7 -
"After 1997, Hong Kong will continue to be a separate member of the World Trade Organisation, with its own separate rights and obligations vis-a-vis both the US and China," he added.
"It is therefore inconceivable that the US Government would not be maintaining a separate set of trade statistics in respect of Hong Kong after 1997,"
Commenting on the reported discrepancies between the trade statistics of China and the US in respect of China's exports to the US, the spokesman said: "Hong Kong's trade statistics are compiled on the basis of internationally accepted rules of origin for manufactured products. There is, therefore, no possibility of any confusion, as far as the Hong Kong Government is concerned, between goods of Chinese origin and those of Hong Kong origin."
End/Friday, October 20, 1995
Civil Service public housing quota
The Management fully understands the staff side's disappointment over the reduction in the rental element of the public housing quota for junior civil servants, but we believe that the quota for 1995-1996 represents the best possible under the circumstances, a spokesman for the Civil Service Branch (CSB) said today (Friday).
The spokesman was responding to press enquires about the decision of the staff side of the four consultative councils not to attend a meeting with CSB officials to finalise the call circular to be issued next week to invite applications for places in the Civil Service Public Housing Quota 1995-1996.
He stressed that CSB would continue to press the Housing Department arid Housing Authority to increase the rental element of the quota in future back to at least 1,300 units and with an additional element to cover the "shortfall" in 1995-96.
Noting that the overall size of the quota for 1995-96 has been increased for the first time in 10 years, from 1,700 to 1,950 places, the spokesman reiterated that the Government had absolutely no intention of changing this long-standing policy which aimed to improve the welfare of junior staff.