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WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 1986
+BY DOING SO, NOT ONLY CAN THE EQUAL STATUS GIVEN TO THE AUTHENTIC CHINESE AND ENGLISH VERSIONS BE FIRMLY ESTABLISHED, THE BILINGUAL LAWS PROJECT CAN ALSO BE AFFIRMED BECAUSE GREATER EMPHASIS IS NOT GIVEN TO EITHER LANGUAGE, HE SAID.
FINALLY, DR CHIU SAID IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT SOCIAL JUSTICE WOULD BE UPHELD AND STABILITY AND PROSPERITY MAINTAINED, THERE WAS A PRESSING NEED FOR SPEEDY IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BILINGUAL LAWS PROJECT IN ORDER TO PRODUCE A COMPLETE SET OF LAWS FOR HONG KONG.
HARMONISATION WITH CHINA IN LANGUAGE +UNNECESSARY+
*****
IT IS BOTH UNDESIRABLE AND UNNECESSARY THAT THE LANGUAGE USED IN HONG KONG STATUTES SHOULD HARMONISE WITH THOSE OF CHINA, THE HON LEE YU-TA! SAID TODAY (WEDNESDAY).
SPEAKING DURING THE DEBATE ON THE DISCUSSION PAPER ON LAWS IN CHINESE, MR LEE SAID HE DISAGREED WITH THE RECOMMENDATION IN THE PAPER THAT STEPS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO CONSULT WITH PERSONS AND BODIES IN CHINA TO ENSURE HARMONISATION OF THE LANGUAGE USED IN HONG KONG STATUTES WITH THOSE OF CHINA.
+ THE CHINESE LANGUAGE SPOKEN AND WRITTEN BY THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG IS MUCH RICHER IN CONTENT AND MORE DIVERSIFIED IN USAGE,+ SAID MR LEE, POINTING OUT THAT HONG KONG HAD ALWAYS BEEN OPEN TO THE REST OF THE WORLD AND ITS EXTERNAL CONTACTS HAD BROUGHT IT AHEAD OF CHINA IN MANY RESPECTS.
+ IT IS THEREFORE UNWISE TO FOREGO A RICHER AND MORE DIVERSIFIED MEDIUM OF EXPRESSION IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE HARMONISATION, HE STRESSED,
MR LEE SAID HE BELIEVED THAT THE LAWS IN HONG KONG REPRESENTED ONE OF THE MOST DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS WHICH SHOULD BE PRESERVED.
+AS THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM OF HONG KONG WILL REMAIN SEPARATE FROM THAT OF CHINA, DIFFERENCE MUST BE ALLOWED TO EXIST BETWEEN THE LAWS OF THE TWO PLACES, BOTH IN SPIRIT AND IN SUBSTANCE,+ HE SAID.
ON THE RECOMMENDATION TO SET UP A BILINGUAL LAW ADVISORY COMMITTEE CONSISTING MAINLY OF LEGAL AND LANGUAGE EXPERTS, MR LEE SUGGESTED THAT LAY MEMBERS SHOULD BE INCLUDED TO ENSURE THAT THE CHINESE TEXT WOULD BE UNDERSTOOD BY THE PUBLIC AT LARGE.
/HE ALSO