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DON'T WANT IS A SECOND CLASS AIRPORT. WHAT WE WANT IS AN AIRPORT WHICH ENABLES US TO COMPETE WITH THE BEST IN ASIA. WE WANT AN AIRPORT WHICH HAS GOOD ROAD AND RAILWAY LINKS. WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE CYCLING TO THE NEW AIRPORT UNLESS THEY ARE PARTICULARLY KEEN ON GETTING FIT. SO WE WILL GO ON PRESSING FOR AS GOOD AN AIRPORT AS POSSIBLE, AS COST EFFECTIVE AN AIRPORT AS POSSIBLE. AND WE'LL POINT OUT THAT OUR NEW PROPOSALS REDUCE THE TOTAL COST OF THE AIRPORT BY ABOUT 10 BILLION. NOBODY DISPUTES THAT.
THIRDLY, AND IT'S ANOTHER IMPORTANT POINT, OUR PROPOSALS ENSURE THAT WE CAN BOTH HAVE THE AIRPORT AND THE ASSOCIATED PROJECTS AND COMMIT THE RESOURCES THAT THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG WANT TO OUR EDUCATION AND OUR SOCIAL SERVICES. IF ANYBODY DISBELIEVES THAT, THEY SHOULD PERHAPS WAIT AND SEE WHAT I HAVE TO SAY ON OCTOBER 7TH. WE'RE NOT TAKING MONEY AWAY FROM OTHER PROJECTS IN ORDER TO FUND THE AIRPORT. OF COURSE THAT WOULD HAPPEN IF SOME OF THE THINGS I READ IN SOME NEWSPAPERS WERE IMPLEMENTED. HOW CAN IT BE FAIR, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG TO MAKE ALL THE SACRIFICES IN TERMS OF REDUCED PUBLIC EXPENDITURE PROGRAMMES BEFORE 1997 AND THEN TO HAVE ALL THE GAINS MADE AFTER 1997. THAT CERTAINLY WOULDN'T BE FAIR. AND IT'S WHY I'M SURE THAT A CHINESE OFFICIAL IS RIGHT TO SAY THE OTHER DAY THAT IT'S WHOLLY REASONABLE FOR THE LAND FUND TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION IF THE HONG KONG TAXPAYERS TODAY IS MAKING A CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROJECTS THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT.
SO I'M A LITTLE SURPRISED BY SOME OF THE THINGS I READ IN ONE OR TWO NEWSPAPERS, BUT I'M STILL LOOKING FORWARD OPTIMISTICALLY TO A POSITIVE REACTION TO OUR POSITIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE PROPOSALS FROM OUR COLLEAGUES IN THE PRC. THEY PRESUMABLY WANT AS MUCH AS WE DO, A NEW AIRPORT, ON TIME. THAT'S WHAT THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG WANT. I THINK THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG MUST BE GETTING A LITTLE IMPATIENT ABOUT THE ENDLESS DISCUSSIONS, THE WAY WE SEEM TO GO ROUND AND ROUND THE SAME ARGUMENT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I'VE ONLY BEEN GOVERNOR FOR JUST OVER TWO MONTHS, I'VE ALREADY FOUND IT A LITTLE WEARYING GOING OVER THE SAME POINTS AGAIN AND AGAIN.
QUESTION: WILL THE BRITISH SIDE AMEND THE COUNTER PROPOSALS?
GOVERNOR: WE CAN'T COME BACK WEEK AFTER WEEK WITH A NEW SET OF PROPOSALS. WE'VE PUT FORWARD THESE PROPOSALS IN GOOD FAITH. WHAT THESE PROPOSALS ATTEMPTED TO DO IS WHAT WE UNDERSTOOD THE CHINESE SIDE WANTED. THAT IS TO INCREASE THE EQUITY IN THE PROJECT AND TO DO SO BY USING THE RESOURCES FROM LAND WHICH IS PRODUCED BY THE
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