XN000022-1996-10-09 — Page 5

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Let me add one other thing. I was very struck a week or so back by the maturity of those who were at Kai Tak airport handing out leaflets to incoming Japanese tourists and Japanese businessmen pointing out that while Hong Kong people felt very strongly about this issue and while they disagreed with the position of the Japanese Government on it, they had no personal axe to grind with individual Japanese people, that they welcomed the contribution which Japanese tourists made to our tourist industry and obviously as a community we welcome Japanese investment in Hong Kong. Now that is a civilised way of behaving, that is a civilised way of conducting one's arguments however strongly one feels about those arguments. There can be no question that breaking the law lets down those who pursue these arguments in a civilised though eloquent and vigorous way. Okay? Thank you very much.

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Press report on leave of civil servants clarified

Commenting on a Chinese newspaper article today (Wednesday) on a new leave package for civil servants, a Civil Service Branch spokesman said the package referred to is part of the proposed set of new terms of appointment and conditions of service (the common terms proposals) released in October 1993.

He stressed that the proposed set of common terms, when implemented in future, would not affect serving officers on permanent and pensionable terms unless they opted to change to the new common terms.

"Officers on agreement terms will renew their agreements on the new terms only after the set of common terms have been implemented," he said.

He said it was the Government's intention to appoint new recruits on the new terms after the implementation of the proposals on a future date.

Staff and relevant advisory bodies had been extensively consulted after the consultation document on civil service terms of appointment and conditions of service was released in late 1993.

"They were generally supportive to the proposals which had been passed to the Chinese side in late 1994. There is yet no firm date to implement the common terms package," the spokesman said.

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