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In response to media enquiry, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan, made the following remarks today (June 1):

I join the Chief Executive and the Hong Kong community in expressing my sadness over the death of Lord MacLehose of Beoch. Our thoughts and prayers are with Lady MacLehose and her family at this time of their bereavement.

Lord MacLehose was totally committed to Hong Kong. He made a remarkable and enduring contribution to its development as a modern international city. The wide range of infrastructural and social policies and programmes he initiated during his long tenure of service remain firmly in place today. He will be remembered particularly for his drive to solve the housing problem and his determination to root out corruption by establishing the ICAC.

He continued to take a close and active interest in Hong Kong's affairs in his retirement, and never failed to champion Hong Kong's cause, both in Parliament and in other areas of public life. As a loyal friend of Hong Kong, he will be sadly missed.

End/Thursday, June 1, 2000

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