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Q: BERNARD FONG (SCMP), I HAVE A SPONTANEOUS QUESTION, SIR.
At I HOPE THEY ARE ALL SPONTANEOUS.
J
Q: BERNARD FONG, WHAT MARK, SIR, DO YOU WISH TO LEAVE ON HONG KONG? LORD MACLEHOSE IS KNOWN FOR HOUSING AND OTHER MAJOR PROJECTS AND SIR EDWARD YOUDE FOR THE JOINT DECLARATION, AND NOW, YOURSELF, THE GOVERNOR OF THE TRANSITION PERIOD. YOU HAVE SAID YOU WOULD WAGE WAR ON POLLUTION, PROMOTE TRADE AND ADVANCE HIGH EDUCATION. WILL ALL THESE THINGS BE ACHIEVED WHEN YOU ARE FACED WITH THE DELICATE JOB OF REFORMING THE POLITICAL SYSTEM AND PLEASING CHINA? YOU HAVE SAID THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS NO PRECONCEIVED IDEAS ON POLITICAL CHANGES, BUT THEN YOU HAVE ALSO SAID 'GO SLOW ON REFORMS'. WHICH THEN IS YOUR REAL POSITION, SIR?
A: WITH RESPECT, FOR A SPONTANEOUS QUESTION, THAT'S EXTREMELY LONG, IT IS ALSO QUITE DIFFICULT TO PICK ON ONE THING TO ANSWER IT. WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO AND WOULD LIKE TO HAVE DONE, WHEN I FINISH HERE IS TO HAVE CARRIED AS SINCERELY AS POSSIBLE THE JOB OF BEING GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF AREAS WHERE, OVER TIME, I HOPE WILL CONCENTRATE MY EFFORTS. BUT HAVING BEEN HERE ONLY SEVEN WEEKS, IT IS RATHER TOO EARLY TO SAY EXACTLY WHERE THOSE WILL BE. I HOPE THAT, WHEN IT COMES TO GIVING MY FIRST ADDRESS TO LEGCO IN OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR, THAT SOME OF THE AREAS WHERE I THINK EFFORT SHOULD BE CONCENTRATED, WILL BECOME APPARENT. Qs EMILY LAU (FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW), SIR DAVID, SINCE HONG KONG IS THE ONLY BRITISH COLONY THAT WILL NOT BE GIVEN INDEPENDENCE AND INSTEAD WILL BE HANDED OVER TO A COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT. DOES THE BRITISH AND HONG KONG GOVERNMENTS HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY IN MAKING SURE THAT A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT IS IN PLACE BEFORE THE HANDING OVER IN 1997? AND DO YOU THINK THAT REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT SHOULD INCLUDE SOME ELEMENTS, AT LEAST, OF DIRECTLY ELECTED MEMBERS IN THE LEGISLATURE?
A:
THE RESPONSIBILITY, IF YOU INTERPRET THAT NARROWLY, WILL HAVE TO BE THE RESPONSIBILITY WHICH IS DEFINED BY THE JOINT DECLARATION, AND EVERYTHING THAT IS LAID DOWN IN THAT. THAT, OF COURSE, AS YOU KNOW, LAYS DOWN THAT THE LEGISLATURE WILL BE ELECTED BY, OR IN, 1997, BUT DOES NOT SAY PRECISELY HOW THAT SHOULD BE DONE.
THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR BOTH THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT UP UNTIL 1997, CAN BE SUMMED UP, I SUGGEST, IN ADMINISTERING EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY.
PRECISELY WHAT FORM OF GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO EVOLVE HERE OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS WILL DEPEND PARTLY ON WHAT IS GOING TO BE ESTABLISHED FOR 1997. NOW THAT IS A MATTER FOR THE BASIC LAW, WHICH WILL BE PASSED BY THE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS; AND PARTLY WHAT IS EVOLVED HERE, WHICH WILL DEPEND, IN TURN, ON THE SORT OF RESPONSE THAT ONE GETS TO THE GREEN PAPER EXERCISE NOW.
Q: EMILY LAU,