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Governor: Let me, in these confidential surroundings, be very honest with the honourable gentleman. I was a member of two British Cabinets, I have a good deal of personal experience of the application of the principle of collective responsibility: Therefore the honourable gentleman has never and will never hear large numbers of lectures from me on the subject. I know that it's a principle which has to be applied with a degree of propriety by those who are collectively responsible and good sense by whoever is primus inter pares and that has always been the position and will remain the position.
Yes, we do have a position of collective responsibility in the Executive Council and it's exercised with I think the tolerance and generosity of spirit which are necessary in order to have as broadly based an Executive Council as possible which I believe to be in the best interests of Hong Kong. Honourable members will know that I deliberately chose an Executive Council which represented all shades of opinion here in Hong Kong. I hope that some of its members even represent the broad aspirations of the honourable member. Well there are going to be one or two members of the Executive Council, if I may say so, who will be broken hearted by the feeling that they don't represent the honourable member there. It's a broadly based Executive Council and I intend to ensure that it stays that way. I could hardly crack the whip and behave like the Spanish inquisition over the Executive Council when I've said and feel very strongly that others should be a little more open minded and generous of spirit in the way that they deal with disagreement and argument.
Having said that, the position of the Executive Council and the Government is absolutely clear and it's the position which I set out earlier and it's the position which others like the Chief Secretary and the Financial Secretary and senior officials have set out on other occasions. There's only one Legislative Council. It's the one which sits here and was elected here last Autumn and the Executive Council and the Government will work with it until 30 June, 1997.
Mr James To (in Chinese): Mr President, a question for the Governor. Are you concerned that the nearer we are towards 1997, if you keep liberalising this principle, relaxing this principle, then it's possible that there could be a massive defection of ExCo members and that may go against your principles. So Mr Governor, do you think that you have already relaxed the principle to the extent of being risky?
Governor: No I don't think I've relaxed the principle to the extent of being risky. I think I've applied it in my customarily sensible and civilised way. I believe in open discussion and debate. I think I've helped with some members of this Council to extend that important aspect of a free society here a little bit in Hong Kong and I certainly don't intend cracking the whip unnecessarily either with my colleagues in the Administration or with those whose advice I take in the Executive Council.