XN000022-1996-01-17 — Page 12

- 1 -

Early agreement with Chinese side will be sought

The authorities will vigorously seek an early agreement with the Chinese side on the basis of the proposals that have been put to them in the Joint Liaison Group (JLG) in connection with the concepts in Basic Law Article 23, the Secretary for Security, Mr Peter Lai, said today (Wednesday).

Speaking in the motion debate on "protection of civil rights" in the Legislative Council, Mr Lai said the authorities fully appreciated the community's concern that these discussions should not be allowed to go on indefinitely, and that the community would wish to see early action.

"The proposals have been with the JLG now for six months. Given the importance and complexity of the issues addressed, it is not unreasonable to give the Chinese side sufficient time to consider them fully," he said.

Nevertheless, Mr Lai noted that the continued lack of progress through discussions in the established channels could have damaging effects on confidence in Hong Kong.

"We will not wish to see this happen," he said.

On some LegCo members' suggestion that the Government should take action to put the relevant legislative proposals forward to the council, without waiting for the outcome of the JLG discussions, he said: "We believe that our objectives will be better served if we continue to discuss with the Chinese side, through the established channels, for the localisation and adaptation of the relevant laws.

It would be counterproductive if LegCo members were to introduce Private Members' Bills while these issues were under discussion in the JLG, he said.

"Nor is it helpful, in this context, for us to be talking about specific deadlines," he said.

Mr Lai stressed that the concerns expressed today by many LegCo members on the subject were shared by the Administration.

"We are taking steps to address these concerns, but the suggestion of immediate legislative action is simply not conducive to the success of our efforts," he said.

"We do not therefore agree with such a suggestion for precipitate action.