The majority of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Legislative Councilors has voted Thursday in support of a new administrative system of accountability proposed by HKSAR Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa.
At the end of an eight-and-a-half-hour debate, of 55 councilors present during the vote, 34 councilors have voted in support of the proposed system, while 19 councilors have voted against it, with one councilor abstaining.
Speaking before vote, the HKSAR Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung stressed that the proposed system is completely in line with the Basic Law, as there is no provision in the law that demands that the administrative system must remain unchanged.
The HKSAR Secretary for Civil Service Joseph Wong emphasized at the council that the civil service will continue to remain a professional, clean and politically neutral team.
(People's Daily May 31, 2002)
