1996-10-02-cd

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

1

OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
立法局會議過程正式紀錄
Wednesday, 2 October 1996
一九九六年十月二日星期三

The Council met at half-past Two o'clock
下午 2 時 30 分會議開始

MEMBERS PRESENT
出席議員：

THE PRESIDENT
THE HONOURABLE ANDREW WONG WANG-FAT, O.B.E., J.P.
主席黃宏發議員， O.B.E., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE ALLEN LEE PENG-FEI, C.B.E., J.P.
李鵬飛議員， C.B.E., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE MRS SELINA CHOW LIANG SHUK-YEE, O.B.E., J.P.
周梁淑怡議員， O.B.E., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE MARTIN LEE CHU-MING, Q.C., J.P.
李柱銘議員， Q.C., J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE DAVID LI KWOK-PO, O.B.E., LL.D. (CANTAB),
J.P.
李國寶議員， O.B.E., LL.D. (CANTAB), J.P.

THE HONOURABLE NGAI SHIU-KIT, O.B.E., J.P.
倪少傑議員， O.B.E., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE SZETO WAH
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LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

司徒華議員

THE HONOURABLE LAU WONG-FAT, O.B.E., J.P.
劉皇發議員， O.B.E., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE EDWARD HO SING-TIN, O.B.E., J.P.
何承天議員， O.B.E., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE RONALD JOSEPH ARCULLI, O.B.E., J.P.
夏佳理議員， O.B.E., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE MRS MIRIAM LAU KIN-YEE, O.B.E., J.P.
劉健儀議員， O.B.E., J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE EDWARD LEONG CHE-HUNG, O.B.E., J.P.
梁智鴻議員， O.B.E., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE ALBERT CHAN WAI-YIP
陳偉業議員

THE HONOURABLE CHEUNG MAN-KWONG
張文光議員

THE HONOURABLE CHIM PUI-CHUNG
詹培忠議員

THE HONOURABLE FREDERICK FUNG KIN-KEE
馮檢基議員

THE HONOURABLE MICHAEL HO MUN-KA
何敏嘉議員

DR THE HONOURABLE HUANG CHEN-YA, M.B.E.
黃震遐議員， M.B.E.

THE HONOURABLE EMILY LAU WAI-HING
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

3

劉慧卿議員

THE HONOURABLE LEE WING-TAT
李永達議員

THE HONOURABLE ERIC LI KA-CHEUNG, O.B.E., J.P.
李家祥議員， O.B.E., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE FRED LI WAH-MING
李華明議員

THE HONOURABLE HENRY TANG YING-YEN, J.P.
唐英年議員， J.P.

THE HONOURABLE JAMES TO KUN-SUN
涂謹申議員

DR THE HONOURABLE SAMUEL WONG PING-WAI, M.B.E., F.Eng., J.P.
黃秉槐議員， M.B.E., F.Eng., J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE PHILIP WONG YU-HONG
黃宜弘議員

DR THE HONOURABLE YEUNG SUM
楊森議員

THE HONOURABLE HOWARD YOUNG, J.P.
楊孝華議員， J.P.

THE HONOURABLE ZACHARY WONG WAI-YIN
黃偉賢議員

THE HONOURABLE CHRISTINE LOH KUNG-WAI
陸恭蕙議員

THE HONOURABLE JAMES TIEN PEI-CHUN, O.B.E., J.P.
田北俊議員， O.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE LEE CHEUK-YAN
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LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

李卓人議員

THE HONOURABLE CHAN KAM-LAM
陳鑑林議員

THE HONOURABLE CHAN WING-CHAN
陳榮燦議員

THE HONOURABLE CHAN YUEN-HAN
陳婉嫻議員

THE HONOURABLE ANDREW CHENG KAR-FOO
鄭家富議員

THE HONOURABLE PAUL CHENG MING-FUN
鄭明訓議員

THE HONOURABLE CHENG YIU-TONG
鄭耀棠議員

DR THE HONOURABLE ANTHONY CHEUNG BING-LEUNG
張炳良議員

THE HONOURABLE CHEUNG HON-CHUNG
張漢忠議員

THE HONOURABLE CHOY KAN-PUI, J.P.
蔡根培議員， J.P.

THE HONOURABLE DAVID CHU YU-LIN
朱幼麟議員

THE HONOURABLE ALBERT HO CHUN-YAN
何俊仁議員

THE HONOURABLE IP KWOK-HIM
葉國謙議員
THE HONOURABLE LAU CHIN-SHEK
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

5

劉千石議員

THE HONOURABLE AMBROSE LAU HON-CHUEN, J.P.
劉漢銓議員， J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE LAW CHEUNG-KWOK
羅祥國議員

THE HONOURABLE LAW CHI-KWONG
羅致光議員

THE HONOURABLE LEE KAI-MING
李啟明議員

THE HONOURABLE LEUNG YIU-CHUNG
梁耀忠議員

THE HONOURABLE BRUCE LIU SING-LEE
廖成利議員

THE HONOURABLE MOK YING-FAN
莫應帆議員

THE HONOURABLE MARGARET NG
吳靄儀議員

THE HONOURABLE NGAN KAM-CHUEN
顏錦全議員

THE HONOURABLE SIN CHUNG-KAI
單仲偕議員

THE HONOURABLE TSANG KIN-SHING
曾健成議員

THE HONOURABLE MRS ELIZABETH WONG CHIEN CHI-LIEN, C.B.E.,
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LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

I.S.O., J.P.
黃錢其濂議員， C.B.E., I.S.O., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE LAWRENCE YUM SIN-LING
任善寧議員

MEMBERS ABSENT
缺席議員：

THE HONOURABLE LO SUK-CHING
羅叔清議員

DR THE HONOURABLE JOHN TSE WING-LING
謝永齡議員

PUBLIC OFFICERS ATTENDING
出席公職人員：

THE HONOURABLE MRS ANSON CHAN, C.B.E., J.P.
CHIEF SECRETARY
行政局議員布政司陳方安生女士， C.B.E., J.P.

MR RAFAEL HUI SI-YAN, J.P.
FINANCIAL SECRETARY
財政司許仕仁先生， J.P.

THE HONOURABLE JEREMY FELL MATHEWS, C.M.G., J.P.
ATTORNEY GENERAL
行政局議員律政司馬富善先生， C.M.G., J.P.

MR MICHAEL SUEN MING-YEUNG, C.B.E., J.P.
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS
政務司孫明揚先生， C.B.E., J.P.
MR CHAU TAK-HAY, C.B.E., J.P.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

7

SECRETARY FOR BROADCASTING, CULTURE AND SPORT
文康廣播司周德熙先生， C.B.E., J.P.

MR GORDON SIU KWING-CHUE, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT
運輸司蕭炯柱先生， J.P.

MR NICHOLAS NG WING-FUI, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
憲制事務司吳榮奎先生， J.P.

MR DOMINIC WONG SHING-WAH, O.B.E., J.P.
SECRETARY FOR HOUSING
房屋司黃星華先生， O.B.E., J.P.

MRS KATHERINE FOK LO SHIU-CHING, O.B.E., J.P.
SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE
 生福利司霍羅兆貞女士， O.B.E., J.P.

MR JOSEPH WONG WING-PING, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER
教育統籌司王永平先生， J.P.

MR PETER LAI HING-LING, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY
保安司黎慶寧先生， J.P.

MR BOWEN LEUNG PO-WING, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS
規劃環境地政司梁寶榮先生， J.P.

MR KWONG KI-CHI, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR THE TREASURY
庫務司鄺其志先生， J.P.

8
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

MISS DENISE YUE CHUNG-YEE, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY
工商司俞宗怡女士， J.P.

MR LAM WOON-KWONG, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE
公務員事務司林煥光先生， J.P.

MR STEPHEN IP SHU-KWAN, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC SERVICES
經濟司葉樹 先生， J.P.

MR KWONG HON-SANG, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR WORKS
工務司鄺漢生先生， J.P.

MRS LESSIE WEI CHUI KIT-YEE, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES
財經事務司韋徐潔儀女士， J.P.

CLERK IN ATTENDANCE
列席秘書：

MR RICKY FUNG CHOI-CHEUNG, SECRETARY GENERAL
秘書長馮載祥先生

PURSUANT TO STANDING ORDER 6(2), HIS EXCELLENCY THE
GOVERNOR, THE RIGHT HONOURABLE CHRISTOPHER FRANCIS
PATTEN, ATTENDED TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL.

