of vertical greening in private housing estates and shopping

malls, which could achieve significant landscaping effects and save space. He hoped that District Council and the Government could choose plants that grew all year round instead of seasonal plants for greening purpose so as to reduce waste and avoid putting pressure on landfills. He also suggested that the Government should plant native tree species to tie in with the Hong Kong environment. Mr NG said that greening of parks elsewhere was different from that of Hong Kong. The use of fences to enclose plants was seldom seen abroad and their grasslands were also open to users, which presented the beauty of nature. Whereas in the parks of Hong Kong, too many fences and enclosures were used to contain the plants. He hoped the Government could refer to the natural and open design adopted overseas.

(iv) Ms CHENG Lai-king pointed out that apart from the havoc of typhoon, if a tree was logged with too much rainwater or infected with disease, it was prone to collapse. She believed the key to healthy and safe growth of trees lied in the choice of tree species and the thickness of the underground soil. She hoped that the Government would select tree species that were suitable for the climate of Hong Kong or even flowering trees when replanting.

(v) Mr CHAN Choi-hi said that Hong Kong was entering the rainy season and typhoon season. He asked the Government what tree protection work had been done in the past few months. He hoped that the representatives concerned could give a more detailed account and explain it in terms of the three categories of tree safety.

(vi) The Chairman stated that in the past five years, many trees in the Mid-Levels had been felled or swept by strong winds, while some trees infected with fungal pathogen were removed, resulting in a shrinking number of trees (including rare trees) in recent years. He considered that the Government should carry out large-scale planning for replanting trees in the Mid-Levels as soon as possible, and examine the feasibility of in-situ replanting.

(vii) The Vice-chairman opined that the Government could consider planting species with high ornamental or therapeutic value during replanting. He also asked whether there were ornamental trees that were suitable for planting in Hong Kong.

(viii) Mr YIP Wing-shing said that many plants in the district were destroyed

during the typhoon. He hoped that the Government could re-examine the species planted during replanting. Many trees on the waterfront had collapsed due to the ambient saline environment. Many plants were not suitable for planting there. He hoped that the Government could pay more attention to that when replanting to ensure the healthy growth of trees.

88. Ms TAN Mime, Assistant Secretary (Greening and Landscape) 2 of the Development Bureau (DEVB), responded as follows:

(i) The Government had completed replanting work in more than 1 000 locations, not just replanting 1 000 trees. As the replanting work was still in progress, there was currently no overall figure for replanted trees.

(ii) As the departments had to first check the stability and safety of the slopes where individual replanting sites were located, therefore the feasibility study of some replanting work would take a longer time. The work was estimated to be completed by 2020. She hoped Members would understand.

(iii) Ms TAN was aware of the views of Members on ornamental trees, criteria for selection of tree species and planting methods. The Government had also been implementing greening work in these directions. For example, the DEVB had prepared the Street Tree Selection Guide. It covered the recommendation of more than 80 less common tree species planted in the past and a variety of native species. It was hoped that through plant diversity, trees would grow healthily and sustainably in the long run and a balance was maintained between ornamental and native species. The DEVB had also compiled a series of guidelines on “proper planting practices” to remind departments to pay attention to the correct planting methods so that the trees could continue to grow healthily.

(iv) The DEVB recommended departments plant perennial plants and seasonal flowers should only be planted under special circumstances to achieve festive or immediate beautification effects, thereby reducing the production of garden waste. Overall, the Government wished to create a sustainable landscape effect.

89. Ms YANG Ka-yee, Senior Forestry Officer/Tree Management Group of the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD), responded as follows:

(i) According to the guidelines of the DEVB, various departments had launched risk assessment work on trees near sites of high pedestrian and traffic flow in 2019. The ArchSD had completed over 90% of the work. The remaining tree trimming and removal work would also be completed next month, i.e. before the end of June.

