CHIEF Secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang yesterday urged China to take into account concerns expressed by Hong Kong on the proposal to scrap the overriding status of the Bill of Rights.
She said the Preliminary Working Committee (PWC) proposal to restore legislation which had been amended to conform to the Bill of Rights was unnecessary and undesirable.
'It undermines confidence in Hong Kong's legal system and Hong Kong's commitment to upholding human rights,' Mrs Chan said.
'I do say again, I hope very much that the Chinese will take into account the concern expressed by the Hong Kong community.' Reacting to criticism by China of a debate on the bill in Legco, Governor Chris Patten said the council represented the interests of Hong Kong people.
'It's perfectly natural that the Legislative Council should want to discuss and debate this matter, after all, what we are talking about is a proposal by legislators and if the Legislative Council doesn't talk about that, what does the Preliminary Working Committee suppose it should talk about?' the Governor said.
Mr Patten criticised recent remarks made by PWC members and Chinese officials as 'unhelpful and surprising'.
