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The following is the transcript (English portion)of the Question and Answer session of a press conference given by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Donald Tsang, today (March 26):

Reporter: You say that the decision of the NPCSC is final and we have to abide by that, and yet the Task Force, over the past few months, has been very actively collecting the views of society. I mean to what extent are you afraid that there may be a feeling that this exercise is perhaps futile, if the NPCSC is basically just going to make the final decision? And also, could you ......

Chief Secretary for Administration: Could we answer the questions one by one, please. First of all, I have said that the Central Government attaches great importance to the work of the Task Force and has asked us to discuss the matter of legal procedures fully with the Hong Kong people, and we have already done so. And we have taken time to consider this question. And indeed, as I told the public, the day before yesterday, we are already in a position to draw conclusions from the submissions we have received and the views we have received.

And on this occasion, when the NPC Standing Committee meets to discuss this question, before they actually meet they are going to ask us to meet them and tell them the views we have collected from the Hong Kong public and express our views on this matter. This is what we are going to do on March 30, before the meeting of the NPC Standing Committee takes place on April 2. I am sure the work of the Task Force in this regard will be very useful in helping the NPC Standing Committee to come to the most correct decision in the interest of the nation and the interest of Hong Kong.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion.)

Ends/Friday, March 26, 2004

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