(ii) The Department was mainly responsible for replanting work on slopes maintained by the ArchSD. There were collapsed trees on those slopes after the last typhoon. When replanting, the Department understood the importance of selecting suitable species and would strictly follow the Technical Guidelines on Landscape Treatment for Slopes of the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) and keep in mind the gradient and condition of the slopes. Due to over-planting of trees in the past, trees had been competing for growth resources. Therefore, for some places where there were still a large number of trees, leaving the site intact, in contrast, would allow more room for the healthy development of existing trees. Therefore, the Government might not replant all slopes. Instead, it would replant shrubs on the slopes where it was necessary to avoid soil erosion and ensure slope safety.

(iii) The ArchSD responded to the concept of biodiversity promoted by the AFCD. The Department would prioritise the planting of native species with quality local seedlings supplied by the AFCD nurseries. The representative of the ArchSD believed that the quality seedlings would grow into healthy shrubs.

(iv) During the daily maintenance of trees, the Department had also found

that some trees were infected with Brown Root Rot disease (BRRD). The arborists of the ArchSD could also tell whether a tree had early signs of BRRD with their long years of training. If such case was found, it would be referred to the DEVB for confirmation. If an ordinary tree (not included in the Old and Valuable Trees Register nor stonewall trees) was confirmed to have BRRD, the DEVB expected the Department to remove the tree within 4 weeks and follow up in accordance with the guidelines. That was, to remove the soil near the affected tree as far as possible, replenish with new soil and replant with non-woody plants, mainly shrubs, to prevent the transmission of BRRD to other trees. The Department might even dig trench on some slope locations upon the advice of geotechnical engineers to isolate the infected site and prevent infection of other nearby trees.

90. Ms CHAN Suk -f an , Deputy District Leisure Manager (District Support) Central and Western of the LCSD, said that the LCSD would plant suitable trees in suitable places in accordance with the guidelines of the DEVB and in consideration of the actual site conditions to ensure healthy growth of trees. If the original site was not suitable for planting, the Department would consider re-planting in other suitable places as far as possible.

91. Mr YAU Wai - fu , Senior Landscape Architect/Vegetation Maintenance (U&Is) of the Highways Department (HyD), said that many slopes in the Central and Western District were managed by the HyD. The Department would deal with dangerous trees in the first place to ensure road safety. The HyD had also removed many trees that had collapsed after the typhoon and would replant them in the cleared space. The locations in the Central and Western Districts where more trees had collapsed were still quite green and those slopes were quite isolated, but some of them would probably be replanted. At present, the Department was still studying the locations of replanting, and replanting was scheduled in springtime of next year.

92. Mr CHAN Choi-hi said that the ArchSD would complete the tree risk assessment in June and asked whether the Department could share information on high-risk trees in the district with the District Council in July.

93. Ms YANG Ka-yee, Senior Forestry Officer/Tree Management Group of the ArchSD, said that the ArchSD always checked the trees at locations with high pedestrian and vehicular flow during the annual tree risk assessment, including tree group inspection. If the trees were at high risk, the Department would conduct more detailed tree risk assessment for the trees concerned and take mitigation measures such as pruning to reduce the risk. For some old trees which needed to be closely monitored (there were about 5 such trees in the Central and Western District), their information had already been uploaded to the Tree Register webpage of the DEVB and it would be regularly updated. Ms YANG said that she could provide the District Council with such information.

(Post-meeting note: The ArchSD had submitted the relevant information to the District Council Secretariat on 14 June)

94. The Vice-chairman hoped that the Government would refer to Members’ opinions during the replanting period and replant the suitable ornamental tree species. He then concluded the discussion on this item.

Item 14 – Funding application - Festive Lantern Decoration in Sun Yat Sen

Memorial Park, Belcher Bay Park and Hollywood Road Park (2019/2020)(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 37/2019)(5:30 pm to 5:33 pm)

95. Miss WONG Wai-yan, Executive Officer (District Council) 2 of the Central and Western District Office, briefed on the Paper.

