XN000022-1995-02-15 — Page 5

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Governor: Well, it's not for me to recognise them or not recognise them, anymore than it's for me to recognise the door or other things. They exist. They are an advisory body to the NPC, but they have nothing to do with the agreed institutions which have been established between Britain, China and Hong Kong. Our position on the PWC hasn't changed. We are well known for being as helpful and open-handed as we could be. We have always been prepared to provide information and briefing to PWC members, but as you know, we haven't thought it appropriate to, as it were through our actions, appear to be substituting the PWC for the JLG. So we remain of the view that we should be as helpful as we can be and the Director of Planning has agreed to go and speak at a seminar which is being organised by the PWC to consider the impact of land reclamation on the harbour and our coastal waters as a subject which has been, of course, debated very extensively in Hong Kong for ten years or more, not least, when the community was discussing metric...

Question: Mr Patten, there was a public opinion poll promulgated yesterday and the result showing that the public confidence towards the ICAC anti-corruption work has been deteriorating, and I just want to know whether you really think that the ICAC has been doing its job worse than before, and also how do you restore the public confidence towards the ICAC?

Governor: I think the ICAC has been doing its job as competently as ever. I don't think that a recent case was particular helpful, but I think that overall the community recognises that the ICAC has a very important job to do, that it does it with competence and integrity and that it needs the community's support. The whole community knows that clean government, a vigorous attack on corruption and the rule of law are very important to our well-being, our prosperity and our stability. I'm particularly pleased that the ICAC have taken their campaign to the private sector and that so many private sector organisations and companies are now setting out their own code of conducts in relation to clean commercial practices. That is important for Hong Kong and it is a vital lead which the ICAC have given. The ICAC have recently co- operated very readily with the committee which has been reviewing the way they work and their terms of reference, will be implementing the recommendations of that committee which I hope will ensure that the ICAC are able to go on doing their job in a way which the community regards as appropriate for the 1990s and conceivably beyond though that won't be a matter for me. One more question, and then I can see you are looking at your watches.

Question: During the last two years, you have used more than 4 million dollars for your trip over Hong Kong. Some Legco members said that it's waste of Government money. What's your comment?