DRAFT ARticle for THE TIMES
2
1.
On 30th June 1997 British administration in Hong Kong will come to an end. So now is the time to be clear about what we want to achieve over the next five years and about the kind of Hong Kong we want to see in 1997,
2.
My aim as Governor is simple: it is to safeguard Hong Kong's way of life the way of life set out in page after page of the Joint Declaration. Its free economy. Its rule of law. Its sound administration. All the things that, together, underpin Hong Kong's prosperity and stability.
3.
Hong Kong today is booming. Its people are confident, its economy thriving.
4.
I am daily startled
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and ever more impressed
by the remarkable achievements of Hong Kong's remarkable people. It is they who have made Hong Kong what it is today an economic wonder of the world, the hub of the Asian economy.
5.
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Hong Kong is forging ever closer links with the
economy of Southern China and with the other economies of the region. Day by day, week by week economic reform is making progress in Southern China, bringing prosperity and higher living standards to millions of people. As it does so, trade with Hong Kong is growing good for China and good for Hong Kong.
6.
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Come to Hong Kong today and it is hard not to be optimistic about its future.
SECRET