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Following is a letter from the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, to President of the Legislative Council, the Hon Jasper Tsang, today (February 25):
ˇ§Dear President,
LegCo Council meeting on 25 February 2009
At the Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting earlier today, a few LegCo Members again disrupted the proceedings of LegCo by unseemly interrupting the delivery of the Budget speech by the Financial Secretary. The Members crossed the floor, pushed the lectern, attempted to grab the speech and threw objects at the Financial Secretary. We deeply regret such grossly disorderly behaviour in the Chamber.
The Budget is an important annual policy proposal that concerns our economy, society and peopleˇ¦s livelihood. When preparing the Budget, we have fully consulted LegCo Members and heeded their views. Difficult times like this call for concerted efforts of the community, including the Administration and the legislature, to overcome the challenges. We hope to engage LegCo on the basis of mutual respect and rational discussion. And we believe the community would not condone any unruly behaviour inside the Chamber that disrupts the proceedings of LegCo and violates our commonly subscribed principle that protests in whatever form should be held in a peaceful manner.
The repeated unruly behaviour, with some increasingly intimidating acts, of these Members against public officers is worrying. I feel obliged to register again, indeed for the third time within this session, the Administrationˇ¦s deep regret over such incidents. We are highly concerned about the severe negative impact of such behaviour on the relationship between LegCo and the Administration.
Yours sincerely,
(Henry Tang)
Chief Secretary for Administrationˇ¨
Ends/Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Issued at HKT 19:55
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