XN000022-1996-02-01 — Page 14

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Governor: Well, the honourable member will know that I'm not myself a member of the Preparatory Committee and that I'm not responsible for it's operations and I think were I to take the sort of action which the Honourable member has suggested, it would be regarded by PRC officials and by Members of the Preparatory Committee as a shade beyond my real responsibilities. I'm looking at one or two members of the Preparatory Committee to see if that observation is rejected consumedly, but I get the impression from the body language around the Legislative Council, that were I to propose taking surveys, public opinion surveys on the Preparatory Committee's work, it might be thought to be a fourth violation to add to the three non-violations of which I'm sometimes unfairly, ill advisedly accused.

But I assume that the Preparatory Committee will take account of public opinion, that it will be aware of the fact that there were opinion polls taken on, surveys undertaken on the work and credibility of it's predecessor body which told a certain message and the message which I'm sure members of the Preparatory Committee would wish to be different when we're thinking about its own work.

Mr Lau Chin-shek (in Chinese): Thank you. In answering the question on labour relations asked by Mr James Tien, it seems as if the Government's position is rather equivocal and vague. Actually, there is tripartite responsibility here: the Government, the employers, the employees. Now when we talk about labour issues - employment, unemployment, safety we seem to be faced with an increasing number of problems and it has been said that there is no long term labour policy.

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Now, when we deal with labour policy we don't really have a separate policy branch and we have the EMB and the Policy Secretary is responsible for education and manpower. These actually are quite different issues in fact, so can consideration be given in separating them and to have a separate Policy Secretary for Labour? Will you consider that? If you don't, what are the reasons?

Governor: First of all, I am not sure that what I said on labour issues was vague. I think a lot of people will be saying, tomorrow, that it was all too clear. I do wholly endorse, wholly endorse, what the honourable member said about the importance of tripartite policy in this field. And I know that on a number of occasions the Honourable Member has himself stressed the importance of trying to deal with some of these very difficult problems, some of which have been on Hong Kong's agenda for years, by as co-operative an approach as possible. So I totally endorse tripartitism and hope that we can retain it.