總督彭定康先生根據《會議常規》第 6(2)條出席會議，向本局發表施政報
告。
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

9
L.N. No.
329/96
330/96
332/96
333/96
(Hotel Proprietors Ordinance) Order 1996 .................
Order 1996 ..................................................................
Regulation 1996 ..........................................................
Coinage (Commemorative Coins) Order 1996 .....................
Official Languages (Alteration of Text)

Dutiable Commodities (Liquor) (Amendment)

Fish Culture Zone (Designation) (Amendment)

PAPERS

The following papers were laid on the table pursuant to Standing Order 14(2):

Subject

Subsidiary Legislation

Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance

Medical Practitioners (Registration and

Disciplinary Procedure) (Amendment) Regulation
1996 (L.N. 280 of 1996) Corrigendum ......................
(Public Pleasure Grounds) (Amendment of Fourth
Schedule) (No. 4) Order 1996 ....................................
Banking Ordinance (Amendment of Third Schedule)

Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)

Shipping and Port Control (Specification of

Public Swimming Pools (Designation) Order 1996 .............
(Hotel Proprietors Ordinance) Order ..........................
Areas) (Amendment) Notice 1996 .............................
Notice 1996 ................................................................
336/96
337/96
334/96
335/96
338/96
(C) 77/96
10
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日
Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)

(Heung Yee Kuk Ordinance) Order ...........................
(C) 78/96
Magistrates Ordinance (Amendment of Fourth

Schedule) (No. 2) Order 1996 ....................................
339/96
Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Regulation 1996

(L.N. 191 of 1996) (Commencement)
Notice 1996 ................................................................
Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) Ordinance

(Cap. 478) (Commencement) Notice 1996 ................
Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486)

(Commencement) Notice 1996 ...................................
341/96
342/96
343/96
Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)

(Legal Practitioners Ordinance) Order .......................
(C) 79/96
Designation of Libraries (Urban Council Area)

(No. 2) Order 1996 .....................................................
Commercial Bathhouses (Urban Council)

(Amendment) Bylaw 1996 .........................................
Food Business (Urban Council) (Amendment)

(No. 2) Bylaw 1996 ....................................................
Frozen Confections (Urban Council) (Amendment)

Bylaw 1996 .................................................................
344/96
345/96
346/96
347/96
Funeral Parlour (Urban Council) (Amendment)

Bylaw 1996 .................................................................
348/96
Milk (Urban Council) (Amendment) Bylaw 1996 ...............
349/96

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

11
Offensive Trades (Urban Council) (Amendment)

Bylaw 1996 .................................................................
Places of Amusement (Urban Council) (Amendment)

Bylaw 1996 .................................................................
Swimming Pools (Urban Council) (Amendment)

Bylaw 1996 .................................................................
Undertakers of Burials (Urban Council)

(Amendment) Bylaw 1996 .........................................
Dutiable Commodities (Liquor Licences)

(Specification of Fees) (Urban Council Area)
(Repeal) Notice 1996 ..................................................
Places of Public Entertainment (Licences)

(Specification of Fees) (Urban Council Area)
(Repeal) Notice 1996 ..................................................
Interpretation and General Clauses (Amendment)

Ordinance 1995 (88 of 1995) (Commencement)
Notice 1996 ................................................................
Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance 1996 (49 of 1996)

(Commencement) Notice 1996 ...................................
350/96
351/96
352/96
353/96
354/96
355/96
356/96
357/96
Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)

(Buildings Ordinance (Application to the New
Territories) Ordinance) Order ....................................
(C) 80/96
Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)

(Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance)
Order ...........................................................................
(C) 81/96
Pilotage (Amendment) Regulation 1996 ..............................
358/96

12
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日
Professional Accountants (Amendment) Bylaw 1996 ..........
359/96
Official Languages (Alteration of Text) (Import

and Export Ordinance) Order 1996 ............................
Port Control (Public Cargo Working Area)

Order 1996 ..................................................................
360/96
361/96
Hawker (Permitted Place) (No. 2) Declaration 1996 ...........
362/96
Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Ordinance 1995

(84 of 1995) (Commencement) Notice 1996 .............
Professional Accountants (Amendment) Ordinance

1995 (85 of 1995) (Commencement) Notice 1996 ....
Prevention of Bribery (Miscellaneous Provisions)

Ordinance 1996 (48 of 1996) (Commencement)
Notice 1996 ................................................................
Aviation Security Ordinance (52 of 1996)

(Commencement) Notice 1996 ...................................
363/96
364/96
365/96
366/96
Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)

(Import and Export Ordinance) Order ........................
(C) 82/96
Port Control (Public Cargo Working Area) (No. 2)

Order 1996 ..................................................................
368/96
Port Control (Public Water-Front) Order 1996 ....................
369/96
Public Cemeteries (Regional Council) (Amendment)

Bylaw 1996 .................................................................
Declaration of Change of Title (Recreation and

Culture Branch) Notice 1996 .....................................
370/96
371/96

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

13
Recreation and Culture) Notice 1996 .........................
Division, Chief Secretary's Office) Notice 1996 ........
(Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 1996 ................
Limits) (Amendment) Rules 1996 ..............................
(No. 3) Notice 1996 ....................................................
Chinese Language) Notice 1996 ................................
Commodities Trading (Trading Limits and Position

Declaration of Change of Title (Chinese Language

Declaration of Change of Title (Commissioner for

Boilers and Pressure Vessels (Exemption)

Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest)

Declaration of Change of Title (Secretary for

Pension Benefits Ordinance (Established Offices)

Rules of the Supreme Court (Amendment) (No. 3)

Legal Aid Services Council Ordinance (17 of 1996)

Judicial Officers (Tribunal) Rules ........................................
Waste Disposal (Amendment) Ordinance 1995
(14 of 1995) (Commencement) (No. 2)

Notice 1996 ................................................................
Medical Registration (Amendment) Ordinance 1996

(7 of 1996) (Commencement) (No. 2)
Notice 1996 ................................................................
Rules 1996 ..................................................................
(Amendment) Order 1996 ..........................................
(Commencement) Notice 1996 ...................................
372/96
373/96
374/96
375/96
376/96
377/96
378/96
379/96
380/96
381/96
382/96
383/96
(Nos. 1 and 2)
Commencement of the 1996/97 Session of the
Legislative Council of Hong Kong Notice 1996 ........
388/96
14
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日
Buildings (Amendment) (No. 2) Ordinance 1996
Import and Export (Amendment) Ordinance 1995
Regulation 1995 (L.N. 543 of 1995)
(Commencement) Notice 1996 ...................................
Import and Export (Fees) (Amendment) (No. 2)

Import and Export (General) (Amendment)
Regulation 1995 (L.N. 542 of 1995)

(Commencement) Notice 1996 ...................................
Hong Kong Royal Instructions 1917 to 1993

(55 of 1996) (Commencement) Notice 1996 ............

(30 of 1995) (Commencement) Notice 1996 ............

Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance

District Court Equal Opportunities Rules

(Public Pleasure Grounds) (Amendment of Fourth
Schedule) (No. 5) Order 1996 ....................................
(L.N. 236 of 1996) (Commencement)
Notice 1996 ................................................................
Practising Certificate (Solicitors) (Amendment)

Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 480)

Rectification of Errors Order 1996 .......................................
Coinage (Commemorative Gold Coin) Order 1996 .............
(Commencement) (No. 2) Notice 1996 ......................
Rules 1996 ..................................................................
384/96
385/96
386/96
387/96
389/96
390/96
391/96
392/96
393/96
394/96
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

15
Disability Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 487)

(Commencement) (No. 2) Notice 1996 ......................
395/96
Specification of Public Office ..............................................
396/96
Specification of Public Office ..............................................
397/96
Specification of Public Office ..............................................
398/96
Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)

(Copyright Ordinance) Order .....................................
(C) 83/96
Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)

(Revised Edition of the Laws Ordinance 1965)
Order ...........................................................................
(C) 84/96
Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)

(Electricity Supply Regulations and
Electricity Supply (Special Areas)
Regulations) Order .....................................................
(C) 85/96
Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)

(Federation of Hong Kong Industries Ordinance)
Order ...........................................................................
(C) 86/96
Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)

(Mass Transit Railway Corporation Ordinance)
Order ...........................................................................
(C) 87/96
Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)

(Arbitration Ordinance) Order ....................................
(C) 88/96
Specification of Arrangements (Government of
New Zealand Concerning Air Services)

(Double Taxation) Order ............................................
399/96

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LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日
Notice 1996 ................................................................
(Amendment) Regulation 1996 ..................................
Rabies (Amendment) Regulation 1996 ................................
Kowloon-Canton Railway (Restricted Area)

Waste Disposal (Forms and Fees for Licences)

Canada Concerning Air Services) (Double
Taxation) Order ..........................................................
Specification of Arrangements (Government of

文件

下列文件乃根據《會議常規》第 14(2)條的規定而正式提交：

項目

附屬法例
Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)

(Lifts and Escalators (Safety) Ordinance)
Order ...........................................................................
400/96
401/96
402/96
403/96
(C) 89/96
法律公告編號

《 1996 年應課稅品（酒類）（修訂）規例》 ....
329/96

《 1996 年硬幣（紀念硬幣）令》 ..............
330/96

《 1996 年魚類養殖區（指定）（修訂）令》 ....
332/96

《 1996 年法定語文（修改文本）
（酒店東主條例）令》 ..................
333/96

《 1996 年公眾 生及市政條例（公眾遊樂場地）
（修訂附表 4）（第 4 號）令》 ..........
334/96

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

17
《 1996 年公眾泳池（指定）令》 ..............
335/96

《 1996 年銀行業條例（修訂附表 3）公告》 .....
336/96

《 1996 年船舶及港口管制（範圍指明）
（修訂）公告》 ........................
337/96

《 1996 年醫生（註冊及紀律處分程序）
（修訂）規例
（ 1996 年第 280 號法律公告）勘誤 .......
338/96

《法定語文（中文真確本）
（酒店東主條例）令》 ..................
(C) 77/96

《法定語文（中文真確本）（鄉議局條例）令》 .
(C) 78/96
《 1996 年裁判官條例（修訂附表 4）
（第 2 號）令》 ........................
339/96

《 1996 年危險藥物（修訂）規例
（ 1996 年第 191 號法律公告）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
341/96

《商船（海員）條例（第 478 章）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
342/96

《個人資料（私隱）條例（第 486 章）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
343/96

《法定語文（中文真確本）
（法律執業者條例）令》 ................
(C) 79/96

《 1996 年圖書館（市政局轄區）指定
（第 2 號）令》 ........................
344/96

《 1996 年商營浴室（市政局）（修訂）附例》 ..
345/96

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LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

