XN000022-1997-04-16 — Page 6

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FS's transcript

Following is a transcript of the media session given by the Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, after attending the debate on the second reading of the Appropriation Bill 1997 at the Legislative Council this afternoon (Wednesday):

Question: Mr Tsang, what is your reaction... to the vote ...?

FS: Well I am pretty happy about the passage of the Appropriation Bill this year. This is rather a peculiar year, and rather a peculiar budget as well, that we have been able to achieve almost the impossible of producing a budget covering 12 months and eventually commanding the support of the Legislative Council as a whole. This afternoon, I addressed three particular issues, about land supply for housing, about CSSA for the elderly and some other issues. But as far as regards CSSA for the elderly, we hope that we are able to establish a rational basis for a revision, my colleagues and I would certainly try our very best to find the resources for any justifiable increase in the coming year.

Question:

indicative of what you can do with the size of the reserve ....?

FS: It is indicative of the Financial Secretary.

Question: ......the growth and projection of next year's is even higher than we had in the last. You had 23 votes against you largely on social welfare spending. Do you expect in the next budget you are going to have more pressure to give in to increase spending in social welfare?

FS: Well the administration had been prepared for more and more pressure year after year anyway. So it is not entirely unanticipated. The fact of the matter is, it is our responsible administration that we had been doing our very best to meet community's wishes, even the wishes of political parties, and I had demonstrated today that for the Democratic Party who had not voted for me on this occasion, we had indeed complied with their wishes for more than 80 per cent. That's the fact. Just refer to their own bulletin. So I think the co-operative spirit is always there, we're ever responding. So as long as it is the community's wish that we should attach importance to the CSSA for the elderly, we would do likewise. Well, thank you very much indeed.

End