Former chief justice Yang Ti Liang was talking as if he was campaigning for the top post of chief executive six months ago.
'Hong Kong people need a period to settle down and get used to a new regime, not having to debate or analyse big changes. I'd prefer basically everything go on as before. It's something that they know. Good or bad, at least they know . . .
'I just want people to feel relaxed without having to worry about new things,' he said. Still true to his philosophy of governance in the early months of the post-handover Hong Kong, Mr Yang is adamant the proposals thrashed out by Chief Executive-designate Tung Chee-hwa and his cabinet on laws on civil liberties were not in contradiction to his stance.
'This is because,' he argues, 'the changes we proposed are very moderate, mild. This is fully consistent with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [ICCPR] and the Basic Law. 'I don't think the attacks that say 'we are curbing human rights' or that kind of emotive terminology are justified.
'We try to make as few changes as possible,' said Mr Yang in a small room set aside for Special Administrative Region (SAR) Exco members at the chief executive's office in Central.
Once a rival of Mr Tung's in the chief executive race, Mr Yang said he accepted Mr Tung's invitation to sit on the Exco because 'I think I still have something to contribute at this important period of history'.
