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Lu Ping's remarks about CFA judges surprising: Governor
The Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, this (Sunday) morning said he was slightly surprised by the reports about Mr Lu Ping's remarks yesterday that there would be no through-train for judges in the Court of Final Appeal.
Responding to media questions before his departure for Korea on an official visit, Mr Patten said he was pleased that Director Lu underlined the importance of the 1991 agreement on the Court of Final Appeal but he was slightly surprised by the reported remarks which seemed to be contradictions to Basic Law Article 93.
"We'll be discussing the Court of Final Appeal in the meeting of the Joint Liaison Group (JLG) which is taking place later this week in London and, obviously, we'd like to have clarifications of that remark," he said.
"People in Hong Kong want to have more certainty and more confidence about the future, particularly in relation to the rule of law. Nobody wants to see that confidence undermined."
Asked whether the Government would seek guarantee that there would be a through-train, the Governor said: "What we will be doing is confirming at the JLG meeting this week that China stands by the agreement that China made in 1991.
"We think that it's extremely important for confidence in the future that there shouldn't be questions raised about Hong Kong's institutions, about Hong Kong's judges, about matters like right of abode and immigration issues."
In response to a question about new idea to better co-operate with the Preliminary Working Committee (PWC), Mr Patten said: "We have set out in detail the sensible ways in which we are prepared to co-operate with PWC members and inform PWC members and that has been happening.
"Beyond that we have, since the last JLG meeting in September, in a large number of ways put forward ideas for co-operation, given China information which China says it wants in order to help prepare the way for the Special Administrative Region Government.
"All that will be made clear at the JLG meeting this week."