CONFIDENTIAL
- 11 -
addresses of the writers were disclosed.
[We also noted
that, throughout the whole period of the assessment work,
there was no substantial change in the balance between
the numbers of individuals who accepted, and the numbers
who rejected, the draft agreement.] At the same time,
we have to acknowledge that we cannot judge the extent
to which the fear of eventual public disclosure of their
names may have deterred those who would otherwise have
submitted their views; and that the disquiet ventilated
in the Legislative Council and elsewhere in Hong Kong
may have weakened public confidence in the assessment
task at a time when it was exposed to critical comment
on wider grounds.
18.
It would be wrong to exaggerate the impact of
this issue on the assessment task as a whole; but it would,
in our view, have been better if
-
through the Assessment
Office advertisement and in other ways the safeguards
to confidentiality announced in mid-October had been publicly
conveyed at an earlier stage.
19.
To judge how accurately the Assessment Office
discharged its duties has been the most difficult part
of our own task. As the letters and submissions were
received, we were able to satisfy ourselves that they
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.