5 July 1989
一九八九年七月五日
56
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
香港立法局
right for our people must remain; even a disappointing result should not crush our spirit to fight for the well-being of our community. Politicians may come and go, but Hong Kong must continue.
Sir, it has been suggested that since Britain is unlikely to give Hong Kong people the right of abode, Her Majesty's Government should now speed up the process of democratization in Hong Kong. To this suggestion, I would also like to give my own reply.
It is true that we need a democratic form of government in order to exercise the high degree of autonomy that has been promised to us, but it should be
up to us as a community to gauge how quickly we can move in that process. We appreciate the goodwill, but we should not be pushed one way or the other.
Furthermore, it is my view that in a territory like Hong Kong which was not, is not, and will not be a totally independent state, and in particular, when the future sovereign country to which it returns does not practise democracy as we understand it, there is no guarantee that we can maintain and defend a democratic system here unless either the new sovereignty has a good record of keeping its words and promises, or we ourselves possess the guarantee of human rights and safety measures independent of the system, a guarantee which the United Kingdom right of abode can provide. In the light of what has happened, and is happening in China since 4 June, it is my firm view that just a promise of a speedier democratization by the British Government simply cannot be a trade- off for the right of abode for the people of Hong Kong.
Having said this, I still believe that the mood of Hong Kong has changed, and that we are now ready to explore the possibility of a quicker pace of democratization.
Sir, with these remarks, I support the motion.
劉皇發議員致辭:主席先生,正如其他議員一樣,我對英國國會外交事務委員會報告書有關港人 在英居留權問題的建議,感到非常的失望和不滿。香港現正面對一個極為嚴重的信心危機,而令 人遺憾的是,國會外事會竟無視該危機的嚴重性、無視英國對港人在憲法上和道義上負有不可推 卸的責任,其作出的建議並不能解決香港的問題,是我們所不能夠接受的。
近期事態的發展,使港人對未來的人身安全感到憂慮,信心因而極度動搖,逼使港人尋求外地 的居留權,作為日後之保障。因此「居留權」與「恢復港人信心」兩者是不可分割的。
由於事在燃眉,我們首要的任務是要盡快穩住港人的信心,令他們起碼在短期内能安心留在香 港,緊守崗位;否則,香港現時的管治將會出現問題,目前的安定繁榮亦有不保的危險,更遑論