XN000022-1995-07-12 — Page 18

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We have published an annual Progress Report which describes candidly the shortcomings, as well as the successes, of the more than 500 initiatives and undertakings introduced in the last three Policy Addresses.

We have introduced a Code on Access to Information, to set a new benchmark for government accountability.

We have increased the powers of the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints so that the public's grievances are independently investigated.

The reforms introduced since 1992 represent a comprehensive legal and administrative programme, which demonstrates in a very concrete way Hong Kong's determination to protect its way of life and to meet the challenges of the future. In managing this reform programme, the Administration has relied on a successful partnership which brings together the community, the civil service and this Council.

First, our community has demonstrated a clear sense of the importance of the rule of law and displayed consistent support for our proposals.

Secondly, the civil service has been willing to rise to the challenges created by the reforms and to improve the quality of its own performance.

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Thirdly, this Council has worked conscientiously with Administration in debating our reform proposals and enacting laws which will meet our people's aspirations under the unique circumstances which govern both our constitutional development and our political future.

In all this, Members of this Council have made a special contribution. And I have been robust, both locally and abroad, in my defence of the Council and of the way in which it has performed since 1991. Its Members play a vital role in our Hong Kong system. You oversee our spending programmes amend our legislative proposals. You monitor the Administration's activities and criticise our lapses. Without this contribution from Members, our standards of government would not be so high and the quality of our public services would not meet the requirements of our First-World community. In short, the co-operation of Members with the Administration has been a key factor in the successful Hong Kong partnership.