1992-12-04 18:52 COMMS OFFICE (GOVT HOUSE)
852 526 0995 P.04
OPEN.
THEY HAVE BEEN WELL RECEIVED IN HONG KONG. AND THE BRITISH
GOVERNMENT ALSO BELIEVES, AS I DO, THAT IF ANYONE ELSE HAS ANY BETTER
PROPOSALS THAT ARE FAIR, OPEN AND ACCEPTABLE TO THE PEOPLE OF HONG
KONG, THEN THEY SHOULD PUT THEM FORWARD. I HAPPEN ΤΟ BELIEVE THAT
MY PROPOSALS ARE GOOD ONES. I WILL ARGUE FOR THEM ON THEIR MERITS.
BUT IF ANYONE HAS ANY BETTER ARGUMENTS, OR BETTER PROPOSALS, THEN I'M
WILLING TO CONSIDER THEM CAREFULLY AND SINCERELY, AND SO TOO,
I IMAGINE, IS THIS COUNCIL.
IT IS A MATTER BOTH OF FACT AND PRINCIPLE THAT MY PROPOSALS
WILL ULTIMATELY BE DECIDED UPON HERE IN HONG KONG. IT IS A MATTER OF
FACT BECAUSE THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE 1995 ELECTIONS WILL REQUIRE
LEGISLATION AND IT IS ONLY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL WHICH CAN PASS SUCH
LEGISLATION. IT IS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE BECAUSE THE CABINET
BELIEVES, JUST AS I DO, THAT IT MUST SUPPORT THE
PEOPLE OF HONG KONG AS REFLECTED BY THIS COUNCIL.
ASPIRATIONS OF THE
I VISITED JAPAN FROM THE 25TH-28TH NOVEMBER. THERE I MET THE
PRIME MINISTER MR MIYAZAWA, THE FOREIGN MINISTER MR WATANABE, AND
OTHER SENIOR POLITICAL LEADERS. I ALSO ATTENDED THE OPENING SESSION
OF THE JAPAN-HONG KONG BUSINESS CO-OPERATION COMMITTEE AND MET A LARGE
NUMBER OF JAPANESE BUSINESS LEADERS. TRADE LINKS BETWEEN HONG KONG
AND JAPAN ARE STRONG AND GROWING AND I WAS DELIGHTED THAT MANY
DISTINGUISHED HONG KONG BUSINESS AMBASSADORS ATTENDED THE JAPAN-HONG
KONG BUSINESS CO-OPERATION COMMITTEE MEETING.
JAPAN AND HONG KONG HAVE SIMILAR PERSPECTIVES ON VITAL ISSUES
WE'RE BOTH CONCERNED
SUCH AS FREE TRADE AND MFN STATUS FOR CHINA.
ABOUT THE POLITICISATION OF TRADE.
I BRIEFED MY JAPANESE HOSTS ON
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