Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa said yesterday that he saw eye to eye with the Liberals that if Hong Kong was to enjoy healthy development across the board, "we must make every effort to maintain stability and stay united".

He made the remark after meeting with four legislators from the Liberal Party for more than an hour yesterday, the second day of his meet-the-community programme.

On Monday Tung spent almost the same amount of time meeting the 17 "pro-democracy" legislators.

After the meeting yesterday, Tung said they had a good discussion on various issues ranging from the Article 23 legislation, economic recovery, the property market to the unemployment situation.

Tung noted that economic recovery is a matter of community concern.

"In the short term, the recent increase in visitor arrivals from the mainland and activities on the logistics front should help us on the unemployment situation," he said.

In the longer term, the closer economic partnership arrangement between Hong Kong and the mainland and much closer collaboration with the Pearl River Delta will give Hong Kong new opportunities for economic restructuring, he said.

"We must also ensure Hong Kong and the mainland develop a good interactive relationship within the 'One Country, Two systems' framework," Tung said.

On Basic Law Article 23, the chief executive reiterated that the next round of consultation will be very comprehensive to win maximum support and understanding from the community at large. There is no timetable for the legislative process.

Liberal Party chief James Tien told the press after the meeting that this was the second time he met with Tung since his resignation as an executive councillor early this month.

At Tung's request, they talked face to face for almost an hour last Wednesday.

"In fact, the atmosphere of the meetings between Tung and I, including the meeting last Wednesday, has always been very good," he said.

On the property market, Tien said he was concerned about falling prices. Appropriate measures, including the discontinuation of land applications from the reserve list by developers, are necessary moves to stop the falling trend.

(HK Edition, China Daily July 30, 2003)