96. Members had no comments on the Paper.

97. The CLSAC approved the funding application of $700,000.

Item 15 – Funding application – Promotion of Civic Education(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 39/2019)(5:33 pm to 5:42 pm)

98. Annex 1: “Rally Together to Show You Care” applied for a funding amount of $5,750. The application was submitted by KCOBA Primary School No.2. Mr POON Wai-keung, Discipline Master of the School, presented the paper.

99. The Committee endorsed the above application.

100. Annex II: “The 3rd Central and Western District Joint Primary School Volunteer Project” applied for a funding amount of $10,000. The application was submitted by the BGCA Jockey Club Sheung Wan Children and Youth Integrated Services Centre. Mr YUEN Hin-sing, Social Worker of the said organisation, presented the paper.


102. Annex III: “RUN to FIT” applied for a funding amount of $10,000. The application was submitted by the Sai Ying Pun Kaifong Welfare Association. Ms LEE Ching-nga, Chief Executive of the said organisation, presented the paper.

103. The Chairman asked if the co-organiser of the event was Rotary Club.

104. Ms LEE Ching-nga, Chief Executive of the Sai Ying Pun Kaifong Welfare Association, said that the event was jointly organised by the Sai Ying Pun Kaifong Welfare Association and the Rotary Club.


106. Annex IV: “Families Below the Victoria Peak – Improve Community Environment Project” applied for a funding amount of $10,000. The application was submitted by the Caritas Community Centre - Caine Road. Ms CHAU Lai-Har, Social Work Assistant of the said organisation, presented the paper.

107. Mr NG Siu-hong declared that he was the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of Caritas Community Centre - Caine Road.

108. Ms CHUNG Siu-king declared that her husband was the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of Caritas Community Centre - Caine Road.

109. Ms NG Hoi-yan declared that she was a member of the Advisory Committee of Caritas Community Centre - Caine Road.

110. Pursuant to the three-tier arrangement for handling declaration of interests set out in the Standing Orders, the Chairman ruled that the above three Members was at Tier 1, i.e. they associated with the organisation in a nominal capacity, therefore they could still take part in the discussion, decision-making and voting.


112. The Chairman said that an additional round of applications for the remaining funding reserved by the C&WDC for implementation of civic education activities would be opened. Due to time limit of the current term, the second round of applications would be discussed at the next CLSAC meeting or approved by circulation of papers.

Item 16 – Funding application – Applications from local arts organisations(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 40/2019)(5:42 pm to 6:04 pm)

113. The Chairman invited the organisations to brief on their applications and asked Members to note that though the $280,350 reserved by the Finance Committee this year was sufficient to meet the total sum of funding applications for arts and cultural activities from other local organisations, the funding applications for Cantonese opera events exceeded 50% of the total provision. In order to allow residents of the Central and Western District to enjoy more diverse cultural and arts activities, having referred to the amount approved for Cantonese opera events last year, it was proposed to allocate a standard sum of $20,000 to various Cantonese opera applications.

114. As regards Annex VII “Let’s Enjoy Cantonese Opera Excerpts Performance”

submitted by the Tin Ma Music and Opera Association Limited, Mr LEE Chi-hang asked the association to correct a typo on its application form.

115. As regard Annex VIII “Puppet Theatre in Community IV” submitted by the Hong Kong Puppet and Shadow Art Center, Mr LEE Chi-hang hoped that the Center could clearly spell out the ticket distribution method for the event and asked the Secretariat to assist in laying down the ticket allocation method.

116. Miss TING Ka-wan , Secretary of the CLSAC under the C&WDC, said that she could invite the applicant to provide more related information on the form.

117. Ms WONG Wai-chun, Administrative Staff and Actress of the Hong Kong Puppet and Shadow Art Center, said that the project was mainly held in schools or elderly centres. Although the main target audience at elderly centres was the elderly, family members of the elderly were also welcomed to enjoy the programme. Nevertheless, further communication on such arrangement was required with the organisations concerned. For schools, the target audience was school students in the Central and Western District, so the show might not be opened to others.

