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As for the other items, these included giving the Preparatory Committee access to television and radio air time, assisting the activities of the Selection Committee, providing office accommodation and information to the Chief Executive (Designate), providing assistance for the establishment of the Court of Final Appeal, and providing information on Government departments. I explained to Mr Lu that we would require further clarification of the Preparatory Committee's requirements before we could consider further these requests. Both sides agreed that the Liaison Office and the Preparatory Committee Secretariat should follow up.

The Preparatory Committee also sought our assistance for the provisional legislature. On this matter, I reiterated the British Government's and the Hong Kong Government's position on a provisional legislature, and made it clear that we were unable to help in this area. We remained committed, however, to co-operating in other areas consistent with our three established parameters.

On the civil service, I told Mr Lu that my colleagues have found the public statement issued after the recent meeting at The Hague between the two Foreign Ministers reassuring. In particular, they welcomed China's agreement that continuity of the civil service was vital to a successful transition, that all civil servants were welcome to stay on to work for the SARG, and that civil servants should remain loyal to the people of Hong Kong and to the Hong Kong Government before 1 July 1997, and to the Special Administrative Region Government thereafter. I expressed the hope that both sides would continue to build on that to maintain the morale and confidence of the civil service. Mr Lu fully agreed with my sentiments, and repeated the hope that all civil servants would stay on to serve the Special Administrative Region Government.

On co-operation with the Chief Executive Officer (Designate), we had some initial exchange of ideas on the possible modalities for co-operation. I made clear to Mr Lu that we would be offering full co-operation and would provide the Chief Executive Officer (Designate) with sufficient support, whilst ensuring the morale of civil service and the effective administration of Hong Kong. In this connection, I stressed that it would be best to allow Principal Officials (Designate) to remain in their posts but to encourage the closest co-operation and dialogue between them and the Chief Executive Officer (Designate). Both sides agreed to continue discussion.

On the question of a provisional legislature, there remains a fundamental difference between the two sides. The clear and consistent position of both the British and the Hong Kong Governments is that such a body is neither necessary nor desirable. I spent some time explaining why that was so. I made it clear that we were unable to accept two legislative bodies operating in parallel before 1 July 1997. Mr Lu assured me that there would not be a second centre of power in Hong Kong. and that the work of the Preparatory Committee would not interfere with the effective administration of Hong Kong. The Preparatory Committee would be concerned solely with preparing for the normal operation of the SAR Government after 1 July 1997.