7.
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1983
Q: +IT IS KNOWN THAT SIR PERCY CRADOCK WILL TAKE UP HIS NEW POST LATER ON THIS YEAR, WHEN CAN WE EXPECT AN ANNOUNCEMENT ON HIS REPLACEMENT IN PEKING?
A: +WELL, NATURALLY AS YOU WILL UNDERSTAND ON THE APPOINTMENT OF AMBASSADORS YOU HAVE TO GET WHAT IS CALLED AGREEMENT FROM THE GOVERNMENT TO WHOM YOU ARE WISHING TO APPOINT A PARTICULAR AMBASSADOR AND, THEREFORE, THIS TAKES A LITTLE TIME, AND WE SHALL ANNOUNCE A NEW AMBASSADÓR AS SOON AS WE CONCEIVABLY CAN CERTAINLY THAT IS
IMPORTANT.
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Q: +WOULD YOU LIKE TO ALSO CONFIRM THE REPORT IN NEWSPAPERS A FEW WEEKS AGO ON WHETHER MR
A1 + IF I START CONFIRMING OR DENYING REPORTS IN EVERY SINGLE NEWSPAPER I SHALL BE IN DEEP TROUBLE.
Q: +HAVING SAID THAT IT IS THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT'S OBJECTIVE TO PRESERVE WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED IN HONG KONG AND FURTHER BUILD ON THAT SUCCESS, IS IT ALSO WITHIN THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT'S OBJECTIVE TO PRESERVE ITS PRESENCE IN HONG KONG OR TO PRESERVE LINKS OF SOME SORT AFTER 1997? DO YOU SEE THAT AS A VITAL FACTOR FOR THE CONTINUING SUCCESS OF HONG KONG?
At +THESE ARE ALL MATTERS THAT HAVE TO BE WORKED OUT IN THE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE AFTER 1997. AND AGAIN, I KNOW IT'S FRUSTRATING FOR YOU SITTING THERE, YOU WANT ME TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE TALKS, AND I HAVE TO GO ON STATING SOMETHING WHICH I - YOU KNOW POLITICIANS LIKE COMMUNICATING, WE RATHER ENJOY IT NORMALLY - THEREFORE, I FIND IT VERY FRUSTRATING TOO. I CANNOT TELL YOU ABOUT DETAILS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS BUT WHAT I WOULD SAY IN ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS THIS: NOT ONLY DO I WANT TO SAY IN WORDS AND ASK YOU TO UNDERSTAND HOW STRONGLY WE MEAN THIS. THAT OUR COMMITMENT IS STRONG TO THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG AND TO THAT AND THIS IS OBJECTIVE. BUT AS A MATTER OF FACT THERE IS ALSO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I FIND MOST IMPRESSIVE IN MY VISIT HERE ON THE LAST TWO OR THREE DAYS - NOT ONLY CONFIDENCE BEING SHOWN IN HONG KONG'S FUTURE BY GOVERNMENT, THE RATE AT WHICH THEY ARE EXPANDING THE NEW TOWNS. THE UNDERGROUND SYSTEM WHICH I TRAVELLED ON WHICH IS EXPANDING ALL THE TIME, THE ENORMOUS INCREASE IN PUBLIC SPENDING ON THE PART OF THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT, BUT ALSO WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THE CLEAR EVIDENCE OF A COMMITMENT TO THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG BY BRITISH INVESTORS.
+YOU'VE GOT THIS FROM A NUMBER OF SOURCES, YOU'VE GOT THIS FROM DE LARUE WHO ARE INVESTING IN BANKNOTE MANUFACTURE IN THIS COUNTRY, YOU'VE GOT THIS FROM FERRANTI WHO ARE INVESTING IN MICROCHIPS, AND YOU'VE GOT THIS IN BSR WHO'VE TRANSFERRED ITS HEADQUARTERS FROM LONDON TO HONG KONG. AND THERE IS EVIDENCE HERE OF A COMMUNITY THAT'S EXPANDING AND THAT PEOPLE IN BRITAIN DO HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THIS COUNTRY. IT'S IMPORTANT TO US THAT THIS COUNTRY, HONG KONG, IS THE LARGEST EXPORTING MARKET FOR US IN THE FAR EAST.
Q1 +MAY 1 ASK MR LUCE WHETHER HE THINKS LOCAL RULE, SELF- GOVERNMENT, IN HONG KONG IS POSSIBLE AND IS BENEFICIAL TO THE SOCIETY OF HONG KONG?
QUITE
A: +COULD YOU JUST REPEAT THAT, I'M SO SORRY I COULDN'T
?
/Q1 LOCAL RULE