118. The Chairman reminded the applicants that the projects under application must serve residents of the Central and Western District.

119. As for Annex XI “Big Band Jazz Academy” submitted by the Saturday Night Jazz Orchestra, the Chairman asked whether the event was open to the public, where the event would be held, and the audience capacity of the ultimate venue.

120. Mr LAM Joshua Boaz, Manager of the Saturday Night Jazz Orchestra, said that the event would be open to the public and a workshop would also be held at the General Education Unit inside Pao Siu Loong Building of the University of Hong Kong. The performance might eventually be held at the Hung Hing Ying Building. It was expected that the performance venue of Hung Hing Ying Building could accommodate 100 to 200 persons.

121. The Chairman asked about the organisational nature of the Saturday Night Jazz Orchestra.

122. Mr LAM Joshua Boaz, Manager of the Saturday Night Jazz Orchestra, said that the group was formed by a student band but it was not part of the student union. Besides, the group was supported by the General Education Unit of the University of Hong Kong.

123. The Chairman stated that he was a staff member of the University of Hong Kong but he was not familiar with the group and neither had he seen its performance before. Therefore, there was no need for him to declare interest.

124. Mr LEE Chi-hang said that the CLSAC only considered funding approval. He asked how the University of Hong Kong would handle the venue application, the noise level of the performance and whether the venue was open to all.

125. Mr LAM Joshua Boaz, Manager of the Saturday Night Jazz Orchestra, said that a similar event had been held in February this year. The event would not cause noise problems and would not affect the residents. The event was open to those interested in jazz music.

126. Mrs WONG HO Wing-sze , District Officer (Central and Western), hailed programme genres like jazz music. As the security of the Hung Hing Ying Building was rather tight, if the performance was open to the public, Ms HO reminded the group to ensure that the University would open the venue for public use then. She also said that the Central and Western District Office was willing to provide assistance if the group encountered difficulties in booking venue.

127. The Committee endorsed the above proposal and 11 funding applications. It also approved to allocate a standard sum of $20,000 to each Cantonese opera programme application.

128. The Chairman announced that the Committee had adopted the proposal on funding amount adjustment and also approved 11 funding applications.

Item 17 – Funding application – Culture in the District(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 41/2019)(6:04 pm to 6:22 pm)

129. Application No. 1: “Grand Dance Drama – L’Amour Immortel – Performance cum ‘Guided Backstage Tour’ and ‘Meet-the-Artists Session’” applied for a funding amount of $107,360. The application was submitted by the Hong Kong Dance Company Limited. Ms LEUNG Wai-ting, Assistant Manager (Marketing & Programme) of the said organisation, presented the paper.

130. Application No. 7: “Community Performance for Dance Promotion” applied for a funding amount of $32,000. The application was submitted by the Hong Kong Dance Company Limited. Ms LEUNG Wai-ting, Assistant Manager (Marketing & Programme) of the said organisation, presented the paper.

131. The Committee endorsed the above two applications.

132. Application No. 2: “Guzheng Music Workshops” applied for a funding amount of $11,960. The application was submitted by Smart Music and Arts Centre Company Limited. Ms CHOW Lai-kuen, Artistic Director of the said organisation, presented the paper.

133. Application No. 6: “Community Performance for Promotion of Chinese Music (Guzheng)” applied for a funding amount of $22,540. The application was submitted by Smart Music and Arts Centre Company Limited. Ms CHOW Lai-kuen, Artistic Director of the said organisation, presented the paper.


135. Application No. 3: “Outstanding Chinese Series – Children’s Perception of Outstanding Chinese” applied for a funding amount of $90,740. The application was submitted by the Amity Drama Club. Mr YU Sai-tang, Chairman of the said organisation, presented the paper.

