XN000022-1996-04-18 — Page 20

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Chief Secretary's media session at CGO

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The following is the transcript of a media session by the Chief Secretary, Mrs Anson Chan, this (Thursday) evening after having dinner at the Xinhua News Agency villas in Stanley:

Chief Secretary: Good evening everyone. I'm sorry to keep you all waiting. I had a very good dinner tonight with Mr Zhou Nan and Mr Lu Ping. It was a very friendly and very relaxed affair. There was a good opportunity for us to have a very frank exchange of views on transitional issues. Both sides agreed that we should set aside our differences and concentrate on intensifying co-operation in order to achieve a smooth transition. I took the opportunity to outline to Mr Lu the specific concerns of the civil service. I stressed that stability and continuity in the civil service is crucial to a smooth transition. I also pointed out that civil servants have always been impartial in their work, loyal and dedicated to serving the community and it was imperative that this should remain so. Mr Lu assured me of the importance that the Chinese side placed on the civil service. He agreed with me that stability and continuity was important and he specifically reaffirmed that civil service should remain politically neutral and loyal and dedicated to serving the people of Hong Kong. I am sure that like me, my civil service colleagues will find this very, very reassuring.

I was also able to raise with Mr Lu the question of right of abode. I pointed out that there is a great deal of concern and many questions arising out of the proposals which he outlined in his speech earlier this week and I urged Mr Lu to agree to early expert talks so that we can sort out the detailed arrangements and then we can be in a position to answer the very legitimate questions that many people have, not only Hong Kong people, but also business people.

Finally I think I should perhaps say a word about how we can intensify co- operation. We have agreed that in so far as co-operation with the preparatory committee and with the Chief Executive Officer (Designate) is concerned that we should sit down and discuss specific areas of co-operation and I was very glad to accept Mr Lu Ping's invitation to continue our discussion in Beijing very soon. We have not yet fixed a date but clearly as soon as we have agreed a date, we will make a separate announcement about that visit. So, all told, I thought this was a very good discussion. I think that civil servants will find some of the topics that we discussed and Mr Lu Ping's statement very reassuring. But there will be a need to continue for us to be sensitive to civil service concerns. Clearly there is a will to try and co-operate and not to concentrate on our differences. So I very much look forward to our continuing dialogue not only with Mr Lu but also with other Chinese leaders.

Question: Do principal officials have to support the provisional legislature in order to get through 1997?

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