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20 A Fresh Chapter Begins / [ n the months and years following the signing of the agreement th e Governor continue d hi s frequen t travel s t o Londo n an d Beijing , forcefully puttin g his point of view on the many questions raised in its implementation. Each time he left, as Chief Secretary and his deputy I took over as Acting Governor, and when he was away I chaired th e meetings o f Executiv e Counci l an d wa s presiden t o f th e Legislativ e Council. Meetings o f th e Executiv e Counci l too k plac e i n th e governmen t secretariat in an unadorned room around a long marmalade-coloured tea k wood table , with n o distractin g pictures o n th e walls, no concessio n t o comfort. A t 9.30 ever y Tuesday morning th e Governor entere d throug h his door at the end of the table as his clerk announced 'His Excellency the Governor'. Member s then sat and discussion o f the agenda for th e week began, starting with the approval of the decisions of the last meeting to be signed by the Governor. These were not a record of who said what or how a decision had been reached, merely the decision itself. The private record of who said what was kept for the archives by the Clerk of Councils, who sat quietl y i n a corne r takin g notes . Official s wh o wer e neede d fo r discussion of agenda items waited their turn to be called, entered and sat, 'boding tremblers' , a t th e othe r en d o f th e table . Ther e the y waite d apprehensively fo r question s o n thei r presente d papers , bu t otherwis e did not join the discussion . Legislative Counci l meetings , o n th e othe r hand , too k plac e in th e 20 A Fresh Chapter Begins n the months and years following the signing of the agreement the Governor continued his frequent travels to London and Beijing, forcefully putting his point of view on the many questions raised in its implementation. Each time he left, as ChiefSecretary and his deputy I took over as Acting Governor, and when he was away I chaired the meetings of Executive Council and was president of the Legislative Council. Meetings of the Executive Council took place in the government secretariat in an unadorned room around a long marmalade-coloured teak wood table, with no distracting pictures on the walls, no concession to comfort. At 9.30 every Tuesday morning the Governor entered through his door at the end of the table as his clerk announced 'His Excellency the Governor'. Members then sat and discussion of the agenda for the week began, starting with the approval of the decisions of the last meeting to be signed by the Governor. These were not a record ofwho said what or how a decision had been reached, merely the decision itself. The private record ofwho said what was kept for the archives by the Clerk of Councils, who sat quietly in a corner taking notes. Officials who were needed for discussion of agenda items waited their turn to be called, entered and sat, 'boding tremblers', at the other end of the table. There they waited apprehensively for questions on their presented papers, but otherwise did not join the discussion. Legislative Council meetings, on the other hand, took place in the Feeling the Stones colonnaded forme r Suprem e Cour t o f Hon g Kong , constructe d i n th e first years of the twentieth centur y on land reclaimed from th e harbour , next to the cricket ground and to the right of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank so as, incidentally, not t o obstruct th e bank's view of the harbour ! The Governor sat where the Chief Justic e had previously sat, on a canopied, penitential, hard teak wood throne salvaged from a former marine court . Hong Kong moved on as the economy and society adjusted to changes in the Chinese and world economy, and made use of the opportunities i t afforded fo r ou r entrepreneur s t o inves t i n China . Ther e i s a thrustin g ambition, cleve r adaptability, an d a desire to outwi t an d...

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