2
After listening to the views of the people present at the meeting, Mr Ji said their views were good. We would do our best to absorb into the Basic Law those views suitable for inclusion. During the drafting of the Basic Law, a draft would first be prepared for comment. It would be redrafted and commented on several times before it was finally promulgated by the National People's Congress. Therefore, we hoped that people would express more opinions and make more suggestions. not only were not afraid that people would speak up, but on the contrary, we hoped people would speak up more and express more opinions. In the interest of HK's future and its prosperity and stability and for the sake of doing the right things for post-1997, people should work in concerted efforts.
We
Mr J1 added that some of the questions raised at present fell in the area of the Basic Law while others were matters to be dealt with by the future HK SAR government. We could not lay down firm plans now. The central government could not resolve problems on behalf of the future SAR government. On the day-to-day running of HK during the transition period, the Sino-British Joint Declaration had clearly stated that Britain would be responsible for the administration of IK in the next 12 years. We absolutely would not interfere. We would faithfully implement the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Mr Ji said the Joint Declaration did not define clearly the political system of the future HK SAR. The formulation of the future political system should be stipulated by the Basic Law, and we had not considered the issue firmly yet. It had not been decided whether the future government structure would be formed according to the existing one, or whether the Legislative and Executive Councils would be preserved. IK would not copy the Chinese system. Its cystem should be considered in line with the principle of the "one country, two systems" and the territory's practical situation. We would listen widely to IK people's views which would form a vital part of the Basic Law. We might discuss this issue first to formulate a draft.
Turning to the issue of expatriate civil servants, Mr Ji sald expatriate officers could continue to work in the post-1997 K on the same employment terms. Their status would remain unchanged and it was hoped that they would be more cooperative and wilte with IK people.
On the subject of students, he said they were the masters of the future HK. The territory's hope was on their shoulders. Their duty was to study hard and contribute to IIK's prosperity and stability. While it was good for them to participate in politics and to express their views on HK and national affairs, emphasis should be placed on studies.
Commenting on the language question, Mr Ji said there were provisions in the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law on this. Chinese and English would be equally important. It would be a good thing to promote Putunghua, which could be carried out by the future IK SAR government.
Lastly, Mr J1 hoped there would be more activities between HK end China. These activities would improve mutual understanding and allow both sides to learn from each other to ensure that IK's prosperity and
stability would be achieved by joint efforts.
END
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