HONGKONG deputies to the eighth National People's Congress will propose setting up an office in the territory to enhance their role in transitional matters.
Thirteen of the 28 local deputies yesterday attended a meeting convened by local deputy Miss Liu Yiu-chu to discuss their future role.
Speaking after the meeting, Miss Liu stressed it was important for the Hongkong deputies to the congress to strengthen internal organisation and their function as China's legislators during the transition period.
''The new batch of local NPC deputies is different from the previous deputies because we are going to take part in the formation of the Hongkong Special Administrative Region [SAR] Government,'' she said.
''We should play a more active role in supervising the Chinese Government's implementation of the Basic Law.'' According to the Basic Law, the deputies will become members of the 400-strong selection committee to elect the first chief executive of the SAR Government in 1997.
In order to strengthen their role in Hongkong's transitional affairs, some local deputies proposed at yesterday's meeting that an NPC office should be set up to ease the work of the local deputies. But some deputies cast doubts that the office might constitute a second power centre in the territory.
''We will formally raise the proposal to the local branch of the New China News Agency and the NPC Standing Committee to discuss the feasibility and financial arrangement of the plan to set up an office,'' Miss Liu said.
