CONFIDENTIAL
wished at those of their meetings we attended. At the
same time we had to avoid trespassing, in any way, on
the proper preserves of the Commissioner and his staff.
We are grateful for the cooperative way in which they
gave us access to every aspect of their work, and to all
the material contributing to the Assessment Office report.
8.
We took care to ensure that our 'witness' function
should not be misunderstood.
As our terms of reference
made clear, it was not for us either to "receive expressions
of public views" or to attempt in our report "to assess
public opinion" on the draft agreement. We were convinced,
however, that our attendance, as witnesses or observers,
at selected parts of the consultation process would enhance
the credibility of our role, particularly in the eyes
of Hong Kong; and that it would also help us to monitor
more effectively the work of the Assessment Office.
9.
way: -
We discharged our audit functions in the following
(a) As a first step we examined the organisation
of the Assessment Office and the instructions
to its staff, which we noted had been tested