WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 1984
6
CONCEDING THAT HONG KONG HAS SURVIVED MANY CHANGES OF CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE PAST, SHE NOTED, BUT THOSE AFFECTED, THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG, CANNOT BE CRITICISED FOR TAKING THE VIEW THAT THE TRANSFER OF SOVEREIGNTY COULD HAVE SUCH PROFOUND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE IR FUTURE THAT IT IS SIMPLY NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO INVOKE PAST EXPERIENCE BY WAY OF REASSURANCE. +
SHE BELIEVED THAT IT WAS ENTIRELY UNDERSTANDABLE THAT THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG, IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE, SHOULD HAVE RECENTLY BECOME INTENSELY INTERESTED IN THE OUTCOME OF THE NEGOTIATIONS.
+THEY ARE BEING ASKED, AFTER ALL, TO BELIEVE THAT THE EXPECTED COURSE OF THEIR LIVES WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE, DESPITE THE TRANSFER OF SOVEREIGNTY AND THE ESSENTIALLY DIFFERENT POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY WHICH PREVAILS IN CHINA, SHE SAID.
SHE POINTED OUT THAT THE FEARS AND ANXIETIES OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG WOULD NOT BE DISPELLED BY DECREE, LET ALONE BY EXHORTATIONS, EVEN FROM ON HIGH, THAT PEOPLE SHOULD SIMPLY HAVE FAITH AND BE CONFIDENT.
+ INDEED, IT IS NOT EASY TO BE TOLERANT OF SUCH EXHORTATIONS WHEN THEY COME FROM THOSE, WHO, ON THE ONE HAND, ARE IN THE PRIVILEGED POSITION OF HAVING THE ULTIMATE SAY IN DETERMINING OUR FATE, AND, ON THE OTHER HAND, SHARE NONE OF THE RISKS,+ SHE SA ID.
NO ONE, SHE SAID, COULD ARGUE THAT THESE APPREHENSIONS WERE GROUNDLESS.
+ALTHOUGH THE CONCLUSION OF AN AGREEMENT MAY REMOVE UNCERTAINTY, AN AGREEMENT WILL NOT IN ITSELF ELIMINATE APPREHENSIONS AND, CERTAINLY, THE ARBITRARY IMPLEMENTATION OF AN AGREEMENT WILL NOT ELIMINATE THEM, UNLESS THAT AGREEMENT IS PERCEIVED TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE DECLARED OBJECTIVE OF THE TWO GOVERNMENTS.+
COMMENTING ON THE IDEA THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MORE REPRESENTATIVE FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN HONG KONG WILL IN ITSELF SECURE OUR FUTURE, SHE SAID, +CLEARLY, IF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FUTURE SAR IS TO ENJOY A HIGH DEGREE OF AUTONOMY, AS PROMISED, THEN THAT GOVERNMENT MUST BE BUILT UPON REPRESENTATIVE INSTITUTIONS.+
*WE ALL LOOK FORWARD - AND LOOK FORWARD POSITIVELY - TO THE GOVERNMENT'S GREEN PAPER ON THIS SUBJECT, AND HOW TREMENDOUSLY IMPORTANT IT IS THAT THE DIVERSITY OF TALENT IN OUR COMMUNITY SHOULD BE TAPPED AND INVESTED IN THE HONG KONG OF TOMORROW, + SHE ADDED.
+BUT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MORE REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT WILL NOT IN ITSELF DISPEL CURRENT FEARS AND ANXIETIES, SHE SAID.
+WHAT THE BILATERAL AGREEMENT NOW BEING NEGOTIATED MUST PROVIDE IS CREDIBILITY THAT SUCH A REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT, WHEN DEVISED, WILL BE ALLOWED TO OPERATE WITHOUT INTERFERENCE, SHE SAID.
SHE SAID