CHINESE Vice-Premier Qian Qichen yesterday urged the Preliminary Working Committee (PWC) to review its inadequacies. His comment followed calls from PWC members for greater openness in the powerful Preparatory Committee. Mr Qian, the PWC chairman, made the call at the start of the body's sixth and final plenary session. It will now be disbanded and the Preparatory Committee will be formed early next year. 'I hope we will be able to use this opportunity to take on board your own experience to fully review the work experience and inadequacies of the PWC,' he told members at the Great Hall of the People. Forty-six submissions have been compiled by the PWC's five sub-groups since it was established in mid-1993 at the height of the ill-fated Sino-British negotiations on constitutional reform. Their findings, some controversial, will form the basis for the Preparatory Committee's preparations for the Special Administrative Region. Mr Qian was confident the PWC's conclusions would help lay a sound foundation for the committee. All PWC members are expected to be renamed to sit on the committee at the end of a National People's Congress Standing Committee meeting this month. Local member Lau Siu-kai said his colleagues should be 'more forthcoming in meeting the public, explaining their proposals'. Professor Lau said he believed Chinese officials were aware of the criticisms about the credibility and workstyle of the PWC. He was pessimistic about co-operation between the committee and the Hong Kong Government. 'There will be a limit because the major work of the committee is to set up a new stove, or new political structure, different from that established by Governor Chris Patten. 'There are intrinsic conflicts between the agenda of the Government and the committee.' He said Mr Patten was aware of the difficulties and has stressed the committee should not erode the authority of the Government and divide and demoralise the civil service. 'The scope of co-operation will be rather limited. But there will be a cordial relationship between the Government and the committee instead of the conflicting relationship between the Government and the PWC,' he said. A senior mainland official admitted there was a need to improve the dissemination of information. Local PWC member, Tsang Yok-sing, rejected criticism that the PWC was too secretive saying a lot of criticism of its work was unfair and biased.