《 1996 年食物業（市政局）（修訂）
（第 2 號）附例》 ......................
346/96

《 1996 年冰凍甜點（市政局）（修訂）附例》 ..
347/96

《 1996 年殯儀館（市政局）（修訂）附例》 ....
348/96

《 1996 年奶業（市政局）（修訂）附例》 ......
349/96

《 1996 年厭惡性行業（市政局）
（修訂）附例》 ........................
350/96

《 1996 年遊樂場所（市政局）（修訂）附例》 ..
351/96

《 1996 年泳池（市政局）（修訂）附例》 ......
352/96

《 1996 年殮葬商（市政局）（修訂）附例》 ....
353/96

《 1996 年應課稅品（酒牌）（規定費用）
（市政局轄區）（廢除）公告》 ..........
354/96

《 1996 年公眾娛樂場所（牌照）（指明收費）
（市政局轄區）（廢除）告示》 ..........
355/96

《 1995 年釋義及通則（修訂）條例
（ 1995 年第 88 號）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
356/96

《 1996 年刑事罪行（修訂）條例
（ 1996 年第 49 號）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
357/96

《法定語文（中文真確本）
（建築物條例（新界適用）條例）令》 ....
(C) 80/96

《法定語文（中文真確本）
（公眾娛樂場所條例）令》 ..............
(C) 81/96

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

19
《 1996 年領港（修訂）規例》 ................
358/96

《 1996 年專業會計師（修訂）附例》 ..........
359/96

《 1996 年法定語文（修改文本）
（進出口條例）令》 ....................
360/96

《 1996 年港口管制（公眾貨物裝卸區）令》 ....
361/96

《 1996 年小販（認可區) （第 2 號）宣布》 .....
362/96

《 1995 年公司（修訂）（第 2 號）條例
（ 1995 年第 84 號）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
363/96

《 1995 年專業會計師（修訂）條例
（ 1995 年第 85 號）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
364/96

《 1996 年防止賄賂（雜項條文）條例
（ 1996 年第 48 號）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
365/96

《航空保安條例（1996 年第 52 號）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
366/96

《法定語文（中文真確本）
（進出口條例）令》 ....................
(C) 82/96

《 1996 年港口管制（公眾貨物裝卸區）
（第 2 號）令》 ........................
368/96

《 1996 年港口管制（公眾海旁）令》 ..........
369/96

《 1996 年公眾墳場（區域市政局）
（修訂）附例》 ........................
370/96

20
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

《 1996 年宣布更改名稱（文康廣播科）公告》 ..
371/96

《 1996 年宣布更改職銜（文康廣播司）公告》 ..
372/96

《 1996 年宣布更改名稱（布政司辦公室，
中文公事管理局）公告》 ................
373/96

《 1996 年宣布更改職銜（中文專員）公告》 ....
374/96

《 1996 年儲稅券（利率）（第 3 號）公告》 ....
375/96

《 1996 年鍋爐及壓力容器（豁免）（綜合）
（修訂）令》 ..........................
376/96

《 1996 年商品交易（交易限額及持倉限額）

（修訂）規則》 ........................
377/96
《司法人員（審裁處）規則》 .................
378/96

《 1995 年廢物處置（修訂）條例
（ 1995 年第 14 號）1996 年（生效日期）
（第 2 號）公告》 ......................
379/96

《法律援助服務局條例（1996 年第 17 號）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
380/96

請參閱英文本 ...............................
381/96

《 1996 年退休金及有關利益條例（設定職位）
（修訂）令》 ..........................
382/96

《 1996 年最高法院規則（修訂）
（第 3 號）規則》 ......................
383/96

《 1996 年建築物（修訂）（第 2 號）條例
（ 1996 年第 55 號）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
384/96

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

21
《 1995 年進出口（修訂）條例（1995 年第 30 號）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
385/96

《 1995 年進出口（一般）（修訂）規例
（ 1995 年第 542 號法律公告）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
386/96

《 1995 年進出口（費用）（修訂）（第 2 號）規例

（ 1995 年第 543 號法律公告）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
387/96

《 1917 年至 1993 年香港皇室訓令（第 1 及 2 號）
─
1996 年香港立法局 1996 至 97 年度
會期開始公告》 ........................
388/96

《 1996 年硬幣（紀念金幣）令》 ..............
389/96

《 1996 年公眾 生及市政條例（公眾遊樂場地）
（修訂附表 4）（第 5 號）令》 ..........
390/96

請參閱英文本 ...............................
391/96

《 1996 年執業證書（律師）（修訂）規則》 ....
392/96

《地方法院平等機會規則（1996 年第 236 號法律公告）
1996 年（生效日期）公告》 .............
393/96

《性別歧視條例（第 480 章）1996 年（生效日期）

（第 2 號）公告》 ......................
394/96

《殘疾歧視條例（第 487 章）1996 年（生效日期）

（第 2 號）公告》 ......................
395/96

《公職指定》 ...............................
396/96

《公職指定》 ...............................
397/96

《公職指定》 ...............................
398/96

22
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日
《法定語文（中文真確本）（版權條例）令》 ...
(C) 83/96

《法定語文（中文真確本）
（ 1965 年法例編正版條例）令》 .........
(C) 84/96

《法定語文（中文真確本）
（電力供應規例及電力供應
（特別地區）規例）令》 ................
(C) 85/96

《法定語文（中文真確本）
（香港工業總會條例）令》 ..............
(C) 86/96

《法定語文（中文真確本）
（地下鐵路公司條例）令》 ..............
(C) 87/96

《法定語文（中文真確本）（仲裁條例）令》 ...
(C) 88/96

《安排指明（新西蘭政府關於民用航空服務）
（雙重課稅）令》 ......................
399/96

《安排指明（加拿大政府關於民用航空服務）
（雙重課稅）令》 ......................
400/96

《 1996 年狂犬病（修訂）規例》 ..............
401/96

《 1996 年廢物處置（牌照表格及費用）
（修訂）規例》 ........................
402/96

《 1996 年九廣鐵路（專用區）公告》 ..........
403/96

《法定語文（中文真確本）

（升降機及自動梯（安全）條例）令》 ....
(C) 89/96

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

23

主席：請各位議員繼續站立，等候總督進入會場。

秘書：香港總督。

主席：現請總督向立法局發表施政報告。

GOVERNOR: Mr President, when I spoke almost a year ago to this legislature,
which had just been wholly elected for the first time in Hong Kong's history, I
made it plain that my 1995 policy address would be the last that I would give in
the conventional form and manner. Perhaps my successor will, in due course,
choose to return to something like the customary practice. But my departure on 1
July next year, and the handover of sovereign responsibility in Hong Kong from
Britain to China, dictate another approach and impose other requirements. I want
to speak today in more personal terms than is customary. To set out for you my
own view of the great future that is open to Hong Kong in the years ahead; to
explain how we have tried to lay the best possible foundations for that future; and
to suggest what needs to be done over the coming years to make sure that Hong
Kong moves on to even greater success.

Business as usual

2.
Let me say straightaway what this rather different speech today does not
mean. It does not mean that government is closing down or going into hibernation
for nine months. You cannot turn government on and off like a combustion
engine. It will be business as usual, punctuated admittedly by some unique events.
We still have plenty to do. And we intend to do plenty. There are few things more
damaging in governing a community than drift. As the American lawyer, Justice
HOLMES, said: "We must sail sometimes with the wind, sometimes against it;
but we must sail and not drift or lie at anchor".

3. We have published once more this year a comprehensive summary of what
we have done, what we have failed to do, and what we intend to do. Those
documents, to which I shall return in a moment, speak for themselves. I do not
have it in mind to make a speech this year which is composed of the highlights of
yesterday's achievements and of tomorrow's promises. So the usual media score
24
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

card on the policy address ─ in which initiatives from the Governor are
measured like Olympic dives ─ is even less appropriate than usual.

I hope, however, that the Progress Report and the Policy Commitments will
4.
be given the careful study they deserve. There is a tendency to ignore these
annual exercises in candour, or at best to concentrate on what they tell the
community about targets missed rather than goals achieved. All I would urge is
that these documents are seen for what they are, part of a revolution in the way
Hong Kong's Government and public service do their jobs. They spell out in
detail what we have been doing to modernize the way our Government governs.
We have tried to open up the way we do business. We have tried to blow away
the cobwebs, to equip Hong Kong's Government not just for the transition, but for
the new millennium.

Accountable government

5.
I promised almost four and a half years ago that our Government would
become more open and more accountable. It has done so. Performance Pledges,
Customer Liaison Groups, Progress Reports, Policy Commitments, the expansion
of the Commissioner for Administrative Complaint's role, the Code on Access to
Information, reforms to legal aid, my question-and-answer sessions here and in
other public forums ─ these are all part of that process of opening up the
Government. I would
to congratulate our Civil Service on how
whole-heartedly they have responded to the challenges. Some things in the
Government will always have to remain confidential to protect the wider public
interest. It is only reasonable to recognize that. But more can and should be
known about what the Government does for those whom it serves. I doubt
whether there are many, if any, governments anywhere which try to be as frank
about their failures as well as their successes. That is a part, an important part,
of the maturing of Hong Kong's institutions.

To celebrate success from time to time is not to retreat into complacency.
6.
Few communities are ever fully satisfied with how they are governed and with the
quality and standard of their lives. Change and development are the essence of
life, especially in Hong Kong. Today is almost over. There is always tomorrow to
conquer and to improve. So in reviewing briefly how far we have gone in
implementing the five-year agenda that I spelt out in the autumn of 1992, I do not
wish to sound as though every peak of good and benevolent administration has
like
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

25

been scaled. Climb one hill in government and you are rewarded by the sight of a
higher hill ahead of you.

A five-year agenda: progress so far

7.
In my first policy address four years ago this week, I set out a five-year
programme for the Government. Our dedicated Civil Service has worked hard to
implement the pledges and promises that we made then. This Council has played
its part by enacting the necessary legislation and supporting our requests for funds.
As a result, most of the aims we set four years ago have been achieved or are on
schedule for completion within the five-year timetable. So much for the charge
that democratic development would make Hong Kong ungovernable!

