Meddlers to be kept at bay

The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office is to play a watchdog role to prevent interference by other mainland organs in the affairs of the SAR after 1997.

Its director, Lu Ping , said the State Council body would no longer deal with Hong Kong's domestic affairs, but concentrate on relations between it and China's provincial and departmental organs.

Mr Lu, who at 68 is well above the stipulated retirement age, said he would be stepping down at the handover. 'I'll be free,' he said. Mr Lu has been with the office since it was set up in 1979.

The role and functions of China's other branch handling local affairs, Xinhua (the New China News Agency), would also be defined ahead of the handover, an agency official said yesterday.

'The Basic Law has laid down clearly that no departments or provincial authorities should interfere in the day-to-day affairs of the Special Administrative Region. We need to supervise this to see whether such interference will occur,' Mr Lu told a group of businessmen and academics in Singapore. 'If that happens, we will take immediate measures to stop it.' Hong Kong would be able to file complaints against such interference to the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, or directly to the central Government.

His office would examine the complaints, take whatever action was possible or submit any unsettled complaints to the central Government for a decision.