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White Paper on Annual Report on HK 1996 to Parliament
The Annual Report on Hong Kong 1996 to Parliament (Annual Report) has been presented to Parliament by Her Majesty's Government today (Thursday).
As in past years, the Annual Report has been published in the form of a White Paper both in London and Hong Kong. It will be tabled at the Legislative Council on April 9.
A Government spokesman said that Her Majesty's Government had agreed in 1985, during the Parliamentary debates on the Hong Kong Bill, to produce annual reports on Hong Kong and to lay them before Parliament.
The purpose of this series of reports is to keep Parliament informed of developments in Hong Kong on a regular basis.
The 1996 Annual Report is the 12th such report and the last in this format before the transfer of sovereignty to China. This Report, however, will not be the last report to Parliament on Hong Kong. The British Government has undertaken to report to Parliament on Hong Kong at six-monthly intervals, starting with a report for the period January-June 1997. These reports will focus on the work of the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group, covering the implementation of the Joint Declaration, with special reference to the protection of human rights in Hong Kong. The British Foreign Secretary has also promised that these six-monthly reports will continue at least as long as the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group exists, that is until January 1, 2000.
The 1996 Annual Report contains a survey of major events in Hong Kong during 1996. Topics covered include visits to Hong Kong by Government Ministers and overseas visits by the Governor and the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong.
They also include constitutional development, contacts between Hong Kong and China, human rights, Vietnamese migrants, emigration and nationality, infrastructure, general economic and social conditions, law and order, legal and judicial systems and civil service.
Copies of the Annual Report and the Chinese translation will be available, free of charge, to members of the public from tomorrow (Friday).
They can be obtained from all District Offices, the Government Publications Centre (Ground Floor, Low Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong) and the Marketing Section of the Information Services Department (17th Floor, Siu On Centre, 188 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong).
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