8.
so close to 1997 is a great tribute to the professionalism of the Civil Service.

9.
Let me try to set out ─ telegrammatically ─ what all this has meant in
practice for our lives in Hong Kong, and how the quality of life for most people
has improved across the board in the last five years.

If you are a student, a parent or a teacher, you have benefited from the
10.
efforts we have made and are making to improve educational standards, the
foundation for Hong Kong's future.

─ We promised 2 200 more teachers by 1997. By September 1996,
The fact that such an ambitious programme could have been implemented
there were 2 400 more.
─ We set out to reduce pupil-teacher ratios to 24 in primary schools
and 20 in secondary schools. We achieved that in the 1995-96
academic year.
─
─
I said that we would provide a computer for every secondary student
taking a computer course. We did that in 1994.
Finally, we promised that by 1994 there would be enough places in
our tertiary institutions for 18% of each generation of students to
enrol for first degree courses. We accomplished that too in 1994.

11.
taken.

─
26
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日
If you are disadvantaged, you will have benefited from many steps we have

The new Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme was
introduced in 1993.
─ We promised 5 880 care-and-attention places for the elderly by 1997.
We have provided 4 410. We will achieve 98% of our target next
year.
─ We also promised 200 more foster care places by 1997. We had
provided them all by last year. By the end of the five-year timetable,
we will have provided a total of 280 additional places.
─ We have launched a major drive to improve standards of care for
mental patients, including a massive modernization of the Castle
Peak Hospital, with the help of a generous donation from the Hong
Kong Jockey Club.
If you have a disability, you will, I hope, have benefited from the actions
the enactment of the Disability Discrimination Ordinance to protect
your right to fair and equal opportunities;
─
improved access to buses and trains, following the three summits I
have chaired. In addition, regular Rehabus services have expanded
by nearly 60% and their dial-a-ride services by over 130%; and
─ we have also expanded the number of supported employment places
from 30 to 950, and residential places for children by more than 10
times.
If you are sick, you will have had access to steadily improving health care

12.
we have taken, including:

─

13.
over the last five years.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

27
─ We promised 4 200 more hospital beds. Nearly 3 000 have already
been provided. The rest will follow next year.
─ We gave an undertaking to open 13 new clinics by 1997. Ten have
already opened and the others will be ready next year on schedule.
─ We pledged to cut waiting times at accident and emergency clinics

from 60 minutes to less than 30 minutes. We have done so.
If you are concerned about housing, there are now more flats available and

14.
far fewer temporary housing areas.

─ Our aim was to build over 100 new flats every day. We are doing so.
─ We are meeting all of our targets on temporary housing areas. In
1992, over 65 600 people lived in temporary housing. By the end of
this year, we will have cut the number by some 48 000 despite new
arrivals in Hong Kong from China at a rate of 150 a day. We will
have cut the number of temporary housing areas from 55 to 19. Over
the next few years, we will provide better interim housing for those
who need it.

─ And we introduced the Sandwich Class Housing Scheme with the
target of providing new homes for 30 000 families between the
period 1995 and 2003.

15.
If you are concerned about Hong Kong's environment ─ as we all should
be ─ you will no doubt wish we had done more. But you can take
encouragement from the fact that since 1992:

─ we have cut pollution in rivers and streams in the New Territories by
70%, through the livestock waste control scheme;
─
80% of petrol now sold is unleaded, and 50% of vehicles now use
catalytic converters. Before 1992, hardly any did so;

28

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日
─ we have curtailed emissions from new vehicles: dust emissions are
down by 50%, and sulphur dioxide by 40%. We are now urgently
examining alternative fuels for diesel vehicles; and
─ we have in place a proper strategy to dispose of Hong Kong's waste.
Since 1992, we have built three new strategic landfills and two new
refuse transfer stations.
If you are concerned about crime and the safety of our community, you

16.
should be encouraged by the fact that:

─

─
─
─
─
compared to 1992, our overall crime rate in the first eight months of
this year was down by 9% and, according to the latest figures, is
projected to be at a lower level this year than it was a decade ago ─
how many other cities in the world could make that claim?
the violent crime rate in the first eight months of this year is down by
23% on the same period in 1992;
our crime rates are about the same as Singapore's. And our crime
rates are much, much lower than those in London, New York, Tokyo
and Toronto;
drug addiction was down nearly 5% in 1995 on the year before, 7%
amongst the under 21s; and
since 1992, we have put 1 500 more police officers into the frontline,
helping to beat crime around the clock. Hong Kong is a very safe
city by international standards ─ a great tribute to our excellent
Police Force, to the commitment of the whole community in the fight
against crime, and to the social stability that we have preserved in
Hong Kong.
If you are concerned about the problems posed by Vietnamese migrants,

17.
you will have noted that:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

29
─
the numbers involved ─ at 12 000 ─ are now much smaller than
the 50 000 in 1992;
─ we are currently repatriating about 1 400 a month, with the objective
of clearing the camps as soon as possible; and
─
our police and Correctional Services Department continue to cope
with this difficult and sensitive issue with great professionalism and
dedication.

18.
If you are a businessman, you will have been pleased that our economy has
continued its 35 years of uninterrupted economic growth. In particular, you will
have benefited from the measures we have taken since 1992 to help business. For
example:

─ we are building a modern new airport and supporting infrastructure
to ensure that our air services continue to meet business demands;
─ we are, at last, about to embark on the construction of Container
Terminal 9 and are well advanced on the planning of Container
Terminals 10 and 11;
─ we are constructing our first dedicated river trade terminal in Tuen
Mun; and
─ we are providing one of the most advanced and competitive
telecommunications systems in the world, offering a choice of four
Fixed Telecommunication Network Services operators, four cellular
phone operators, six Personal Communications Services operators
and 31 paging operators ─ easier and easier to get hold of people
in Hong Kong.
reduced further the already low corporate profits tax from 17.5% to
16.5%;

We have:

─

30
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

─
─
─
─
─
─
─
─
─
─
─
raised the exemption level for business registration fees from $5,000
to $30,000 for the sale of goods and from $1,500 to $10,000 for the
sale of services;
reduced "ad valorem" company registration fees from 0.6% to 0.3%;
abolished entertainments tax and the duty on cosmetics;
halved the profits tax payable on certain qualified debt instruments
issued in Hong Kong;
introduced a generous tax allowance to encourage hotels to
undertake refurbishment;
embarked on a $4.8 billion extension to the Convention and
Exhibition Centre, to keep Hong Kong the best conference venue of
Southeast Asia;
established a $50 million New Technology Training Scheme to
double the number of trainees in new technology;
injected $300 million into the Employees Retraining Board;
earmarked an initial allocation of $50 million for the setting up of a
Services Support Fund, to beef up the Government's support for the
service industries;
granted $50 million to the Hong Kong Tourist Association for the
establishment of a Tourist Development Fund; and
set up a task force to review existing government procedures and
practices, and slash unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy.

And this is not all:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

31
─ we have streamlined procedures in the Companies Registry and
Official Receiver's Office, made many more government forms
bilingual, and are starting to put government information on the
Internet. We are expanding the Companies Registry's computer
database, and aim to make it possible to access key information on
companies on-line during 1998. We will allow authorized
institutions to submit their returns electronically to the Hong Kong
Monetary Authority;
─ we have also set up a Task Force on Services Promotion to develop
the policies and programmes necessary to support our continued
success as a major global and regional services centre; and
─ we have set up a Small and Medium Enterprises Committee to advise
the Government on how to improve the environment for smaller
businesses.
─
─

19. Despite the cost of this massive programme I have been describing, Hong
Kong tax rates are among the lowest in the world. 60% of the working population
pay no salaries tax at all, and only 2% pay at the hardly onerous top rate of 15%.
And for most people, the tax burden is even lower now than it was in 1992. Since
that year, we have:

increased the basic and married person's allowances by 44%;
increased the basic dependent parent allowance by 33% and the
additional dependent parent allowance by 71%; and
increased the second child allowance by 56%;
increased the first child allowance by 16%;
increased the single parent allowance by 44%.

And all these increases are over and above inflation. As a result, the median
─
─
─
32
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

income family with two children now pays no salaries tax at all.

20. The other component of our five-year programme that I want to mention
today is the arrangements we made for holding three sets of elections in 1994 and
1995. What was our aim? A simple and clear one: to put in place electoral
arrangements which were open, fair and which would command the confidence
and the support of the people of Hong Kong. Well, we did exactly that. I will say
a little more about this later.

Policy Commitments: the highlights

21.
In the Policy Commitments that we published this week, we set out some
of the ways in which we will be building on the work I have been briefly
describing.

22. First, we are focusing on preparations for the transition.

─ We will press ahead with the work on Air Services Agreements, on
the continued application of international agreements, on the
localization of laws and so on.
─ We will continue to train our civil servants to upgrade their Chinese
language skills, to learn more about China and China's system of
government, and to see that China understands more about ours.

23. Second, we intend to continue to work for a more open and fair society.

─ We will put forward in this Legislative Session proposals to improve
the operation of the District Court and the Labour and Small Claims
Tribunals. We have already established the Legal Aid Services
Council to enhance the independence of our legal aid services.
─ We will ensure that victims of crime are better informed of their
rights, and of the standard of assistance that they are entitled to
expect.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

33

─ We will step up the provision of anti-corruption advice to public
bodies and campaign to enhance work ethics in private business.
─ We will proceed with a study on racial discrimination and provide
better access to government records and information.

