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Secondly, are there sometimes political consequences of people making political donations? I suppose there are. There's plainly a great deal of controversy about this in one or two countries right at the moment. But that's why there's an argument for transparency. There's not an argument for not I think allowing people to make a donation in the first place. One honourable member is keen that there should be transparency when discussing other political activities or political parties here in Hong Kong and I'm sure that's an issue which will continue to command interest in the future. But I don't think that the wholly correct arguments that the honourable gentleman put about political transparency should be taken as being on all fours with prohibiting any donation at all and where do you draw the line. Where do you draw the line between, for example, a political party and a group which is arguing for a particular political cause? Maybe for the improvement of peoples' human rights. How do you draw the distinction between an alien in Hong Kong and somebody who's but local? You could have people who had right of abode in Hong Kong I suppose were still covered by these sort of restrictions. It's a wholly, it's a very complicated area and one I see no conceivable advantage for Hong Kong in getting involved in.

President: In accordance with Standing Orders I now adjourn the Council until 2.30 pm, Wednesday April 30, 1997.

End

Statement by the Chief Secretary

The following is the statement by the Chief Secretary, Mrs Anson Chan, at the beginning of the hearing of LegCo Select Committee to Inquire into the Circumstances Surrounding the Departure of Mr Leung Ming-yin from the Government and Related Issues today (Thursday):

Chief Secretary: I wish to state that the Administration has done its very best to co- operate with the Select Committee in this inquiry. I regret, however, that I am unable to comply with your request to produce the ICAC Operations Review Committee, that is the ORC report. I wish to explain to this Committee why I consider production of this report to the Committee to be contrary to the public interest.

I have read the report of the ORC of the ICAC and I have consulted the Commissioner of the ICAC and sought the advice of the Attorney General's Chambers and upon such advice and having regard to the nature of the report, I have formed the view that it would be injurious to the public interest to require the production of the report to the Committee or to any Member of the Committee and it should be withheld on grounds that I will set out here under.