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In response to media enquiries, the Senior Special Assistant to the Chief Executive, Mr Andrew Lo, issued the following statement today (July 21):

The purpose of my meeting with the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong in January 1999 was to gain a fuller understanding regarding opinion polls in general.

At the time, I had only wanted the Vice-Chancellor to enlighten me on this matter. Thereafter, I did not discuss this further with Professor Cheng, nor did I take any further steps to pursue the matter.

As the Vice-Chancellor has stated, I did not request the University to take any action regarding these polls nor did I exert any pressure on the University.

End/Friday, July 21, 2000

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