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Mr Howard Young: Secretary, I am interested to know to what extent the United Kingdom Government will advise the Hong Kong Government, encouraged the Hong Kong Government, in respect to co-operation with the Preparatory Committee which is about to be set up. Now looking back about two years ago when the Preparatory Working Committee was set up, it appears to us in Hong Kong that it started off firstly with a stand of non-recognition, non-co-operation and non-meeting, and then at the behest of many in the community it developed into actual contact and briefings but short of full co-operation. Of course the Governor has made quite clear that the Preparatory Committee is within the terms of the Basic Law and the Joint Declaration and therefore there will be co-operation and there will be a Liaison Committee set up. But Liaison Committee could mean a very simple thing of just passing messages back and forth or it could mean something more than that pointing to a full-fledged co- operation and I would like to know to what extent this co-operation is to be fulfilled and implemented?
Mr Rifkind: My instinct would be to say - and indeed more than my instinct - my assumption would be that we would wish to have the maximum possible co-operation with the Preparatory Committee. It's a very important organisation, its views are bound to carry considerable weight with the Chinese Government. It is intended that we should be working to the maximum extent possible to achieve successful transition. I would certainly look to the Governor and to his colleagues for advice on the modalities of that co-operation, how that can best be achieved, but I do not see the co-operation as symbolic or simply formal, we wish it to be as substantive as can be achieved because that is the best way we can jointly have of influencing the Preparatory Committee and trying to ensure that the recommendations that it makes are the most sensible ones and the ones most likely to be beneficial to Hong Kong.
Mr Howard Young: I would like to add that I speak also as a member about to receive appointment on the Preparatory Committee. Does the Secretary recognise that because of the fears of Hong Kong people that there might be created a second power centre which could theoretically undermine the effect of the Hong Kong Government, and despite that the Chinese Government in Director Lu Ping's statement that it would not be a second power centre, that if the Preparatory Committee feels that it is not getting sufficient co-operation, say, and then tries to go on its own to set up a huge secretariat, then that is probably what will transpire.
So therefore does the Secretary agree that in fact the more resources and manpower that the Hong Kong Government is able to put in to help the Preparatory Committee in its work will in fact achieve the result of having less need for the Preparatory Committee to go out and do its own show, which I think nobody, including people who are on the Preparatory Committee, want to do?