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Now today you seem to be putting the ball in our court all the time asking us for views but today we are asking you whether you will take the following specific steps. First, in March this year in Geneva there will be a meeting of the Human Rights Commission and our request is that the UK Government should move a resolution asking the Human Rights Commission to pay attention to the human rights situation in Hong Kong and also to ask that the Chinese Government take up it's reporting obligation and report our human rights.

Dr Leong Che-hung: To urge the United Kingdom Government to move a resolution in the forthcoming sessions to the Commission of Human Rights and the framework of the resolution. I think we have sent it to Britain and also a copy to your office. I wonder whether you can have a quick response to that at this point in time.

Mr Rifkind: Right. The starting point of course is that the Joint Declaration itself commits China to accepting that the international convention on political rights and the other convention will apply, will continue to apply to Hong Kong after 1997, that is accepted in the Joint Declaration and it is because the Bill of Rights Ordinance simply seeks to implement in Hong Kong Law the international convention, that we believe that the recommendation of the sub-committee of the PWC was unnecessary and inappropriate. We already have made this point clear to our Chinese colleagues but I will certainly be returning to this point in Peking, that we hope that this recommendation of the PWC, and at this stage it is only a recommendation, it is not a policy of the Chinese Government to interfere with the Bill of Rights Ordinance. We very much hope that the Chinese Government will decide not to implement this recommendation from the sub-committee and will recognise that the BORO is simply implementing the covenants which they themselves have agreed should continue to apply to Hong Kong after 1997,

On the two specific points that you raised in your question. First of all, with regard to the reporting obligation. Yes I agree with you, it is indeed desirable and we will indicate our view that the reporting, in terms of the international convention, should be agreed to. It is our judgement and I believe it's the judgement of others that this follows from the endorsement of the international convention and I shall be very happy to endorse that.

With regard to the question of a resolution. That is something which is an interesting proposal. I have not yet come to a conclusion on that. I would like to consider that to see whether that is appropriate, whether it is desirable. I certainly do not rule it out but at this moment in time 1 cannot say specifically whether we will wish to do that but I can promise you we will wish to consider it given that LegCo have themselves raised this proposal.