President: I think we can have more of that when we come to the next speaker, Mr Daniel Fung, who will be addressing us shortly, around 11 o'clock. I have tremendous interest - I see that Australia is interested, CPA Headquarters is interested, and so are the members in Hong Kong delegation interested. Would our Hong Kong members defer to Sir Colin first.
Sir Colin Shepherd: Thank you very much Mr Chairman. Can I return to the points raised by Emily Lau and Bob Ainsworth and say obviously the Commonwealth - and I am quite certain that in future exchanges within the Commonwealth, certainly in the CPA, there will be much interest expressed in progress not just over the next 12 months but beyond; there will be no lack of that one thing we would want to know is the safeguards for the assuredness of the freedom of the press, because without adequate and proper reporting we won't know or won't be able to have access to allegations of breaches of either the Joint Declaration or the Basic Law, and I think we need that basic assurance there.
►
The second point is, I wonder if Mrs Anson Chan can explain the mechanisms or the institutions that are likely to be put in place to explore the differences of opinion as to whether or not there has been breaches of the Joint Declaration or the Basic Law, after July 1st, 1997.
President: Mrs Chan, would you like to respond to the points made now or would you like to wait a while?
Chief Secretary: Are there other questions?
President: Yes, there is tremendous interest now.
Mr Barry Bishop (Australia): Thank you Mr Chairman. I direct my question to Mrs Chan. I am interested that in fact there are many governments taking a large interest in the transition process that we are talking about and no doubt many governments outside of the Commonwealth will as well. But I am also very interested in the opportunity the corporate world will have, to have an opinion in relation to the transition process. And I say that because of the huge investment infrastructure that the corporate world around the world has put into Hong Kong, and I would ask the question of their ability, aside from governments and knowing in fact that they will go through their governments, of their ability on their own to have an opinion in the structures we will see during that and after the transition process?
Page 10Page 11
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.