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Press Briefings & Releases

Press Briefings & Releases


Transcript of remarks by CS after Focus Group Discussion
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Following is the transcript (English portion) of a media session given by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Donald Tsang, after attending the Focus Group Discussion on Constitutional Development at North Point Government Offices, North Point this (July 26) morning:

As you know we have tried to make our consultation on constitutional development a very open and transparent process and we have adopted a proactive attitude so the consultation has been very extensive.

The most important of all, we want to make sure that we will be inclusive in listening to people's views and we are very eager to listen to all points of views.

As an international and cosmopolitan city, Hong Kong has its own expatriates who are eligible to vote, and these expatriates are permanent residents of Hong Kong. They have taken Hong Kong as their home and they wish to contribute to the building of Hong Kong's future.

So for today's discussion, we have invited expatriate participants from diverse backgrounds. Some from business, some from the working class. They are workers' representatives and they are also leaders of ethnic groups.

They quite clearly attach great importance to this participatory process. They have expressed a wide spectrum of views. The government of course will respect these views as much as we do other views from other sectors of the community that we have met. To the government, the expatriates are an important part of our community.

Also present today are representatives from different sectors, including medical and health, welfare, arts and cultural, banking, insurance, education, catering, retail, and the others as well.

I am grateful that they have taken time to participate in this discussion and they are very busy people, but they have shown not only they have expressed their views, they have listened to other people's views.

In the meantime, I will ask Dr Bacon-Shone, Professor Alfred Chan and Professor Leung Tin-pui to give you a summary of their groups' discussions.

As you know, a more detailed account of what took place today would be posted on our website later. Perhaps I say a few words in Cantonese as well.

Reporter: Do you think the ICAC operation jeopardise the freedom of the press?

Chief Secretary for Administration: No, I think the freedom of the press has been quite directly fully protected under the constitutional documents; protected in the local law; and also reflects the common values of Hong Kong. It is fully respected, but at the same time, we are a developed law-abiding society which respect the law. We also attach the importance to the function of the judiciary. So, on the question of protecting the freedom of the press, and protecting our legal system, and also the importance of law, we have to strike the balance somewhere. I am sure it is a common wish of our people.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript)

Ends/Monday, July 26, 2004
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2004 | Important notices Last revision date: 1 July 2007
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