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Nevertheless, while many of our Secretaries and Heads of Departments have working contacts with their Chinese counterparts, we accept that there is scope for these to be broadened and deepened. We were therefore very pleased when the two Foreign Ministers announced last month that there would be informal get togethers, in Hong Kong, between senior Hong Kong civil servants and officials of the Chinese Government. This will enable both sides to get to know each other better, not only in the work context but also at a personal level. Both sides are keen to begin this process, and we have now agreed with the Chinese side on the detailed format of the get-togethers. I hope that it will be possible for the first meeting to take place later this month.
Another way of maintaining morale in the civil service is to ensure that we are well prepared for the transition, in terms of our understanding of China and its systems and by increasing the use of Chinese, including Putonghua. We have therefore embarked on a major programme to provide training on China related issues and to improve our ability to work and communicate in Chinese. Our aim, as Members will know, is to become a biliterate and trilingual civil service. But it is very important that, in our quest to upgrade our standard of Chinese, we do not allow our high standard of English to slip. And we must ensure that our expatriate colleagues are given the opportunity to continue to contribute to Hong Kong's development. We have some way to go before we achieve our goal. But Members' approval last week of $112M for the purchase of computer equipment and the provision of related training will help us considerably.
Corruption
Finally, I would like to say a few words about corruption and the work of the ICAC. Members made various comments about the current and future role of the ICAC, its powers, transparency, accountability and resources. The public has also told us through surveys that they are concerned about the future of the ICAC beyond 1997. I would like to make three points:
(a) The Basic Law provides for the continuation of the ICAC after 1997;
(b) We are determined to continue to fight corruption in Hong Kong both before and after 1997, as successfully as we have done in the past 20 years; and
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