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Early meeting on CFA urged
The Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, today (Wednesday) said he hoped that it was possible to hold another expert meeting of the Joint Liaison Group as soon as possible to try and resolve the Court of Final Appeal issue.
The Governor was speaking to the media after a visit to the North District.
"We all thought that we had reached an agreement in 1991 and that's why we are surprised that having implemented that agreement faithfully in the bill that we passed to the Chinese side a year ago, we still haven't got their thumbs up for the bill," he said.
He noted that the Legislative Council was debating the issue today.
"It is a very important debate. We will be listening closely to what Legislative Councillors have to say," he said.
"I very much hope that Chinese officials will be listening to what the community in Hong Kong, businessmen in Hong Kong, the Chamber of Commerce for example, and businessmen outside Hong Kong are saying about the importance of this issue to our prosperity and stability."
In reply to a question on press reports about suggestion to "impose some kind of authority on top of the CFA", the Governor said: "I cannot conceive of us under any circumstances agreeing to something in talks which was against the letter and spirit of the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. I repeat, they are absolutely clear about the independent judicial authority of Hong Kong, about the final jurisdiction in Hong Kong courts and absolutely clear as well about the continuance of the Common Law."
End/Wednesday, May 3, 1995
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