A: THE ANSWER FIRSTLY TO THAT IS, YES, TO YOUR LAST QUESTION.
.H THINK THAT-
(SOMEONE ASKS FOR THE QUESTION TO BE REPEATED)
MR LUCE: WOULD YOU LIKE TO REPEAT THE QUESTION OR SHALL REPEAT
THE QUESTION? WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY IT LOUDLY?
Q: WHETHER IT IS IMPORTANT THAT HONG KONG PUBLIC OPINION SHOULD
BE CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED FOR ALL TO SEE AND NOT JUST FOR THE
DELEGATES TO THE TALKS.
A: FÜRSTLY, LET ME SAY, REITERATE SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL KNOW THAT THIS IS A FREE SOCKETY AND THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE SHOULD HAVE
THE UTMOST FREEDOM TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS, AND SO MY ANSWER, FIRST
OF ALL, IS YES. BUT PERHAPS COULD THEN GO ON TO SAY SOMETHING
THAT HAS IMPRESSED ME EVEN MORE THIS TIME THAN IT DID LAST TIME,
FIVE YEARS AGO, WHEN I CAME, AND THAT IS THE MACHINERY THAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED TO ENABLE OPINIONS, IF YOU LIKE THE TWO-WAY FLOW OF VIEWS
BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENT, TO EXIST, RANGING FROM THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, UMELCO, TO SOME
OTHER MINTERESTING NEW DEVELOPMENTS WHICH I HAVE NOT FULLY
ACKNOWLEDGED BEFORE THE DISTRACT LEVEL AND THE URBAN COUNCIL LEVEL AND SOME OF THE ORGANISATIONS HAL THE NEW TERRITORIES WHERE
RIGHT DOWN TO VILLAGE AS WELL AS TO CINEY LEVEL - INCLUDING AT THAT
LEVEL AN ELECTIVE PROCESS, ONE ELEMENT OF AN ELECTIVE PROCESS
th JUST WANT TO SAY HOW EFFECTIVE ME FEEL THE MACHINERY SEEMS
TO BE WHICH GIVES ME ADDED CONFIDENCE THAT WE CAN GET A
CONTINUOUS INDICATION OF THE WIEWS AND THE OPINIONS OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG WHICH ARE SO IMPORTANT.
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Q. BY ROBERT COTTERILL, FINANCIAL TIMES: MINISTER, IT'S BEEN ANNOUNCED THAT SHR PERCY CRADDOCK WILL BE TAKING UP AT THE YEAR END A NEW JOB CONCERNING THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TALKS, SHOULD
HT BE INFERRED FROM THAT THAT THE TALKS ARE EXPECTED BY BRHITA: IN
TO GO ON FOR A LONG TIME PERHAPS FOR A YEAR OR MORE?
A: NONE OF US CAN SAY WITH ANY CERTAINTY ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS
HIN POLITICAL LIFE I'VE DISCOVERED, OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO
PROCEED AS FAST AS WE CAN BUT IT WOULD BE COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE
OBVIOUSLY TO SET DEADLINES AND, THEREFORE, WE MUST BE PREPARED FOR THIS TO TAKE TIME AS HY SAND EARLIER ON. THEREFORE THIS LEADS
ME TO THE SPECIFIC NATURE OF YOUR QUESTION ABOUT SIR PERCY CRADDOCK. FROM THE PRIME MINISTER DOWN TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE AND MYSELF WE'RE ALL VERY PLEASED THAT FOR A MAN WHO SERVED
WITH SUCH DISTINCTION AS OUR AMBASSADOR IN CHINA FOR QUITE A CONSIDERABLE TIME NOW HI THINK SINCE 1978 AND WHO HAS BEEN LEADING THE NEGOTIATIONS MAN PEKHING OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, # AM VERY PLEASED AS IS THE PRIME MINISTER BY THE FACT THAT HE HAS AGREED TO UNDERTAKE THIS TASK MEN LONDON WHICH WILL MEAN THAT AS ADVISER AT NO 10 AND AS DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE DEALING WITH
HONG KONG HE WILL BE PLAYING A VERY LEADING ROLE AS ADVISER TO
BRITISH.
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