With "One country, Two systems" firmly established, the SAR Government has the experience and confidence to start a second term in which the focus will be on progress and innovation. The Chief Executive's sweeping reform of the Executive Council is one example of changes in the pipeline and the promise of better things to come. The new accountability system will get things moving more quickly and effectively. It will help to create a favourable economic environment in order to provide more job opportunities.

It shows TUNG Chee-hwa's determination to usher in a new era, where top officials will be held accountable for their actions and some political party leaders will be more directly involved in decision making. During the first term, legislators were frequently criticised for seeming to be little more than "nay sayers" whose role consisted solely of criticising the Government and obstructing its plans. Under the new arrangement, Mr TSANG Yok-sing and myself have been appointed to the Executive Council, in a move to minimise the perceived antagonism between the executive and the legislative arms of the administration.

Although the Liberal party and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) combined have only 18 votes in Legco, together they will form a coalition which can lay the foundation for co-operation and closer communication with government. This gives the Liberal party a greater role in formulating policies, while at the same time being able to convey to the authorities the views and feelings of our constituents. It is part of a legislator's responsibility to reflect the views of the electorate, and to monitor the Government and that I will continue to do, passing on opinions from different sectors in the initial stage of policy formulation, so that final decisions can better meet the wider community's needs.

Although Mr TUNG has been criticised for narrow-mindedness in failing to appoint any democrats to the Executive Council, I cannot agree. This body is, after all, the nucleus of the decision making process, and it is preferable that its members should broadly share the political views of its leader. In my view, that is how most of the world's governments operate. The opposition has its own role to play. Bringing political disputes into the Executive Council may not be desirable.

Instead, under the new arrangement, the positioning of political parties will be clearer, with one being the ruling party and the other, the opposition. I would argue this scenario is the best way to go. Does it mean that the Liberals, the DAB and the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) will have no divergence of views over social policies in Hong Kong simply because they are all members of the executive? Of course not. The three have their different political philosophies and diverse strengths. The DAB has established an extensive regional network with support from the grassroots; the FTU focuses on the rights of workers, the Liberal party, on the other hand, is familiar with economic issues. With members from all three groups represented, the Government will benefit by hearing different voices when policy is being formulated.

Indeed it will be a good testing ground for new measures. If proposals face rejection from all three parties, it will be a reflection of strong opposition from society as a whole. Under such circumstances, the Government should - and almost certainly would - reconsider its plans. If, however, the three parties differ in their view, the official held accountable for the policy should act as mediator, to find a compromise.

Even in the most sensitive labour issues, it is possible for the business sector and the employees representatives to reach a mutually acceptable solution. The Labour Advisory Board has often proved this to be the case. It has been successfully negotiating between opposing sides of the labour market and the Government for several years, and its effective methods offer a blueprint for the future.

Another advantage of the new system is that political parties may change their approach when there is a chance that they will have members joining the Executive Council. In the past, parties relied largely on direct elections to join the Legco. This tended to foster the belief that criticising Government policy was their main duty, and that this was what the electorate expected. But a monitoring role should not - and does not - mean endless and predictable opposition to all the administration's plans. It is far better for politicians to offer constructive suggestions and try to assist Government in its work, rather than to sit back watching for mistakes and then criticising them.

When politicians adopt a more positive and supportive attitude, and Government policies are well received, everyone shares in the benefits.

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