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    Following is the transcript of remarks (English portion) by the Acting Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, and the Secretary for Justice, Ms Elsie Leung, at a press conference held at the Central Government Offices yesterday (March 12):

Reporter: Mr Tsang, are you a candidate for the next Chief Executive position?

Acting Chief Executive: Well, I received the news about the resignation of Mr Tung from him at the end of last month. Since then I have been working very hard with my colleagues on preparing for all the work that needs to be done to carry out the election of the new Chief Executive. This is my priority. Any other things, including the possibility of candidature on my part, is certainly not my priority. It is something that I'm not going to look at at the moment.

Reporter: Hong Kong understands itself as a bridge between China and the outside world. Now the cross-border relationship between China and Taiwan is getting a little bit more dicey. Do you see any possibility that Hong Kong might play a role in fostering a kind of constructive dialogue between Beijing and Taipei.

Acting Chief Executive: Well we are part of the Chinese nation. We are practising "One Country, Two Systems", and we have proved over the last seven and a half years that the "One Country, Two Systems" principle has been successfully implemented in Hong Kong. We have gone through elections of the legislature. We have gone through elections of the Chief Executive as well. At the moment we are dealing with an election of the Chief Executive when a Chief Executive resigns in the middle of the term. In other words, we believe that we have demonstrated that a capitalistic system in Hong Kong is operating very successfully within the framework of the Chinese nation. And I do believe it is something, which is reassuring to Taiwanese people that the system that has been laid out can work. And whatever we are able to do to help the nation to reunite at some stage, Hong Kong will spare no effort.

Reporter: In the last few days a lot of people have said they expect you to be a tougher leader. In what ways do you think your style of governance will differ?

Acting Chief Executive: You must realise I am only an Acting Chief Executive. My additional responsibility as Acting Chief Executive in addition to my being a Chief Secretary is to conduct this election of the Chief Executive as quickly, as efficiently, as openly as possible. I don't think there's a question of toughness involved in this. What is important is to do it fairly, openly, in strict accordance with our law. This I am going to do with the help of all my colleagues here.

Reporter: You have talked repeatedly about the need to have stability in Hong Kong, but the silence that you've kept and the silence that your Government has kept over this whole issue since last week has done a lot of damage. Can you explain your action please?

Acting Chief Executive: Let's face the facts. Mr Tung decided to submit his resignation on Thursday. He immediately accounted for his decision to the public on Thursday. There is no question of silence of any kind. Secondly, the Central People's Government decided to accept the resignation of Mr Tung at 6pm today. We are now accounting for this, particularly the follow-up action as a Special Administrative Region as regards the election of a new Chief Executive, as regards transitional arrangements at 8.30pm today. I think we are trying our very best to ensure the world at large and the people of Hong Kong are well informed about what the Government is doing.

Reporter: As the new Acting Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Do you plan to meet in the forthcoming days and weeks with any of the Central Government leaders in Beijing to discuss your policies?

Acting Chief Executive: Well, there are policies well within the autonomy of Hong Kong. These will be carried out in the usual way in Hong Kong. There are matters which touch on both the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Central Government, for instance on constitutional development. This is a matter which we regularly, but not necessarily frequently, discuss with the Central Government. This we will continue to do.

Reporter: Some people have expressed concern that the two-year term violates the Basic Law's promise of a high degree of autonomy and the concept of "One Country, Two Systems". Could you give us a response to these critics?

Acting Chief Executive: Well perhaps the Secretary for Justice will answer you this. But let me tell you one thing. We have come to the conclusion that the term of the Chief Executive elected in these circumstances should be the remainder of Mr Tung's term. This is in accordance with our own research, in accordance with our own deliberations, having taken into account the evidence we have collected and the views expressed to us in the Mainland and in Hong Kong, and we will do it accordingly. And this is in total respect of our own legal system and our law and we are going to do it accordingly. I'm sure that people will support the idea of a five-year term and some will insist it is a two-year term, and I am sure they will listen to what the Secretary for Justice had already said, and will continue to explain, and come probably to the same conclusion. And we are going to explain as much as we can over the next few weeks and if there is any challenge at all, we will meet that challenge. At the same time we will ensure the election that we are going to hold will not be disrupted.

Secretary for Justice: I think the Acting Chief Executive has already answered your question.

Reporter: A question for Miss Leung. It would appear that we have just had an interpretation of the Basic Law without the procedural nicety of going through the NPC Standing Committee in order to get that interpretation. It appears that Hong Kong has done it for the Central Government. Some people will look at this and surely say that in their view the common law system in Hong Kong has just had a body blow, the Basic Law can no longer be safely interpreted using common law principles, and they will point to the fact that two successive Secretaries for Constitutional Affairs have given assurances on terms to the Legislative Council that have been proven wrong. What would you say to those people who feel that this is a body blow?

Secretary for Justice: First of all, the conclusion which I have arrived at, that the term of the new Chief Secretary under Article 53 of the Basic Law is based on common law principles and not on any interpretation, as you put it, by the NPCSC. There has been no interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Reporter: I think we agreed on that Ms Leung. My question was it appears that an interpretation has been reached without going through the NPC Standing Committee and that Mainland principles are now applied in the interpretation, not the common law. Is that the case now?

Secretary for Justice: No. That is not the case. But in considering our position under Article 53 of the Basic Law we take into consideration the arguments put forward by the legal experts in the Mainland from which we elicited the history of the legislation to find out exactly what the legislative intent was. That principle is also dealt with in the common law. You have to look at the legislative intent to ascertain what exactly the term of the new Chief Executive should be. The fact that the Government took a different stand doesn't mean that we are adopting whatever the legal experts in the Mainland say. As I explained to everybody present here today, I explained how we analysed the history of the promulgation of the Basic Law and also what the legislative intent was when the Basic Law was drafted.

Reporter: How did two Secretaries for Constitutional Affairs get it wrong?

Acting Chief Executive: Please do not be too conspiratorial. I think Miss Leung has explained to us fully how she has taken several things - all the factors - into account, and applying our own traditional legal principles came to her own conclusion, and explained to us what her conclusion is. This is entirely our own tradition. It has nothing to do with any interpretation of the Basic Law by the NPC.

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

Ends/Sunday, March 13, 2005

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