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The following is the English portion of the transcript of the reply given by the Secretary for the Environment and Food, Mrs Lily Yam, to press enquiries at Legislative Council today (April 10):

Reporter : (accountability..........)

SEF : It has no effect whatsoever on my personal decision to leave the civil service on completion of my extended agreement. I have always been serving on agreement terms even though I have been a civil servant for more than 30 years and my agreement is due to expire tomorrow. But I have extended it for two months and a bit and my extended agreement would expire now on the 30th June. My intention is to leave the service then and I made this decision last September when I was on holiday. I had time to think about what I want to do with my life. And a few months ago, I made arrangements to attend a summer course on Art History at the University of Cambridge. And then, I will probably do a bit of traveling and I will return to Hong Kong in mid-August and take it from there.

Reporter : (after 30 years in the civil service, are you leaving the civil service in the best time ...)

SEF : I think it is not a comment for me to make. All I can say is that I have been very proud to be a civil servant and I think it is time for me to move on and I will miss my colleagues. I will miss you and members of the media. But most of all, I will miss the people of Hong Kong.

Reporter : (retirement.....)

SEF : I don't like the word 'retirement'. I am moving from one stage of my life to the next. It's been a very very satisfying 30-odd years. And, let me just repeat, I am very proud to have been , I still am, to be a civil servant and to have the opportunity to serving the people of Hong Kong that will never change.

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

End/Wednesday, April 10, 2002

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