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Following is the transcript of the remarks by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Donald Tsang, on the resignation of the Secretary for Security, Mrs Regina Ip, in the lobby of the Central Government Offices this evening (July 16):

Mr Tsang: I feel very sorry about the departure of Regina. Regina and I have worked for over three decades. She is an excellent public officer, totally dedicated to Hong Kong, worked extremely hard, and possessed unrivalled leadership quality. Whenever she was faced with challenge, she was ready to accept it, took it on board and did her very best.

Circumstances in the past few weeks had been most testing, and as a close colleague, I respect her decision.

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

End/Wednesday, July 16, 2003

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