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Governor: Not just the last three years. Can I just say absolutely clearly that I don't just sympathise with your position, I agree with your position, I agree with your position in moral terms and I agree with your position in practical terms. I think the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong even though there are some sort of long stop guarantees that have been given, not quite as far as the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in Westminster would have liked, but a little further than the British Government has gone in the past, even though there are those long stop guarantees they don't amount to anything like the British passport, the full British passport which I think the ethnic minorities should have received. I'm not quite sure what you mean by partnership, we have continued to lobby and lobby vigorously the British Government and any visiting British Member of Parliament as I think you have as well, so we're working I hope in parallel, I will continue to put the case to the British Government as will my colleagues, as will the Executive Council, as will I know the majority of the Legislative Council and I very much hope that we'll do better in the future than we've done in the past. It is not, or shouldn't be regarded by Westminster politicians who, whether Conservative or Labour have united over the proposition that BDTC passport holders should have a full passport, they have been solidly against it as we all know regrettably, it's not however in that category, because you're not talking about the same numbers, you're talking about a small group who have I think, very legitimate concerns about their own future, so I hope we can persuade politicians on both sides of the political divide in Westminster to be rather more sympathetic. I think you'll be aware from recent arguments and noises off, that I haven't made myself entirely popular back in Britain by raising these issues.

Question Can I follow up on that. You have mentioned what type of co-operation. on this programme last year, I mentioned I felt it would be mutual if as you said the minorities, the Legislative Council and the government are working parallel with each other, but they are not actually working in concert. So it seems to me to be somewhat logical that if there are three groups or four bodies of people who are working towards one goal, that those three or four groups of people should join in their efforts to try and achieve the most success that we can possibly get and it was to the suggestion that I received a fairly negative response last year and I was quite surprised at that.

The Governor: Well, if you've got any further practical suggestions you want to make other than the general proposition that we should all be arguing on the same side which I agree about we'll certainly be happy to look at them, because it's in our interests to put across our case as vigorously and effectively as possible. We've obviously got to concentrate on trying to convince as many members of parliament at Westminster as we can of the complete legitimacy of your argument.