Tang reflects on that comment

Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen, who stirred controversy by saying it was 'completely rubbish' to hold that the government had violated people's rights during last month's visit by Vice-Premier Li Keqiang, said yesterday he had reflected upon his remarks.

But he sidestepped whether he would retract his statement or make an apology. He said it was an 'alert' for himself if his choice of words had caused misunderstanding.

Tang's comments came after he met two journalists' organisations in an effort to mend fences with local media, which had reacted sharply and negatively to his August 19 remarks. The controversy has amounted to the first real test of his candidacy for next year's chief executive election - at a time when the presumed front-runner is finding increasing competition from Executive Council convenor Leung Chun-ying.

Emerging from separate meetings with the Hong Kong News Executives' Association and the Journalists Association, Tang said he used the word 'rubbish' when referring to the allegation that the government had violated civil rights and freedom of speech. 'In hindsight, if my choice of words has caused any misunderstanding, it was absolutely not my intention,' he said. 'I will take the incident to remind myself in future.'

Mak Yin-ting, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association, said she was disappointed that Tang refused to retract his remark or offer an apology. 'Without an apology, Tang had failed to convince the public that he would be sincere in making improvements,' Mak said. The News Executives Association also called on Tang to apologise during the meeting, but he did not respond.

Mak said the government should set up an independent committee, headed by a retired judge, to review the overall arrangements made for Li's visit. 'The committee should not only review the security and press arrangements, but also review whether the government had done its best to protect the freedom of press and the freedom of expression during the visit,' Mak said. Tang did not respond to their suggestion, she said.