FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 1987
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CHAN SIU-KUEN
(PAI SHING MAGAZINE): SIR DAVID, DO YOU THINK THAT A DEPUTY GOVERNOR
WOULD BE NEEDED TO ASSIST YOU IN DOMESTIC ADMINISTRATION? IF SO, WHEN AND WHO WILL IT BE?
SIR DAVID: ALL THESE QUESTIONS, LIKE THE STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT
AND PRIORITIES, ARE SOMETHING WHICH I WANT TO BRIEF MYSELF ON BEFORE I COME TO ANY DECISIONS AND CERTAINLY BEFORE I SAY ANYTHING IN PUBLIC. MY GENERAL APPROACH AS I THINK I SAID EARLIER IS THAT FIRST OF ALL THERE ARE A GREAT MANY THINGS THAT I HAVE GOT TO LEARN BEFORE MAKE ANY DECISIONS ABOUT MY OWN PRIORITIES, AND THE OTHER GENERAL PRINCIPLE I HAVE IS THAT GOVERNMENT AND THE WAY IN WHICH GOVERNMENT IS ADMINISTERED SHOULD BE FLEXIBLE AND SHOULD BE ABLE TO CHANGE IN ACCORDANCE WITH CHANGING NEEDS OF SOCIETY.
WILSON WONG (TVB) SIR DAVID, SINCE YOU ARE A SINOLOGIST DO
YOU THINK THAT KNOWLEDGE WILL ENABLE YOUR GOVERNORS HIP IN HONG KONG OR IT MAY MEAN A KIND OF DEFICIENCY ON YOUR NEW CAREER?
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SIR DAVID: I DON'T KNOW HOW IT WOULD BE A DEFICIENCY I WOULDN'T
WANT TO PRETEND THAT THE FACT THAT I HAVE SPENT A GOOD DEAL OF MY LIFE INVOLVED WITH CHINESE AFFAIRS AND INDEED WITH HONG KONG AFFAIRS GIVES ME ANY PARTICULAR BRILLIANT INSIGHT WHICH OTHER PEOPLE DON'T HAVE. BUT I CERTAINLY HOPE THAT IT WON'T BE CONSIDERED BY ANYBODY TO BE A DEFICIENCY.
FANNY FUNG
(COMMERCIAL RADIO) SIR DAVID, WERE YOU EVER UPSET OR WORRIED THAT
THE PRIME MINISTER, MRS MARGARET THATCHER, HAD RESERVATIONS WHEN APPOINTING YOU AS THE GOVERNOR?
SIR DAVID I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS IN THE MIND OF THE PRIME MINISTER
AND I AM NOT SURE IF ANYBODY ELSE ACTUALLY DOES. THE ONE THING THAT I DO KNOW WITH ABSOLUTE CLARITY IS THAT THE RECOMMENDATION WHICH WAS MADE TO THE QUEEN ABOUT THE GOVERNORSHIP HAD THE FULL SUPPORT OF THE PRIME MINISTER,
SPENCER CHAN
(ORIENTAL DAILY): IN VIEW OF YOUR AGE POSSIBLY YOU WOULD BE THE
LAST BRITISH GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG, WHAT SORT OF BRITISH HERITAGE AND LINKS YOU WOULD LIKE TO PRESERVE IN HONG KONG AFTER 1997?
SIR DAVID OBVIOUSLY AFTER 1997 HONG KONG CHANGES AND BECOMES A
SAR OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, IN TERMS OF HERITAGE, I THINK THERE IS A SORT OF HERITAGE ROUND YOU, BUT THE HERITAGE OF HONG KONG IS VERY MUCH A HERITAGE WHICH HAS BEEN CREATED BY THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG THEMSELVES. THAT'S THE SORT OF HERITAGE THAT I THINK WILL GO ON, AND THAT'S THE IMPORTANT POINT.
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/CANDY TONG .................