24. Third, we plan to improve Hong Kong's business infrastructure.

─ We will press for further trade liberalisation at the first World Trade
Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meeting and through the Asia
Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Action Plan.
─ We will back plans for a fourth industrial estate and tackle the
financial and institutional arrangements for a Science Park.
─ We will carry out a programme of major transport improvement
works, increasing capacity on our existing railways and taking
forward plans for their expansion.
─ We will support plans for a second Industrial Technology Centre and
start a Software Industry Information Centre at the Hong Kong
Productivity Council.
─ We will press on with our plans for a mortgage corporation and a
code of banking practice.

25. Fourth, we want to improve services to the community.

─
The Housing Authority will introduce a charter for those in public
housing and the public bus companies will draw up their own service
charters.
─
There will be improvements in our police complaints system and
reviews of our immigration clearance procedures and of our health
care system.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日
─ We are strengthening efforts to combat child abuse by establishing
special committees in all districts, by specialized training for social
workers, police, lawyers and other professionals and through a
witness support programme when cases reach the courts.
─ We will set up a new support network for the elderly.
─
There will be an increase of nearly 20% in the staffing of Social
Security Field Units.

─ All government secondary schools will have access to the Internet.
─ A new Putonghua radio channel will be launched on RTHK in
34

March next year.

26. Fifth, we have programmes to make Hong Kong a better place in which to
live and work.

─ We have just launched a safety charter and will bring in new safety
legislation.
─ We will improve mediation procedures in industrial disputes and
promote the rights of employees.

─ We will relax the resale restrictions on Home Ownership Scheme
and Private Sector Participation Scheme flats.
─ We will raise the Sandwich Class Housing Scheme income limit and
launch a further phase of low-interest loans under this scheme.
─ We will help public transport operators to introduce a Smart Card
System to make travelling on public transport more convenient.
─ We will provide more spaces for goods vehicle parking, initiate a
trial park-and-ride scheme, consider a range of new measures for
reducing rail and road noise, and phase out the use of noisy diesel
and steam hammers in built-up areas.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
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35
─ Control of smoky vehicles will be stepped up, more rigorous smoke
taken against
introduced and stronger action
tests
emission
offenders.
─ An all-out effort will be made to reduce municipal waste. A draft
Waste Reduction Plan will be published soon, explaining what the
community can do to reduce waste and recycle resources.
─
In the aftermath of the successful performances by our Olympics and
Paralympics teams, we will increase support for our athletes through
the Sports Development Board and the Hong Kong Athletes Fund.

27. These are just a few of the proposals set out at length in our report on
Policy Commitments for the years ahead. I say " a few" deliberately. I did not
believe that the Council or the community would want me this year to give, as I
have done in other years, a comprehensive list of future initiatives. There are
other things to talk about today. But that does not mean that we have little to do
over the coming months. Anyone who thinks that the Hong Kong Government
is going to take the afternoon off, anyone who thinks that we are going, as some
have advised, to tiptoe meekly through the next few months, should just open
either this document ─ the Policy Commitments ─ or this document ─
giving the main points from it. As I said, there is plenty for us to do and plenty
is what we will do. Our motto is not "steady as she goes", but "full steam ahead".
This ambitious programme is only possible because of the continued success of
Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's success story

28. Success in Hong Kong is the result of a combination of factors. This is a
Chinese city. Its success is the result of the hard work and skill of its Chinese men
and women. It is also a city over which, for a century and a half, Britain has held
stewardship. We have tried to exercise that stewardship in a way which has been
true to our political values. Those values have been institutionalized in the rule of
law and a meritocratic, politically neutral Civil Service. Increasingly, the law has
been administered and enforced by local people, and the Civil Service staffed by
them, too. The localization of the public service has necessarily been speeded up
since 1992, but not, I hope, at the expense of acknowledging the role that has
been played and will continue to be played by expatriates. Hong Kong has always
36
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been an open city; open to ideas, open to people. That openness lies at the heart of
Hong Kong's success.

29. The framework of social, legal and economic values and policies created
here has given the men and women of this city the opportunity to make the most
of their formidable energy and talents, to thrive, excel and prosper in a fair,
ordered and orderly society. My favourite political philosopher is Alexis de
TOCQUEVILLE and of all his wise perceptions about the world this one (which I
have quoted before) conveys for me the essence of Hong Kong's story:

"Do you want to test whether a people is given to industry and commerce?",
he asked. "Do not sound its ports, or examine the wood from its forests or
the produce of its soil. The spirit of trade will get all these things and,
without it, they are useless. Examine whether this people's laws give men
the courage to seek prosperity, freedom to follow it up, the sense and habits
to find it, and the assurance of reaping the benefit."

30. That is how Hong Kong has been governed.

History and the rule of law

31.
It is natural that the handover next June should be seen by China as a final
wiping clean of the slate on which the record of the 19th century European
imperial powers in China is written. That will be a moment of proper pride for
Chinese men and women everywhere.

32. Yet the history that fashioned Hong Kong did not end in the 19th century.
For most people in Hong Kong, the history that created this city is of more recent
vintage. It is the history that brought them here. At the end of the last war, Hong
Kong ─ devastated by conflict, occupation and pillage ─ was home to under
600 000 people. That population increased exponentially over the following three
decades, as wave after wave of refugees swam, walked, ran and climbed over
barbed wire to find a new life in this city.

33. Why did they come and what did they find? They came of course in search
of better economic prospects for themselves and their families; but many came
too because they could enjoy here the peace and safety guaranteed by the rule of
law. Not rules. Not laws. But the rule of law, that vital protection against arbitrary
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
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37

government. Of all the foolish remarks that one occasionally hears about Hong
Kong, none is more misguided than the notion that this community does not
really care about human rights. Many people, maybe the majority of people, in
Hong Kong are here precisely because of their concern for human rights ─ their
own human rights, and those of their family and friends.

34. These are not British rights. Or European. Or Western. These are not alien
concepts irrelevant for Asia and Asians. They are universal, valued as much by
men and women in Asia as by their counterparts elsewhere on the planet. Listen
to Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's Nobel Laureate:

"It is a puzzlement (she writes in her great autobiography) ...... how
concepts which recognise the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable
rights of human beings, which accept that all men are endowed with reason
and conscience and which recommend a universal spirit of brotherhood,
can be inimical to indigenous values."

The cry for freedom strikes a common chord.

The rise of our city

35. So, here on this Chinese shore, you, the people of Hong Kong ─ natives
of this territory, or refugees from Guangdong, Fujian, Shanghai and elsewhere in
China ─ have created one of the greatest cities the world has ever seen. Do we
celebrate that success best by looking at our skyline? Or at the cranes and the
dumper trucks? Or at the bustle of the waterfront and the bourse? Or at our
new hospitals and universities? Or at the compassion of our charities and the
selfless dedication of all those who give themselves to social work? Or do we
try to form a picture from the parade of statistics?

36. The statistical picture is incomplete, because it was only in 1961 that our
free market mentors allowed the collection of figures that produced a baseline.
When we calculated in those days what Hong Kong was worth, its GDP, the
figure was HK$7 billion. Today, it is HK$1,105 billion ─ equivalent to about
20% of China's GDP. When we calculated our GDP per head in the same year,
the figure stood at US$410. Today it is US$23,200, even higher than Australia,
Canada and ─ I whisper it quietly ─ the United Kingdom. Hong Kong is the
eighth largest trading community in the world. We have the seventh largest
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foreign exchange reserves, the eighth largest stock market with a capitalization of
US$304 billion, and we are the fifth largest centre for foreign exchange dealing.
We have the world's busiest container port and the third busiest international
passenger airport. We are building what will be the second busiest airport.

37. Even during periods when calamity rather than success was predicted, the
story has been the same. Since the Joint Declaration was signed, ushering in a
period (if we were to believe some pundits) of retreat, retrenchment and worse,
Hong Kong's GDP has almost doubled in real terms. The fiscal reserves have
increased almost six-fold. Exports by almost 330% in real terms. Investment by
over 120%.

38. Since I arrived, but not ─ I hasten to add ─ because I arrived, GDP has
grown by almost a quarter and the reserves by a similar proportion. Exports have
risen by nearly two thirds and investment by over 40%. We have been through
some stormy seas during that time, stormier than any of us would have liked.
Some feared that the vessel might founder. But we stayed true to our course, true
to ourselves. Hong Kong has weathered the storms and emerged into what I hope
are calmer waters, stronger, more self-confident and better equipped to face the
challenges of the future.

39.
It is our economic advance, accompanied and spurred by cuts in the taxes
on business profits and on personal pay packets, which has funded our progress in
education, welfare, health care, training and the rest.

Growth in China and Asia

40. We all recognize that our economic success is part of a region-wide story.
When the tide comes in, all the boats rise. And we have been specially fortunate
to share in the fruits of China's economic revolution of the 1980s. That has been
one of the most important developments, not simply for China and Asia but for
mankind. Hong Kong has benefited from that opening of the doors and windows,
and Hong Kong has been an enthusiastic contributor, too. We have been the
largest source of external investment in China. We have invested in factories right
across the south of China and beyond. We have built all that plant and helped to
manage it. Hong Kong has provided much of the software ─ the people, the
services, the ideas ─ as well as much of the money for China's peaceful
revolution. The benefits have flowed in both directions. China's success is Hong
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39

Kong's opportunity. That is the case today. It will be so even more as Hong Kong
takes its place as the richest, most outward-looking and most modern city in
China.

Endowment for the future

41. Our economic and social accomplishments here will give the new
Government of the Special Administrative Region (SAR) the best possible start in
life. Even as it sets its sights on exceeding the achievements of recent years, it
will be protected from hazard by the proceeds and results of those achievements.
By the end of this financial year, three months before the handover, Hong Kong's
fiscal reserves will total almost HK$150 billion. That figure is forecast to rise to
over HK$170 billion by the end of 1997-98, to which should be added the
proceeds of the Land Fund which have been accumulated over recent years. It is
estimated that the Land Fund should total nearly HK$150 billion, so that in total
Hong Kong should have something in the region of HK$320 billion in its reserves.
That is equivalent to about seven times the Government's annual capital
programme. With that, we could build at least two more airports, though I would
not myself recommend it!

