XN000022-1988-04-19 — Page 30

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TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 1988

PETER SEIDLITZ, FROM HANDELSBLATT: SIR DAVID, THE POLICE, THE SECURITY ORGANS, AND THE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION MUST HAVE QUITE A LIBRARY ON FILES OF PEOPLE FROM HONG KONG. DO YOU INTEND, IN 1997, ΤΟ HAND OVER ALL THESE FILES TO THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT OR ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE THEM BACK TO LONDON?

H.E.: THE ANSWER IS NO, WE DON'T HAND THEM OVER TO THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT. THERE IS THE HONG KONG SAR GOVERNMENT AFTER 1997 AND THE HONG KONG SAR POLICE FORCE. NOW PRECISELY WHICH POLICE FILES ARE APPROPRIATE TO STILL BE IN EXISTENCE IN 1997 IS A QUESTION I WOULDN'T EVEN DREAM OF TRYING TO ANSWER. MOST POLICE FILES HAVE A LIFE SPAN THEIR OWN, THRY DON'T NECESSARILY GO ON FOR DECADE AFTER DECADE.

OF

MA MIU-WAH, FROM HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMBS: WE HEARD THAT SOME GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WILL BE INTERESTED IN MAKING OPEN COMMENTS ON THE BASIC LAW IN THE FUTURE. IF IT SO HAPPENED THAT SOME GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, ESPECIALLY SOME FAMOUS ONES, MADE OPEN COMMENTS ON THE BASIC LAW DRAFT, THE QUESTION IS HOW WILL YOU LOOK AT THIS ACTION? AND THE SECOND QUESTION IS THAT IS THERE ANY POLICY REGARDING, IS THERE ANY POLICY WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT REGARDING CIVIL SERVANTS MAKING COMMENT ON THE BASIC LAW?

H.E.: WHAT WE'VE SAID WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT IS THAT INDIVIDUAL CIVIL SERVANTS SHOULD FEEL FREE TO PUT FORWARD THEIR INDIVIDUAL VIEWS ON THE BASIC LAW BECAUSE

THEY, LIKE OTHER PEOPLE, ARE HONG KONG PEOPLE WHO HAVE A RIGHT TO PUT FORWARD THEIR VIEWS ON THE BASIC LAW. BUT THEY SHOULD DO IT AS INDIVIDUALS AND NOT AS A GOVERNMENT VIEW.

DIFFERENTIATE HIS AN INDIVIDUAL,

MA MIU-WAH: BUT IT'S QUITE DIFFICULT ΤΟ STATUS OR HIS ROLE, HE'S AN INDIVIDUAL IN HONG KONG BUT ALSO HE IS ALSO A WELL KNOWN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL?

·

J

TO

SAY THE BASIC

H.E : IF YOU ARE PUTTING IN YOUR OWN VIEW LAW CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE, I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD BE DIFFICULT. IT IS NOT DIFFICULT AFTER ALL FOR A CIVIL SERVANT ΤΟ VOTE AS AN INDIVIDUAL. HE IS NOT VOTING AS THE GOVERNMENT.

MA MIU-WAH: SORRY, BUT DO YOU RESTRICT THEM ΤΟ MAKE OPEN

COMMENTS?

H.E. WE WOULDN'T BE ENCOURAGING THE WHOLE CIVIL SERVICE ΤΟ MAKE OPEN COMMENTS AS PART OF THE CIVIL SERVICE. WHAT WE ARR SAYING IS THAT IF THEY AS INDIVIDUALS WANT TO PUT IN THEIR VIEWS TO WHATEVER BODY IS SET UP TO COLLECT THOSE VIEWS, THEN THERE LS NO REASON WHY THEY SHOULDN'T DO SO, BUT IT IS AS INDIVIDUALS, NOT AS THE GOVERNMENT.

·

GETTING BACK -TO

DAN BIERS, FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS: SIR DAVID, THE VIETNAMESE QUESTION. GIVEN THE DECLINE IN THE RESETTLEMENT, IS THERE ANY QUESTION IN YOUR MIND THAT A HUGE OR LARGE NUMBER OF THE VIETNAMESE NOW IN HONG KONG WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TO BE SENT BACK ΤΟ VIETNAM?

/H.E.:

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