XN000022-1996-07-10 — Page 65

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It is a matter entirely for the personal representatives of the deceased to apply for the appropriate grants of representation or to file lawsuits in case of disputes under the general laws of inheritance. The Probate Registry does not keep statistics of cases by Ordinance, and the court registries classify lawsuits according to their nature, such as personal injuries, bankruptcy, companies winding-up, probate, divorce, admiralty, etc. There is no distinction made of individual women who derive their rights of inheritance to land from the New Territories Land (Exemption) Ordinance. We therefore do not have statistics on the number of women who have successfully inherited land as a result of the enactment of the Ordinance.

Regarding publicity, the provisions of the New Territories Land (Exemption) Ordinance were extensively publicised after their enactment. Publicity leaflets explaining the purpose and key features of the Ordinance were distributed widely through District Offices, Rural Committees and the Housing Department. A special civic education programme which focused particularly on the rights of women under this Ordinance was produced and shown on television. Liaison Officers in the New Territories District Offices also explained the relevant provisions to villagers during their regular visits. The above activities were part of the on-going liaison and public education services provided by Home Affairs Branch and Home Affairs Department. No separate account is therefore kept of the costs or expenditures involved.

End

Standard number of hospital beds

Following is a question by the Hon Szeto Wah and a written reply by the Secretary for Health and Welfare, Mrs Katherine Fok, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question:

With regard to the setting up of public hospitals and their staff establishment, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows of:

(a)

(b)

the standard number of hospital beds and the standard establishment of doctors and nurses, as well as the actual number of hospital beds and the strength of doctors and nurses, in each public hospital at present;

the criteria for determining the network served by each district public hospital, as well as the criteria to be taken into account in deciding whether a public hospital should be set up in a district;