42. The SAR will, of course, have one spectacular airport to open in 1998, and
will also be able to reap the benefits of the huge investment in infrastructure in
recent years. Since 1992, our capital investment in the development of Hong
Kong has totalled HK$228 billion, a serious downpayment on the future.

Britain and 1997

43.
It is not for me to try to chart that future. My departure is well-advertised.
But while I shall be leaving, Britain will not ─ except of course in the important
constitutional sense ─ be departing. Britain's moral and political commitment to
Hong Kong will remain, inscribed in a binding international treaty spanning the
next 50 years. So too will our ties of family, of friendship and of commerce.
There is a vast trade in both directions. There is huge British investment here
which ─ like investment from other countries ─Chinese leaders have made
very clear they would like to see remain. There is the English language. There are
educational, professional and cultural links. There is shared history and
experience. And there are millions who will travel on a British passport, and
around 160 000 with the right to live in Britain. There are many thousands of
40
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British men and women and their families who have chosen to make Hong Kong
their home. And there are many Hong Kong people living in Britain, and many
who own homes and businesses there. There are thousands of Hong Kong's
youngsters at British schools and universities; and many young Britons make
Hong Kong an early port of call on their travels. These human ties are extensive
and will, I hope, continue to grow.

44. People talk about the unique nature of the events next June. For Britain,
this transfer of sovereignty is unusual for one principal reason. The end of Empire
elsewhere has meant the beginning of independence. Britain, described by Nelson
MANDELA as the home of parliamentary democracy, has launched hitherto
dependent territories into sovereign and democratic independence. For reasons of
history, that was never an option in Hong Kong, and in these unique
circumstances Britain sought to negotiate with China a treaty which would
guarantee the survival here of those values which have made Hong Kong
successful and have given it a market economy, the rule of law and the
institutions and habits of civil society. Britain also sought to secure for Hong
Kong in the future the same degree of autonomy in social and economic matters
that it enjoys today.

The years since the Joint Declaration

45. The difficulties and the arguments associated with trying to turn the
aspirations of the treaty into reality should surprise no one.

46. These difficulties have been characterized in recent years by a tendency on
the part of some to describe the journey from the original drafting of the treaty to
today as though it could be neatly split into two phases: a period of fruitful and
harmonious co-operation until the argument over electoral arrangements in
1992-93, followed by relentless and largely profitless hard-pounding since then.
That is a travesty of history, in which some of the participants appear to have
rewritten their own parts. Any informal trip down memory lane, for instance, with
the help of a few newspaper cuttings, tells another tale. It has been tough going
right from the earliest disagreements about whether Hong Kong civil servants
could be part of Britain's Joint Liaison Group team. Since 1989, the arguments
have been sharper and more prolonged ─ over the Bill of Rights, the British
Nationality Scheme and the airport.

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41

47. Nor have we been much helped by another tendency ─ that of talking
about a smooth transition as though it meant little more than Hong Kong marking
time so that it could conform to a pre-ordained model in 1997. A community is a
living thing which grows and changes. A "smooth transition" is certainly not an
end in itself. What we want is a successful transition, which we would also like to
be as smooth as possible. But reaching the right destination is more important
than the occasional bump along the way.

48. We have also sometimes suffered from the pretence that things are other
than they are, and that words mean other than what the dictionary has always told
us they mean. Freedom of speech. The obligations under the International
Covenants. The political neutrality of the Civil Service. Elections. Co-operation.
All those things should be clear but they have provoked storms of debate.

The Joint Liaison Group

49. Despite all these problems and nuisances, we have made substantial if
sometimes slow progress in the Joint Liaison Group. We have agreed the
arrangements to preserve Hong Kong's autonomy in international economic
affairs and to ensure the continued application of many international rights and
obligations. We have agreed many bilateral arrangements with other countries
covering matters like air services, investment promotion and protection and the
surrender of fugitive offenders. We have reached agreement on the localization of
many of our laws and the validity of a number of major contracts straddling 1997.
We have agreed on the establishment of a Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong
and on the continuity of the Judiciary. We have agreed on the future of the
military estate. We have agreed, finally, on the funding of our airport and on the
issue of travel and identity documents.

50. Unfortunately there is still a significant amount of work to complete and
time is short. This work includes the transfer of government; legal matters, for
instance, the conclusion of the localization of laws programme; immigration
issues; and economic issues, for example, Air Services Agreements. With
determination and energy on both sides, I am sure we can finish most of this work.
It will be inconvenient and worse if we are not able to do so.

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Democracy

51. So far as opinion is concerned both here and outside Hong Kong, the main
failure in negotiation has been the unfortunately vain effort in 1992-93 to agree
on electoral arrangements for this Council and for the municipal councils and
district boards. Much ink has been expended on this issue and I do not intend to
dwell in detail on an argument which was, in a sense, resolved where it should
have been ─ right here in this Council Chamber. All I wish to do today is to
make some general observations on the argument and its significance, and to say
something about the consequences.

52. First, the argument was rather crudely and inaccurately portrayed as an
attempt to make a great democratic leap forward here in Hong Kong. The
Honourable Martin LEE and the Honourable Miss Emily LAU are not the only
people who would pour scorn on that. The argument was actually about the
British Government's, not just the British Governor's, attempt to honour the
undertakings given to the people of Hong Kong in 1984 within the terms of the
Basic Law. The self-imposed constraints within which we operated were
criticized at the time by many democrats, and had indeed been criticized in
previous years by people who take a different view today. They argued then that
what mattered was to do what was right for Hong Kong, even if this meant, on
occasion, disagreement with China.

53. Second, the dispute was never ─ despite the artillery thud of propaganda
─ about breaches of the Joint Declaration or the Basic Law. Such assertions
always reminded me of the old American trial lawyer who ended his remarks to
the jury by saying: "And there, gentlemen, are the conclusions on which I base
my facts". Everything we have done has been in line with the undertakings
solemnly accepted by Britain and China. Nor can the election of this Council be
seen as a midnight conversion to democracy after decades in which there was
none. What happened here in September last year was what Britain and China
agreed should happen in 1984. There was a fair election. The nub of the problem
is, alas, precisely that. A fair election produced the wrong result for some people,
a result in which too many pro-democracy legislators were elected to this Council
and the Council therefore allegedly became too difficult to control. Had we
agreed to an unfair election, we might have received some people's blessing. But
would we have received Hong Kong's?

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43

54.
I doubt whether anyone in this Chamber would deny that whenever there is
a fair test of public opinion in Hong Kong, it demonstrates that approaching two
thirds of the electorate support a democratic agenda. That has been the case for
years. It does not seem to me very surprising. It matches what happens elsewhere,
not least in Asia. As people become better off, better travelled, better educated,
they want to share in their own government. There is an additional factor in Hong
Kong. Our citizens wish for the greatest protection for their autonomy and their
way of life. What better way to ensure that Hong Kong people run Hong Kong
than to allow a fair vote for those who run our territory?

55. The fact that democratic development, in the shadow of the great issues
raised by the transfer of sovereignty, has remained an orderly business tells us
much about Hong Kong and should reinforce the message that Hong Kong can be
trusted to behave responsibly. This is a fair and reasonable community, which has
been governed in a way which underpins and reinforces these qualities. That is an
approach which, I suggest, is more likely to maintain the trust and support of the
community for its government than one which ─ in defiance of the promises
made ─ seeks to snuff out legitimate aspirations and shut out those politicians
who can most authoritatively claim to hold a popular mandate.

56.
I have been glad to read recent statements by Chinese officials that they
would welcome a dialogue with the democrats. I wish any such discussions well.
If a real dialogue develops, which I fervently hope it will, it will be greeted with
applause and relief in Hong Kong and around the world.

A "provisional" legislature

57. But we will shortly be coming to a crunch of sorts. If the electoral
arrangements that the previous Legislative Council endorsed are to be replaced (a
bad policy, but one that we are told will not ─ sadly ─ be reversed) then will
what
to be put in their place accommodate democratic views and
pro-democracy legislators? We know how our system has worked. The main
strength of democratic legislators is based not in the functional constituencies and
the Election Committee. Controversy raged over those arrangements; the outcome
speaks for itself. The principal democratic strength lies in the geographical
constituency seats, the number of which is set to increase under the Basic Law. So
you can only reduce the democratic presence in this Chamber if you tamper with
the arrangements in the geographical constituencies. We shall watch and see. So,
too, will the world.
is
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58. Which brings me to my last point on this subject. People have focused on
this argument for two reasons. They worry, first, that a re-interpretation of the
meaning of elections may be followed by re-interpretations elsewhere. If you act
in a way which raises suspicions of bad faith in one area, you should not be
surprised if questions are asked and scepticism is stimulated about your intentions
in others. The role of this institution, its credibility and legitimacy, lies at the
heart of wider doubts about the future of pluralism and freedom in Hong Kong.
How can you have complete faith in the future of the rule of law if you worry
about the integrity of the institution which makes the laws? How can you have
complete faith in the future of free speech if this assembly only allows it for some?
How can you have complete faith in the future probity of government if openness
and accountability are to be limited by what is deemed to be politically
convenient? This Legislative Council has been and will remain a potent symbol
of what sort of society Hong Kong is today and could and should be tomorrow.

59. Britain has made clear repeatedly to Chinese leaders that it would be wrong
and damaging to scrap this Council and replace it with a non-elected body. That
remains our unshakeable position. We believe that there is no reason why this
Council should not be allowed to serve the full four-year term for which it was
elected. Ministers have also made our views crystal clear on the establishment of
what is called a "provisional" legislature.

