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MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1985
ASKED TO COMMENT ON MR JI'S REPORTED STATEMENT THAT POLITICAL REFORMS IN HONG KONG MUST GO IN LINE WITH THE DRAFTING OF THE BASIC LAW, SIR EDWARD SAID I THINK THAT EVERYBODY IS NOW CLEAR THAT REALLY WHAT I WAS SAYING IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL IS THE FACT THAT BOTH SIDES ARE ALIVE TO THE CONCERNS OF THE OTHER ON THESE MATTERS.
+AS I SAID THEN, BELIEVE THAT IN THE LIGHT OF THAT UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCERNS OF EACH SIDE, THERE CAN BE A SMOOTH TRANSITION, THAT WE CAN BUILD A STRUCTURE WHICH WILL ENABLE A SMOOTH TRANSITION, + HE SAID.
GOVT COMMITTED IN TACKLING POLLUTION
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OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS A TOTAL OF $1.5 BILLION HAVE BEEN INVESTED IN WASTE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL FACILITIES AND THERE IS A COMMITMENT OF $2.4 BILLION FOR FURTHER INVESTMENT IN THESE FACILITIES OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, THE GOVERNOR, SIR EDWARD YOUDE SAID TODAY (MONDAY).
SPEAKING AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF POLMET '85, SIR EDWARD SAID THERE HAD BEEN A PHENOMENAL ECONOMIC GROWTH IN HONG KONG IN THE PAST 30 YEARS, THE PACE OF WHICH WAS DETERMINED BY THE NEED TO ACCOMMODATE A POPULATION WHICH HAD GROWN FROM TWO MILLION TO FIVE-AND-A-HALF MILLION OVER THE SAME PERIOD.
+ IN THE EARLY DAYS OF DEVELOPMENT, THE ENVIRONMENT CAME OFF SECOND BEST. QUALITY OF LIFE WAS A PHRASE WITH A VERY RESTRICTED MEANING, WHEN THE BASIC CONCERN FOR MOST PEOPLE WAS A ROOF OVER THE IR HEADS,+ SIR EDWARD SAID.
+BUT TIME, TECHNOLOGY AND DEDICATED WORK BY MANY PEOPLE HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE IN MORE RECENT TIMES TO PLAN AND DEVELOP WITH A RESPECT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.+
SIR EDWARD SAID THAT WITHIN THE PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS OF HONG KONG, CONSIDERABLE SUCCESS WAS BEING ACHIEVED IN MEETING THE RISING EXPECTATIONS WHICH WERE A RESULT OF OUR AMBITIOUS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES.
+WE HAVE SOUGHT TO EXPAND OUR OPEN SPACES AND PRESERVE COUNTRY PARKS CLOSE TO THE URBAN AREA, HE SAID.
SIR EDWARD SAID FORMAL STANDARDS HAD BEEN INCORPORATED INTO OUR PLANNING PROCEDURES TO ENSURE THAT ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS WERE NOT OVERLOOKED.
/+WE ARE