FRIDAY, MAY 20, 1983
AND IT'S A NEW ATTACK, OR ARE YOU PLANNING À NEH DEFENSIVE AGAINST CRINE?
HE: HELL, HE'RE PLANNING TO DO EVEN MORE THAN HE HAVE DONE IN THE PAST TO TRY TO BRING THE PUBLIC INTO THE PROGRAMME, INTO THE +FIGHT CRINE+ PROGRAMNE, BUT IT ISH'T REALLY AN ISSUE OF NEW AND MAGICAL FORMULAE WHICH HILL BRING CRIME RATES DOWN IN THIS CITY. IT IS WITH CONSTANT AND RELENTLESS AND DETERMINED EFFORT, A CONTINUING EFFORT, BETWEEN THE POLICE AND THE PUBLIC.
JB: NOM AGAIN GOING INTO THE FUTURE, THERE HAS BEEN A REPORT MAKING VERY FAR-REACHING PROPOSALS AJOUT EDUCATION THAT'S JUST BEEN PUBLISHED. NON. IS THIS PART OF A LEAD-UP TO 1997?
KE! THE ANSWER TO THAT IS +NO+, AND I SINCERELY HOPE PEOPLE MON'T GET THE REPORT ON EDUCATION MIXED UP WITH 1997. IT SHOULD AFTER ALL, BE DEALT WITH ON ITS OWN HERITS. QUITE APART FROM 1997, HONG KONG LIVES IN A RAPIDLY-CHANGING WORLD AND A VERY HIGHLY COMPETITIVE WORLD. IT THEREFORE NEEDS THE BEST EDUCATION SYSTEM IT CAN GET IN ORDER TO TRAIN THE FUTURE GENERATIONS COMPETING IN THAT WORLD, THAT MAY INVOLVE THO THINGS: IT INVOLVES A GOOD SYSTEM AND IT INVOLVES THE MOST EFFECTIVE MEDIUM OF TEACHING. NOW, WHEN YOU CONE TO THE MEDIUM, HONG KONG IS A CHINESE-SPEAKING SOCIETY, PARTICULARLY IN ITS EARLY YEARS, BUT IT HAS A GREAT STRENGTH WHICH IS ITS BILINGUALISM, WHICH IS A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE OUTSIDE WORLD AND THIS PART OF ASIA WHICH IS A GREAT STRENGTH NOT TO BE LOST.
TO ME, THE NAME OF THE GAME IS TO DEVISE THE SYSTEM AND TO CHOOSE THE MOST EFFECTIVE METHOD WHICH HILL MAINTAIN BOTH THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TEACHING AND THE STRENGTH OF THAT BILINGUALISM. NOW THAT IS A COMMUNITY MATTER AND IT SEEMS TO ME IT IS NOT A MATTER ON WHICH ONE SHOULD BE DOGMATIC, IT'S CERTAINLY NOT A MATTER WHICH SHOULD BE LEFT TO EDUCATORS ALONE, IT IS A MATTER FOR THE COMMUNITY TO DISCUSS, AND THAT IS WHY THE GOVERNMENT HAVE PUBLISHED THIS REPORT AND INVITED THE PUBLIC AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE TO COMMENT ON IT BEFORE NE REACH A DECISION. SO THE ANSWER IS, SOMEWHAT AT LENGTH PERHAPS, TO LOOK AT IT ON ITS OWN MERITS.
JB1
* YOU SEEN TO HAVE SPENT MOST OF YOUR YEAR LOOKING AT THE FUTURE. I THINK. IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO, OR HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DAY= WHAT DO YOU DO, IN EFFECT?
HE: NO, OBVIOUSLY THE FUTURE IS THE BIGGEST ISSUE WITH WHICH I BEAL AND I GIVE IT PRIORITY BECAUSE I THINK IT IS THE PRIORITY ISSUE FOR HONG KONG, BUT IT IS NOT MY ONLY TASK= I AM INDEED VERY CLOSELY IN TOUCH WITH, AND AN INDEED VERY CLOSELY INVOLVED IN THE GOVERNMENT OF THIS TERRITORY. AS I SEE IT, THERE ARE THO THINGS I NEED TO 3O OR WHICH ANY GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO DO: ONE IS TO ENSURE THAT THE PROGRAMMES WHICH HAVE BEEN LAUNCHED GET CARRIED OUT, THAT'S WHAT I TRY TO DO. AND SECONDLY, HE ARE NOW LOOKING AHEAD TO NEN PROGRAMMES. NOW WHEN THE AMOUNT OF MONEY AROUND IS HUCH LESS THAN IT USED TO BE, YOU CAN'T OBVIOUSLY HAVE NEW AND EXPENSIVE AND EXPANSIVE IDEAS LAUNCHED, BUT YOU CAN BE THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO DO AND THE DIRECTION YOU WISH TO GO.
SO THE TWO THINGS I DO, QUITE APART FROM THE FUTURE, IS ONE, ENSURING THAT THE GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME REMAINS ON TARGET AND SECONDLY, THAT WE ARE THINKING ABOUT WHERE WE'RE GOING FROM HERE.
/JB: AND WHERE