9
DR. LAM (in Cantonese) : Sir,. When the Administration discovers
that the draft Basic Law goes contrary to the Joint
Declaration, apart from
with the Chinese
will such inconsistencies be
be made public to the
authorities,
Hong Kong people as well?
communicating
CHIEF SECRETARY: Sir, as I have explained, if there were to be
provisions which we believe to be inconsistent with the Joint
Declaration, we would make our views known to the Chinese
Government in the most effective way. We do not believe that
that is necessarily so by making those representations public.
MR.
Martin LEE : sir, the consultation on the draft of the
Basic Law appears to be entirely in the hands of the Basic Law
Consultative Committee, according to the
the answers so far given.
So, is it the intention of the Hong Kong Government merely to
play the role of an interested bystander?
CHIEF SECRETARY : Sir, as I think I have explained in three
previous answers, we understand our role very clearly, and that
is to ensure that the draft Basic Law is consistent with the
I do not believe, Sir, that that answer
Joint Declaration.
indicates that
that we are taking the role of a bystander. We take
very seriously our responsibilities in this regard.