XN000022-1995-06-28 — Page 4

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Question: Merely the Preparatory Committee, the team designate and the Chief Executive designate....

Governor: Well, what we'll want to discuss with Chinese officials is how the Hong Kong Government can best work with the Preparatory Committee and, in due course, with the Chief Executive designate and her or his team. But there is no proposal for us to discuss the composition of the Executive Council.

Question: Mr Patten, today's land auction, the result of today's land auction is now just out, can you just comment on that? Well, two pieces of lands have been sold today, one in Tai Po. That's sold at the price of $500m which is a bit lower than the original selling price and the other is in Shaukiwan, and the plot was sold at $320m which is about $100m above the selling price. How do you comment on the sale?

Governor: I'd like to talk to the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands who I know quite well before I comment because I haven't seen the report on the land auction myself.

Question: I like to have a short follow up on what I've said. In the coming months, do you mean that both sides will launch out a negotiation in all sorts of transitional co- operation well before the visit of Mr Qian?

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Governor: But we're doing that already. You know that the formal umbrella for discussions is the Joint Liaison Group. But huge amount of work goes on in expert groups outside the Joint Liaison Group, and that will be continuing and I hope that the rhythm, the pace of those discussions will pick up, so that the new British Foreign Secretary and Mr Qian Qichen can have a satisfactory meeting in the Autumn. As I think you know even when they weren't able to disagree, Douglas Hurd and Mr Qian Qichen had a civilised, intelligent relationship and I am sure that the new British Foreign Secretary will want to build on that and that he will want to welcome Mr Qian Qichen to London and introduce him to his colleagues in the government or her colleagues in the government, and to opposition politicians as well.

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Question: Well before the change of the Foreign Secretary, will that affect the diplomatic exchanges between the two countries?

Governor: No.

Question: How do you think about may be... some officials to go to the designate team to work with them?

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