60. They have pointed out that, quite apart from the well-founded objections of
principle against such a body, there were other issues that concerned us.

61. For example, a "provisional" legislature, allowed to operate before 1 July,
would be destabilizing. We have spelt out in detail why such a body would be
wholly unnecessary. Some of its alleged tasks have been, or are being, dealt with
through other channels. In other areas, no formal decision or action is required
before 1 July 1997. The bulk of any preparatory groundwork for the
establishment of the SAR Government will fall on the Chief Executive (Designate)
and his or her team, in line with our well-established executive-led system. A
number of Articles of the Basic Law set out clearly the procedure that needs to be
adopted for the development of policy and the introduction, consideration and
approval of legislation in the SAR. Any laws that emerged from a "provisional"
legislature without being subject to this procedure would inevitably be vulnerable
to subsequent legal challenge in the courts.

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45

62. British Ministers have also drawn Chinese leaders' attention to the
provisions of paragraph 4 of the Joint Declaration. I quote:

"The Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of the
People's Republic of China declare that, during the transitional period
between the date of the entry into force of the Joint Declaration and 30
June 1997, the Government of the United Kingdom will be responsible for
the administration of Hong Kong with the object of maintaining and
preserving its economic prosperity and social stability; and that the
Government of the People's Republic of China will give its cooperation in
this connection."

That statement could not be much plainer.

63. A "provisional" legislature is bad enough. The suggestion that it could
operate in parallel with this Council makes a bad idea even worse. I sincerely
hope that, even at this late stage, this bad idea can be thought about again. It is
unnecessary, I repeat, it is unnecessary, as well as provocative and we will have
nothing to do with it. We will not assist a "provisional" legislature's establishment,
its operation or its ability to withstand legal challenge.

The Chief Executive (Designate)

64. We will, however, be as unequivocal in a positive direction in the help that
we give to the Chief Executive (Designate). I wish to stress this point and to
clarify one issue. It is my obligation and my desire to give the greatest possible
assistance to my successor. I say that without qualification, save what I have just
said about a "provisional" legislature. I cannot now specify in what precise ways
we will help. My successor will have an agenda and I do not want to pre-empt
that. The Civil Service will be preparing for the obvious eventualities ─
allocation of office space, staff and so on ─ and we will be in a position to help,
not overwhelm but help, the Chief Executive (Designate) however that assistance
is required. The Chief Executive (Designate) will ask, and we will seek to deliver.
That is as it should be and that is what the community would want and expect.
Naturally, we have conveyed this assurance to the Chinese side.

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I suspect that my successor will be increasingly preoccupied over the

65. The point of clarification is this. It is sometimes suggested that we would
give more help to a successful candidate whom we had favoured over other rivals
for this onerous post. That is nonsense. We have no candidate. The selection is
not for us. We have not, will not, and would not seek to interfere in the selection
process. Whoever is the winner, our open-handed support will be the same.

A vision for the future

66.
coming years with what I call the second of Hong Kong's transitions.

67. We have been going through two transitions in recent years. The first is the
transition from British to Chinese sovereignty. The second is the transition from a
struggling developing economy to a great international business and financial
centre ─ and then to what? What is next? Some argue, not without good
cause, that Hong Kong can become the principal financial centre and commercial
dynamo on this continent, the New York of Asia. It is not a fanciful notion, but
we still have some way to go.

68.
In some ways, we are playing a similar role already to that which New
York played at the turn of the century when it helped to open up the rest of the
North American continent and to funnel know-how and investment to it.

69. Hong Kong can aim for the stars. After all, Hong Kong people have already
proved so much: how it is possible with resourceful business leaders to create one
of the world's most prosperous economies in a tiny territory devoid of natural
resources; how to create a soundly-based, adaptable, socially-responsible market
economy that still outpaces the competition; how to remain open to the world
while retaining a distinct identity; how to entrench the rule of law, root out
corruption, and beat crime while upholding personal rights and freedoms; how to
grow from a post-war ruin to the great international city of today.

70. No wonder so much of Asia looks to Hong Kong as a model. It is not going
to stop doing so on 1 July 1997. The development of Asia will surge on and so
will that of Hong Kong. The increase in the disposable incomes of Asian workers
and their families promises to be the most powerful engine of economic growth
for the next generation. Across Asia, market economics, and the hard graft of
millions of people, are helping to consign shanty towns and squatter huts to
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47

history. Countries and governments are wrestling with the consequences of rapid
economic change, of growing income differentials, of inadequate legal structures,
of corruption, of environmental degradation. At home, they try to accommodate
political and social aspirations to economic advance. Abroad, they see, more and
more, the perils of protectionism and the benefits of free trade.

71. Against that background, we should ask, is the sort of place Hong Kong
has become, the values which have shaped our community, a throwback to an
outdated past in Asia, or a forerunner of what the future could be like in more and
more Asian countries?

72. Step outside Hong Kong for a moment. Consider what those countries see
when they look at this city. Our outstanding Civil Service, the efficiency and
professionalism of which have a world-class reputation. Our Police Force, which
United States law enforcers have described as the finest in Asia, and which plays
a vital role, as do Hong Kong's other law enforcement agencies, in international
co-operation against drugs, money-laundering and terrorism. Our independent
Judiciary, enforcing the law fairly and impartially. Our free and energetic press,
with its 58 daily newspapers and numerous other publications. Our freely and
fairly elected Legislative Council. Our
in
international bodies like the WTO. Our unwavering advocacy ─ as a matter of
convinced and unshakeable principle and practice ─ of free trade.

73. You do not have to be as savvy as a Hong Kong entrepreneur to see the
opportunities that lie ahead. Hong Kong is a bridge, a vital link between East and
West and, specifically, between the West and China. Hong Kong represents the
kind of Asia with which both West and East are comfortable. An Asia committed
to open markets and open minds. An Asia committed to the rule of law and
respect for human freedom. An Asia in which East and West mix so well ─
commercially, culturally, socially, intellectually. It offers, in that sense, a vision
of the future for Asia.

74. Will Hong Kong live up to these hopes? I believe passionately that it can
do so and should do so, if it sticks to the formula that has served it so well until
now.

75. All our efforts in recent years have been designed to make sure that it can.

independent role
influential,
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Welfarism or proper provision? Striking the right balance

76. A few critics say that we are hobbling ourselves on the journey to an even
brighter future.

77. They argue, first, that increased democratization has gone hand-in-hand
with galloping and unaffordable welfarism, that we are becoming a Welfare State.

78.
I believe that Hong Kong can take considerable pride in the progress made
in developing its programmes to assist the deprived, the disabled, the
disadvantaged. The benefits of our continuing economic growth do not flow
evenly to everyone in our community. Nor should we expect them to do so in an
enterprise culture such as ours. Quite deliberately, our welfare system does not
exist to iron out inequalities. It does not exist to redistribute income. Our welfare
programmes have a different purpose. They exist because this community
believes that we have a duty to provide a safety net to protect the vulnerable and
the disadvantaged members of society, the unfortunate minority who, through no
fault of their own, are left behind by the growing prosperity enjoyed by the rest of
Hong Kong. In recent years, the community's recognition of the need to help
those disadvantaged by age, disability or ill-health has been reinforced by the
contrast between their plight and the rising standards of living taken for granted
by Hong Kong as a whole.

79.
It seems to me to be preposterous to claim, as some people do, that to
respond to the community's desire for a little more compassion is to strike at the
heart of the Hong Kong success story. That to channel a little of our new wealth
to help the elderly, the sick, the disabled and the disadvantaged, is to undermine
our public finances and our system of government. This is propaganda dressed up
as prudence, cant disguised as conviction. Let me, for a moment, subject the
"Hong Kong is going broke through the welfare burden" thesis to a shower of
cold fact.

─ Hong Kong currently spends on welfare about the same as it spends

─
on perfume and cosmetics each year.
Public spending is still only about 18% of GDP and public spending
will represent a lower proportion of our forecast GDP for 1997 than
in the early 1980s.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

49

80. We have to keep a firm grip on public spending. We have done so over the
last five years. And I am well aware of the need for Hong Kong to avoid the
massive problems caused by spiralling welfare costs in Europe. But we are not in
that position in Hong Kong, and we are not going to be.

81. So let us keep our position in cool perspective. Our provision is hardly
lavish; you would be hard-pressed to live it up on Hong Kong social security.
When people attack our alleged welfarism, I suggest that you ask them which
group of the elderly, the disabled, the infirm should have their welfare
programmes axed. Ask them to be specific about which welfare services they
regard as luxuries that Hong Kong's economy can ill-afford. And ask them, too,
whether they do not recognize that one reason for Hong Kong's stability and for
the moderation of our public life is that we do respond to the social needs of the
community.

Human rights

82. Second, it is argued that we should not distract ourselves from our
economic goals by an excessive preoccupation with the protection of our civil
liberties. But those liberties are part of the reason for our economic success.
Infringe those liberties and you make Hong Kong less attractive to international
business and investment, and less attractive as an open market economy. That is
why we will complete our programme of bringing all our laws into line with the
Bill of Rights and the two International Covenants on human rights. We have
done about 80% of the work and we will invite this Council to help us finish the
job. We will also press the Chinese Government to recognize that its reporting
obligations under the International Covenants are an integral part of its duty to
apply those Covenants to Hong Kong. Naturally, the best way to clear up any
confusion ─ few things, I am bound to say, would give Hong Kong a better
sense of confidence in its future ─ would be for China itself to sign up to the
two Covenants.

Maintaining Hong Kong's good name ......

83. Third, some say that Hong Kong's entrepreneurial spirit is being regulated
to extinction, with both financial and environmental codes. That, too, is
preposterous. The most successful cities of the future will be clean ─ in both
senses of the word. I want to stress in particular our determination to see that our
50
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

financial markets earn and retain an international reputation for fair dealing.
Exposing occasional examples of shoddy behaviour, and taking firm action
against them, is not a cause of embarrassment for the Government and the
regulators. It is a sign of our maturity and our resolve.

