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10.
First, I wish to thank those Members, in
particular Miss Dunn, Mr. Stephen Cheong, Mr. Peter Poon, Mr.
NGAI Shiu-kit and Mr. CHUNG Pui-lam who have supported the
Administration on the action that we had to take. The
decisions were not easy and a great deal of work had to be
done in a very short time, and it was good to have
encouragement in this difficult task.
и.
Many Members have commented on various aspects of
the closure and the subsequent rescue package that was put
together. Some of what has been said has been helpful and
I shall ensure that the points made are conveyed to the
Securities Review Committee for its consideration.
particular, Miss Dunn has raised a number of entirely valid
questions.
In
x.
The first point that I would like to make in
relation to what has happened on the markets in the past
three weeks is that Hong Kong is not alone. All financial
centres have been hit to a greater or lesser degree by the
recent worldwide collapse in equity markets. Hong Kong
could not have escaped the effects of the dramatic falls
that have taken place in other markets.
15.
As to the action taken in Hong Kong, let me add
that I do not welcome suspension of trading in any market.
Markets are supposed to remain open. But there are
circumstances in which suspension of trading is unavoidable.