ENG-2005 — Page 40

14 Constitution and Administration

authorities. Through a wide range of exchanges, including visits, meetings, seminars and training programmes, various bureaux and departments of the Government have enhanced mutual understanding with their Mainland counterparts. Some have also underlined the commitment of both sides to work together by cooperating in such areas as culture and the arts, postal services, marine conservation and the fight against intellectual property piracy.

The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) of the State Council plays the role of facilitator and provides assistance to the HKSAR Government in developing official contacts with Mainland authorities. The Government also maintains close liaison with HKMAO on matters of mutual concern and arrangements for official visits made between the Mainland and Hong Kong.

Article 22 of the Basic Law provides that no department of the CPG and no province, autonomous region, or municipality may interfere in the affairs which the HKSAR administers on its own in accordance with the Basic Law. The HKMAO continues to play the role of a 'gate-keeper' to ensure that the Mainland authorities at all levels conduct business with the HKSAR in line with this principle.

The Government will set up the Mainland Affairs Liaison Office within the Constitutional Affairs Bureau in April 2006 to strengthen liaison with the Mainland and facilitate exchanges and cooperation with provinces/regions. The office will formulate overall strategies and the direction of cooperation between the HKSAR and the Mainland. It will also oversee general liaison work between the Mainland authorities and the Office of the Government of the HKSAR in Beijing and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs) in the Mainland.

The Government also plans to set up ETOS in Shanghai and Chengdu in the latter half of 2006 to further promote exchanges and cooperation with the eastern and the southwestern regions of China. In addition, the geographical coverage of the Guangdong ETO will be extended in April 2006 to include Guangxi, Fujian, Jiangxi and Hainan. Its functions will also be expanded to provide assistance to Hong Kong residents in distress in the five provinces/regions within its purview.

As the province closest to Hong Kong, Guangdong has the most extensive ties with the HKSAR. For 24 years, the Cross-boundary Liaison System has provided an effective mechanism for Hong Kong and Guangdong to discuss and resolve practical issues of mutual concern, including the fight against cross-boundary crime and the regulation of the Shenzhen River.

Cooperation with Guangdong was further strengthened with the establishment of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Cooperation Joint Conference (Joint Conference) in March 1998. It provides a high-level forum to explore and coordinate major initiatives in cooperation between Hong Kong and Guangdong. On September 28, the Eighth Plenary meeting of the Joint Conference was held under the co-chairmanship of the Chief Executive of the HKSAR and the Governor of Guangdong.

The two sides reached agreements on many fronts, such as stepping up coordinated efforts to ensure food safety, relaxing the 'one-truck, one-driver'