136. Application No. 4: “Busking in Central and Western District” applied for a funding amount of $24,060. The application was submitted by the Association De Musique Asie. Mr CHAN Man-tat, Vice Chairman of the said organisation, presented the paper.


138. The Chairman stated that the Secretariat had received a total of seven quotations related to different themes and genres by the deadline. The “Culture in the District 2018-19” assessment panel meeting had been held on 5 June this year. Members present at the meeting had met with representatives of various groups and assessment on the activity proposals was given. Since only one quotation was received for each theme and genre, so every project could be accepted based on the principle of single quotation. As the funding reserved for the “Culture in the District” activities of this year was sufficient to meet all submitted quotation proposals, the assessment panel recommended seven quotations to the CLSAC. (Nevertheless, the Secretariat had received a notice from the Central & Western District Philharmonic on 12 June this year confirming that the organisation had decided to annul its application due to staffing arrangement problem for the activity. Therefore, only six application forms that had been recommended and verified were submitted at the meeting.) The total value of the six applications was $288,660. After funding all the recommended

and verified proposals, the unspent amount of the funding reserved for “Culture in the District 2019-20” was $253,350. It was now proposed to reallocate the small unspent amount (about $40,000) reserved for local art organisations to the “Culture in the District” programmes and open one more round of “Culture in the District” applications in order to procure cultural and arts events of more diversified nature but not covered this time. Cantonese opera would be excluded this time. The applications would be discussed and rated at the “Culture in the District” assessment meeting for recommendation to the CLSAC. In case of insufficient time, the recommended proposals might be circulated to solicit the views of CLSAC Members and then submitted to the Finance Committee for discussion.

Item 18 – Report on the District Free Entertainment Programmes and Arts and Cultural Activities in the Central and Western District organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 25/2019)(6:22 pm)

139. Members noted the Paper and made no other comments.

Item 19 – Report on the Organisation of Recreation and Sports Programmes in the Central and Western District by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 26/2019)(6:22 pm)

140. Members noted the Paper and made no other comments.

Item 20 – Report of the working group(6:22 pm)

141. Members noted the report of the working group and made no other comments.

Item 21 – Any other business(6:22 pm to 6:25 pm)

142. The Chairman stated that during the meeting, two members of the public had requested to sit at the meeting and read out their statement. Since the content of the statement was related to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, the Chairman deemed it irrelevant to the scope of the CLSAC and therefore could not accept them reading out the statement at the meeting. Besides, according to the Standing Orders, if a Member

wished to make an oral statement at the meeting, he/she must notify the Secretary before the meeting. Therefore, the request was not in line with the usual practice of the CLSAC and the Chairman had no intention to set such a precedent.

143. Mr NG Siu-hong said that the CLSAC was a committee on culture, leisure and social affairs. It could discuss social matters. Mr NG said that many people were intimidated and injured in Central. This was a social issue. He asked why it was not possible to make such a statement while even the Rules of Procedure had not excluded this.

144. The Chairman stated that the incident was not a cultural and leisure issue and the Chairman did not have the power to approve the matter and he did not wish to set a precedent of that.

145. Mr NG Siu-hong said that the Chairman had the power to invite the public to speak on the matter.

146. The Chairman stated that the public present at the meeting attended District Council meetings on a regular basis and should understand the rules of the Standing Orders.

Item 22 – Date of the next meeting(6:25 pm)

147. The Chairman announced that the 9th meeting of CLSAC would be held on 25 July 2019. The paper submission deadline for government departments would be 4 July 2019 and paper submission deadline for Members would be 10 July 2019. The Chairman explained to the public again about his terms of reference and that the usual practice of the meeting had not provided for such statement-making. He then declared the end of the meeting.

148. The meeting was adjourned at 6:25 pm.

The minutes were confirmed on 25 July 2019

Chairman: Mr CHAN Chit-kwai, Stephen, BBS, JP

Secretary: Miss TING Ka-wan, Stacy

Central and Western District Council SecretariatJuly 2019

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