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"The Government must guarantee it would not force resignations and should also widely consult the public and related bodies on the EPP."
	.....	Legislative Councillor CHEUNG Man-kwong commenting on the Budget, in relation to the reduction of 10,000 civil service posts by 2003, Hong Kong Standard
"a step in the right direction"
	.....	Chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, Jasper TSANG Yok-sing, described the civil- service cuts, Hong Kong Standard
"I think cutting 10,000 posts is achievable. The impact on existing staff has been minimized."
	.....	Head of the City University Public and Social Administration Department, Anthony CHEUNG Bing-leung, considered the government had taken a pragmatic step in its 2000 Budget, South China Morning Post
"For a civil service of 198,000 employees, an annual reduction of about 3,000 is not that ambitious"
	.....	Legislative Councillor and chair of the Citizens Party Christine LOH Kung-wai, concluded in her column headed "Challenge for civil service" in relation to the Budget, South China Morning Post
"The reforms are on the right track. It is a world-wide trend for government to minimize its size and raise its efficiency."
	.....	Legislative Councillor and Chief of Liberal Party, James TIEN Pei-chun, speaking in the Budget debate, Hong Kong Standard
"Liberal Howard YOUNG said the pace of reform should be pushed faster."
		vs
"Democrats CHEUNG Man-kwong said the reforms could fail if they were pushed too fast."
	.....	Debating on the Budget, the Liberal Party backed the controversial civil service reform, while Democrats urged caution, Hong Kong Standard
"To be frank, the target is just the minimum requirement, ........ spreading the job cuts over three years would have limited impact on the labour market."
	.....	The Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management external affairs director, Eddie NG Hak-kim, commenting on the Budget, South China Morning Post


On 3 March 2000, the Secretary for the Treasury released the Draft Estimates of Expenditure for the year 2000-01. These Estimates have reflected the achievements of bureaux, departments and subvented organisations in delivering EPP gains. On 8 March 2000, the Financial Secretary announced the further initiative to reduce the size of the Civil Service by 10,000 over the next three years. The following is a collection of press and public comments on these initiatives.