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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, at a media session at the Legislative Council Complex today (March 16):
Reporter: Mr Tsang, do you think your Budget can pass smoothly this time, given lawmakers are in general happy with it? And secondly, about ...
Financial Secretary: Are you talking about the Budget or ...?
Reporter: No, sorry. Appropriation Bill.
Financial Secretary: Appropriation Bill or what I'm talking about is sort of the short-term ...?
Reporter: The temporary funding. Do you think it can pass smoothly, given they are happy, in general happy, with it?
Financial Secretary: I think they fully realise how important it is for all the livelihood expenditures from social welfare, medical, education, security and so forth. So I think they do understand that, and so I would appreciate that they would pass that expediently.
Reporter: How confident are you about passing the temporary funding?
Financial Secretary: How confident?
Reporter: Yes.
Financial Secretary: You never know that it's passed until it is passed.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Issued at HKT 15:22
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