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Following is the transcript of a media session given by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joseph W P Wong, today (January 11) after the Chief Executive's meeting with the senior directorate officers:

Reporter: ... What were the worries ...?

Secretary: We did not go into specific details of the Policy Address. Of course, the senior civil servants are aware of our target to reduce expenditure by $20 billion in 2006/07. In association with this budget cut, it is also our target to reduce civil service establishment by 10 per cent. There were of course some questions raised about the VR2 (Second Voluntary Retirement Scheme). I told the colleagues we would announce the scheme shortly. So otherwise, no specific worries which were put up by our colleagues.

(Please also refer to the Chinese transcript)

End/Saturday, January 11, 2003

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