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Mr Eric Li: Mr President, I certainly concur with the last statement of the Governor and if the Governor would care to look at the report itself, there is no direct criticism directed at the Commissioner of Police or at his integrity in that sort of manner. But I think the Public Accounts Committee should be fearless and forthright --
Governor: Absolutely.
Mr Eric Li: -- just as we would expect the Chief Secretary and the civil servants in putting a point when a matter of public policy is being placed under controversy. We are concurring with your own official, Governor. the Director of Audit in that case, so it is not entirely a matter between the LegCo and the Government, I think there is an independent auditor who has expressed some views too. I am directed by the full committee, this afternoon, to be writing directly to the Executive Council and the Standing Committee on Directorate Salaries and Conditions of Services, on the matter. And Governor, can I expect that you will direct both these bodies to give the public and, of course, the Public Accounts Committee, a full reply stating the reason and the position in the matter?
Governor: First of all, I would not wish the Public Accounts Committee to be anything
• other than fearless and forthright, and I hope that that will be the watchword that governs its behaviour for the foreseeable future.
Secondly, we shall look forward, on the Executive Council, to receiving the communication from the honourable gentleman and responding to it suitably.
Mr Leung Yiu-chung (in Chinese): Thank you Mr President. I think the Governor knows that, recently, the CE's office has released a consultative document on civil liberties which can be regarded as a retrogression on human rights. And the official who is pushing this document, happens to be the official that is seconded, with agreement from the Governor, to the CE's office. And before this official was seconded to the CE's office, he happened to be pushing a document that was more advanced, so to speak, in human rights, on behalf of the Hong Kong administration. Now, with the change of sovereignty coming very close, a lot of guests of honour will be coming from overseas and they would be seeing that within a very short span of time, this official is having two faces.
So concerning this officer that has been seconded to the CE's office, do you find his attitude to work acceptable? And also, recently there was a rumour that there was a good possibility that he will be briefing the provisional legislature on this consultative document. And so objectively, it will mean that the legality of the provisional legislature would be established and that particular policy would be completely the opposite of the stance that you have been advocating. And so, are you going to tolerate this situation going on?