She said concord between the two sides has not improved since Hong Kong's launch of the accountability system for principal officials. And since 2004 is an election year, she forecast more occasions of heated debates and flying tempers in the Legislative Council in the new session.

Addressing a year-end press conference, Fan said both sides have to reflect on why the situation has come to this.

"The citizens may not be too happy to find the two institutions see eye to eye on every issue, but they certainly don't want to see us arguing all day long for mere matters of face or unnecessary matters," she said.

"What they hope is we can concentrate our efforts or put forward good suggestions to improve the economy or their welfare."

Asked if she felt let down that the accountability system had not improved the bilateral relationship, she said: "I am not disappointed because I did not expect this from the start."

(China Daily July 15, 2003)