10
SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1987
SIR DAVID: FIRST OF ALL I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR IT DISAPPEARING
I DIDN'T THINK ANYBODY HAD EVER READ IT..(LAUGHTER). IT IS SO HEAVY THAT THEY'VE PROBABLY PUT IT SOMEWHERE IN THE BASEMENT. ON THE OTHER QUESTION, I DON'T THINK HONG KONG, AS SUCH, HAS A ROLE TO PLAY, AND THE TAIWAN QUESTION IS CLEARLY ONE FOR, AS IS SO OFTEN SAID, CHINESE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE TAIWAN STRAITS. BUT I FEEL SURE THAT PEOPLE IN TAIWAN WILL LOOK AT DEVELOPMENTS IN HONG KONG, AND INDEED I'M SURE PEOPLE ON THE MAINLAND OF CHINA WILL WATCH CLOSELY
DEVELOPMENTS IN HONG KONG.
CHAIRMAN: WE HAVE..ANY MORE QUESTIONS?
YES.
KEITH HONG (SING TAO): WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE STUDENT
RIOTS IN CHINA?
I
SIR DAVID: WELL IF I COULD GO BACK TO THE ANSWER I GVAE TO
JONATHAN MIRSKY. LIKE MANY PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM I DO WATCH
DEVELOPMENTS IN CHINA WITH GREAT INTEREST, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT I SHOULD BE COMMENTING ON, SINCE IT'S VERY MUCH THE INTERNAL AFFAIR OF CHINA.
HELLA PICK (GUARDIAN) CAN I RETURN TO THE SAME THEME, YOU SAY
THAT YOU HAVE EVERY CONFIDENCE IN THE COMMITMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CHINA, BUT DO YOU THINK THAT HONG KONG WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE..TO BE CONFIDENT THAT CHINA WILL IMPLEMENT THE DECLARATION?
SIR DAVIDT I VERY MUCH HOPE THAT IT WILL, BECAUSE I THINK ONE
OF THE KEY FACTORS OF THE FUTURE IS TO HAVE A HONG KONG WHICH REMAINS AS A DYNAMIC, PROSPEROUS, HUMANE SOCIETY, WHICH HAS CONFIDENCE IN ITSELF, BECAUSE CONFIDENCE BREEDS CONFIDENCE.
CHAIRMAN, WE HAVE TIME FOR ONE MORE QUESTION.
YES PLEASE.
K.K. CHEUNG (WEN WEI PO): IN HONG KONG SOME MEN SAY THAT YOU
ARE THE SUPPORTER OF A REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM. COMMENT ABOUT IT?
SIR DAVID: I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT PARTICULAR COMMENT.
HAVE YOU ANY
THE ONLY
THING I WOULD SAY ON THAT IS THAT THERE IS A REVIEW, AS YOU KNOW, GOING ON. THAT WILL GO ON THIS YEAR, AND THAT WILL BE A GENUINE REVIEW IN AN ATTEMPT TO ASCERTAIN THE VIEWS OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG ON THESE ISSUES, I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE RIGHT FOR ME TO TRY TO GUESS AT WHAT THOSE VIEWS WILL BE, OR TO TRY TO PRODUCE HYPOTHETICAL ANSWERS TO WHAT WILL COME OUT OF THE REVIEW. IT WILL BE A CAREFUL AND A GENUINE REVIEW, AND THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN IT OF THE HONG KONG PEOPLE WILL BE TAKEN FULLY INTO ACCOUNT IN THE DECISIONS THAT ARISE OUT OF THE REVIEW.
CHAIRMAN,
WELL I THINK THAT'S ABOUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH SIR DAVID.
ALL LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE'LL CALL IT A DAY NOW.