...... and our competitiveness

84. Fourth, it is argued that through some inexorable process we are losing our
competitive edge. In a way I welcome the criticism while rejecting its premise.
Welcome ─ because it should help to keep us on our toes. Reject ─ because
there is scant evidence that it is true. The international verdict on Hong Kong
remains pretty good. According to the latest report from the World Economic
Forum, we are the second most competitive economy in the world. Both the
Heritage Foundation and the Canadian Fraser Institute have named Hong Kong as
the freest economy in the world. Nor is it only the think-tanks which are
complimentary. Let me quote a few statements from the International Monetary
Fund's recent report on Hong Kong:

"...... no adjustments to the basic policy framework are required at this
stage. Indeed, the main challenge will be to resist pressures to adopt a more
interventionist approach to policy making.
"...... In the event, policy actions over the past year have given little reason
to doubt the authorities' commitment to their underlying approach.

"...... [Our] staff agrees with the basic non-interventionist thrust of fiscal
policy.

"...... On the unemployment front, the authorities have resisted calls for
activist macroeconomic measures, focusing instead on the microeconomic
aspects of the problem. The staff views this approach as appropriate.

"...... the staff has been encouraged by the widely-held confidence and
optimism concerning Hong Kong's prospects ─ both of which are well
justified given the authorities' ongoing commitment to sound policies."
Both of which, I repeat, are well justified given the authorities' ongoing
commitment to sound policies.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

51

Most of the world's Finance Ministers meeting in Washington this week would
give their limousines for an endorsement like that.

85. Money still flows in to Hong Kong keeping our currency at the strong end
of the link with the US dollar. People and firms continue to come here. Over the
last year, 582 new companies from abroad have set up shop in the territory. There
are, it is true, worries about our costs, especially of domestic and office
accommodation. We must continue to bear down on costs everywhere. Overall, it
is worth remembering that inflation has fallen from about 12% the year before I
arrived to 4.9% today ─ the lowest inflation rate recorded since 1987. That has
happened with our trend growth rate remaining at 5%.

Moving forward

86.
I am sure that my successor will want to chart the way ahead to completion
of the transition that I have described. That will be for him or her to decide. The
main ingredients of any programme will include, in my judgement, the following
10 key elements:

─ We have to retain our free market and our attachment to liberal

economics.
─ We must increase competition as we have been doing in areas like
transport and telecommunications.
─ We must retain our level playing field for business and our
reputation for probity in government.
─ We must fight corruption in the public sector and in private business.
─ We must give our police the resources and support they need to fight
crime and to retain Hong Kong's reputation as one of the safest cities
in the world. And we must not relax for a moment the campaign we
have launched against drugs, continuing our efforts to help those
whose lives have been blighted by drug abuse.
─ We must retain Hong Kong's social harmony and cohesion, adjusting
our social policies to take account of changing needs and priorities.
52

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日
In particular, it will require courage and vision to shift the direction
of our housing policies so that we provide decent accommodation
more rapidly for those in real need while encouraging greater home
ownership for those who can afford it. Housing policies that were
right for the sixties, seventies and eighties look frankly less
appropriate today.
─ We must carry on with our efforts to make sure the same
opportunities are open to people with a disability, be it in
employment, or in public services such as transport.
─ We have to continue our heavy investment in education, training and
retraining, recognizing that our future prosperity will depend above
all on the quality of our workforce. We must make sure that the skills
which we teach and train are those required in tomorrow's world.
─ We have to develop arrangements to provide more effective help to
the unemployed, in particular to enable them to find the vacant jobs
that require their abilities.
─ We have to retain our autonomy in economic and trade matters, an
independence which gives us a seat at the table in so many important
international forums.

87.
I am sure that my successor will be able to count on the support of the
whole community as he or she sets about the job. The first Chief Executive can
certainly count on my support and good wishes, both before and after 1 July next
year. Everyone will want the Chief Executive to succeed in one of the toughest
and most exhilarating jobs in the world. We in Hong Kong will want the Chief
Executive to succeed because we want the transition to succeed. To succeed
triumphantly. How could we want anything else? I want, we all want, Hong
Kong to do better in the future, after 1997, than it has done in the past.

88. Next year, when my successor takes the oath of office, it will be a solemn
moment, freighted with hopes and anxieties. It will be an exciting moment, too
─ an especially challenging one for China. There is hardly a problem that China
faces that will not be easier to tackle if things go well in Hong Kong. And the
reverse is true. What is more, the future relationship between the Government in
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

53

China and Hong Kong goes to the very heart of so many of the issues which are
going to determine what sort of country China is in the next century, and how it
plays its role in the region and in the world.

Benchmarks for Hong Kong ─ and the world

89. The world should want China to succeed as it continues its brave economic
revolution, and therefore the world will watch Hong Kong with special interest. It
will want to be reassured that two systems are indeed surviving and co-habiting in
one country. I hope that the world will judge Hong Kong not by preconceptions
but by the evidence of what actually happens here. The sensible will undoubtedly
apply a number of clear benchmarks as events unfold. These benchmarks will
certainly include some of the following.

Is Hong Kong's Civil Service still professional and meritocratic? Are
its key positions filled by individuals who command the confidence
of their colleagues and the community and owe their appointments
only to their own abilities?
─

─
─
─
─
Is the SAR Government writing its own Budget on the basis of its
own policies, or is it under pressure to respond to objectives dictated
by Beijing?
Is the Hong Kong Monetary Authority managing Hong Kong's
Exchange Fund without outside interference?
Is Hong Kong behaving in a truly autonomous way in international
economic organizations?
Is the Hong Kong legislature passing laws in response to the
aspirations of the Hong Kong community and the policies of the
SAR Government, or is it legislating under pressure from Beijing?
─ Are Hong Kong's courts continuing to operate without interference?
─
Is the Independent Commission Against Corruption continuing to act
vigorously against all forms of corruption including cases in which
China's interests may be involved?
54
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

─
─
─
Is Hong Kong continuing
international law enforcement liaison relationships?
to maintain
its own network of
Is the integrity of the Hong Kong/Guangdong border being
maintained, including the separate border controls operated by the
Hong Kong Immigration Department?
Is the Hong Kong press still free, with uninhibited coverage of China
and of issues on which China has strong views?
─ Are new constraints being imposed on freedom of assembly? Are the
annual commemorations and vigils of recent years still being
allowed?
─ Are foreign journalists and media organizations in Hong Kong still
free to operate without controls?
─
Is anybody being prosecuted or harassed for the peaceful expression
of political, social, or religious views?
─ Are Hong Kong's legislators, at successive stages of the transition,
fairly and openly elected, and truly representative of the community?
─ Are democratic politicians continuing to play an active role in Hong
Kong politics, or are they being excluded or marginalized by
external pressure?
─
Is the Chief Executive exercising genuine autonomy in the areas
provided for in the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law?

90. Those are the questions the world will ask. We all hope that the world will
get reassuring answers.

91. That solemn moment for my successor, to which I referred, will also be a
grave moment for me as I leave Hong Kong.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日

55

92. Governors have lived for Hong Kong. One or two have literally died for
Hong Kong. But all have found Hong Kong, in and out of office, an
all-consuming interest. Retired to our grey and green island, past Governors have
watched from afar with keen-eyed interest and, doubtless, occasional frustration
as Hong Kong's history has unfolded. I shall do the same, carrying with me one
frustration, gnawed by one anxiety, comforted by one certainty.

93. For me the frustration, the greatest in this job, is that I have not been able to
put my personal view of Hong Kong's best interests to the test which legitimizes
leadership in most free societies, the test of the ballot box. But Hong Kong has
been promised that its government will develop so that that can happen one day, a
day I hope I shall see and a day that I shall be delighted to put down to China's
credit and to the credit of those in this territory who have stood up bravely for the
people of Hong Kong.

94. My anxiety is this ─ and I want to stress this point with all the strength
that I command ─ my anxiety is not that this community's autonomy would be
usurped by Beijing, but that it could be given away bit by bit by some people in
Hong Kong. We all know, we all know that over the last couple of years we have
seen decisions, taken in good faith by the Government of Hong Kong, appealed
surreptitiously to Beijing ─ decisions taken in the interests of the whole
community lobbied against behind closed doors by those whose personal interests
may have been adversely affected. That is damaging to Hong Kong because it
draws Chinese officials into matters which should fall squarely within the
autonomy of Hong Kong. If we in Hong Kong want our autonomy, then it needs
to be defended and asserted by everyone here ─ by businessmen, politicians,
journalists, academics and other community leaders, as well as by public servants.

95. And what of that truth which more than anything else gives me confidence
in Hong Kong? The truth is this. The qualities, the beliefs, the ideals that have
made Hong Kong's present will still be here to shape Hong Kong's future.

96. Hong Kong, it seems to me, has always lived by the author, Jack
LONDON's credo:

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LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2 October 1996
立法局 ─ 一九九六年十月二日
"I would rather be ashes than dust,
I would rather my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze,
Than it should be stifled in dry rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor,
With every atom of me in magnificent glow,
Than a sleepy and permanent planet."

97. Whatever the challenges ahead, nothing, nothing should bring this meteor
crashing to earth, nothing should snuff out its glow. I hope that Hong Kong will
take tomorrow by storm. And when it does, history will stand and cheer.

SUSPENSION OF SITTING
會議暫停

主席：按照《會議常規》，本席現在宣布暫停會議，並宣布明天下午 2 時 30
分復會。

Suspended accordingly at six minutes past Four o'clock.
會議遂於下午 4時 6分暫停。

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