Q. BY TERESA MA, FAR EAST ECONOMIC REVIEW: IT IS KNOWN THAT
SIR PERCY CRADDOCK WILL TAKE UP HIS NEW POST LATER ON THIS YEAR, WHEN CAN WE EXPECT AN ANNOUNCEMENT ON HIS REPLACEMENT IN
PEKING?
A: WELL, NATURALLY AS YOU WILL UNDERSTAND ON THE APPOINTMENT
OF AMBASSADORS YOU HAVE TO GET WHAT IS CALLED AGREMENT FROM THE GOVERNMENT TO WHOM YOU ARE WISHING TO APPOINT A PARTICULAR AMBASSADOR AND, THEREFORE, THIS TAKES A LITTLE TIME AND WE SHALL ANNOUNCE A NEW AMBASSADOR AS SOON AS WE CONCEIVABLY CAN CERTAINLY THAT'S IMPORTANT.
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Q. BY TERESA MA, FAR EAST ECONOMIC REVIEW: WOULD YOU LIKE TO ALSO CONFIRM THE REPORT IN NEWSPAPERS A FEW WEEKS AGO ON WHETHER
MR
A: F START CONFHRMING OR DENYING REPORTS MN EVERY SINGLE NEWS-
PAPER SHALL BE IN DEEP TROUBLE.
Q. BY F.Y. POON, ATV NEWS: HAVING SAID THAT MIT HES THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT'S OBJECTIVE TO PRESERVE WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED IN HONG KONG AND FURTHER BUILD ON THAT SUCCESS, IS IT ALSO WITHIN THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT'S OBJECTIVE TO PRESERVE ITS PRESENCE IN HONG KONG OR TO PRESERVE LINKS OF SOME SORT AFTER 1997?
DO YOU SEE THAT AS A VITAL FACTOR FOR THE CONTINUING SUCCESS OF HONG KONG?
A: THESE ARE ALL MATTERS THAT HAVE TO BE WORKED OUT IN THE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE AFTER 1997 AND AGAIN KNOW IT'S FRUSTRATHING FOR YOU SHITTING THERE YOU WANT ME TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE TALKS AND HAVE TO GO ON STATING SOMETHING WHICH N YOU KNOW POLITICIANS LIKE COMMUNICATING, WE RATHER ENJOY T NORMALLY, THEREFORE IN FIND HIT VERY FRUSTRATHING TOO. CANNOT TELL YOU ABOUT DETAILS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS BUT WHAT I WOULD SAY HAN ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION HS THIS: NOT ONLY DO I WANT TO SAY N WORDS AND ASK YOU TO UNDERSTAND HOW STRONGLY WE MEAN THIS, THAT OUR COMMITMENT IS STRONG TO THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG AND TO THAT OBJECTIVE. BUT AS A MATTER OF FACT THERE IS ALSO AND THIS S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT H FIND MOST IMPRESSIVE IN MY VISIT HERE ON THE LAST TWO OR THREE DAYS - NOT ONLY CONFIDENCE BEING SHOWN
N HONG KONG'S FUTURE BY GOVERNMENT, THE RATE AT WHICH THEY ARE EXPANDING THE NEW TOWNS, THE UNDERGROUND SYSTEM WHICH TRAVELLED ON WHICH HIS EXPANDING ALL THE TIME, THE ENORMOUS INCREASE N PUBLIC SPENDING ON THE PART OF THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT BUT ALSO WHAT IS IMPORTANT HAS THE CLEAR EVIDENCE OF A COMMITMENT TO THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG BY BRITISH INVESTORS. YOU'VE GOT THIS FROM A. NUMBER OF SOURCES, YOU'VE GOT THIS FROM DE LARUE WHO ARE INVESTING IN BANKNOTE MANUFACTURE HAN THIS COUNTRY, YOU'VE GOT THIS FROM FERRANT WHO ARE INVESTING HIN MICROCHIPS AND YOU'VE GOT THIS IN BSR WHO'VE TRANSFERRED ITS HEADQUARTERS FROM LONDON TO, HONG KONG. AND THERE IS EVIDENCE HERE OF A COMMUNITY THAT'S EXPANDING AND THAT PEOPLE IN BRITAIN DO HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THIS COUNTRY. IT'S HMPORTANT TO US WHERE THIS COUNTRY, HONG KONG, HS THE LARGEST EXPORTING MARKET FOR US IN THE FAR EAST.
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