Transcript of CS's media session
Following is the transcript (English) of the media session' given by the Chief Secretary, Mrs Anson Chan, at the Central Government Offices today (Saturday):
CS: Hello everyone. I'm leaving this evening for London where I will be seeing various people over a period of three days, followed by leave. During my stay in London, I shall be calling on the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary. I will also be meeting with the Labour's Shadow Foreign Secretary Mr Robin Cook and also with the Foreign Affairs Spokesman of the Liberal Democrats Mr Campbell. I will also be seeing members of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and the British-Hong Kong Parliamentary Group. Of course I will also have an opportunity to address the business community in London and to meet with the media representatives during my stay, my short stay in London. I hope to see you all when I get back from leave at the end of July.
Question: What are your top priorities... Prime Minister Mr Major?
CS: I clearly would like to bring the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary up-to- date on where we currently stand as regards preparation for the transition, to draw attention to some of the concerns in the community here and particularly the state of morale and confidence in the civil service.
Question: How do you categorise the state of morale in the civil service...?
CS: I think the civil service on the whole has coped extremely well with on the one hand maintaining momentum on our public services whilst dealing with a whole host of transitional issues to prepare for a smooth transition. But of course there are also concerns within the civil service and I'm sure it will be no surprise to you that many civil servants will be looking to see who the Chief Executive will be. Of course, they hope that the Chief Executive will be somebody who will command support both within the community and amongst the ranks of the civil service.