XN000022-1995-10-13 — Page 24

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Question: Mrs Chan, every thing that you have said is highly commendable and what the government is doing and what it is achieving. But I think there was one omission from what you said and that is the area of co-operation with China. Could you comment on that and say in what ways is the government and the secretariat going to co-operate in a greater extent with China over the next 18 months in particular?

Chief Secretary: I think we are all very happy to note particularly following the meeting between the two foreign ministers in London that co-operation with China does seem to have improved a great deal since we had the row over constitutional reforms. All that of course is behind us. We were particularly happy to note that at the meeting between the two foreign ministers, we reached agreement with the Chinese in four very important areas not the least of which is the question concerning better communication and better contact between senior officials here in Hong Kong and their counterparts in China. That's crucially important because I am sure you will all agree that the civil service plays a key role in Hong Kong's prosperity and stability and we all want to see improved communication between the two. I myself was very happy to be able to meet with Mr Qian Qichen and Mr Lu Ping in July of this year and we had very good discussions addressing a number of concerns and I am hopeful myself that in the remaining days of transition there will be greater co-operation between the two on resolving the remaining transitional issues. I think both China and Britain and of course Hong Kong realise that if we are going to have a smooth transition all three parties need to co-operate. That is not to say of course that we will always reach absolute agreement on all issues. But I am personally convinced that there is a strong commitment on the part of all three parties to implement the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, that it is a fervent wish of all three parties to see a smooth transition and I am sure that with those objectives in mind, I do not see that any issue is incapable of resolution given good-will and co-operation on the part of all parities concerned.

Question: What is your opinion in these statements of China about the dissolution of LegCo in 1997. Would you request them to retain certain people in the LegCo not from the government but...