BALE: SIR DAVID, EARLIER THIS YEAR WE HAD A ROW, YOU REMEMBER, OVER FILM CENSORSHIP AND THE POSSIBILITY OF A MOVE TO ALLOW CENSORSHIP OF FILMS IF THEY MIGHT HARM HONG KONG'S RELATIONS WITH OTHER COUNTRIES WHICH WAS GENERALLY TAKEN TO REFER TO CHINA.
THEN LAST WEEK WE HAD SOME DISTRICT BOARD MEMBERS BEGINNING A
LAW SERIES OF 50 HOUR HUNGER STRIKES AGAINST A BASIC
PROPOSAL WHICH THEY DIDN'T LIKE. IT SEEMED A FAIRLY MILD PROTEST, BUT TWO SENIOR
SPOKE CHINESE OFFICIALS
AGAINST IT VERY QUICKLY. ONE CALLED IT
PRIEST ON CONFRONTATIONAL. AND THEN THIS WEEK WE HAVE HAD A
HUNGER LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL STRIKE OUTSIDE THE
BUILDING,
FOR CALLING
THE RELEASE OF THE HONG KONG MAN HELD IN A PRISON IN CHINA, AND INSTEAD
HAS OF JUST LETTING HIM GET ON WITH IT THE GOVERNMENT
TAKEN HIM ΤΟ
COURT.
I WONDER WHETHER THROUGH 1988 WE HAVE BEGUN TO SEE A PATTERN OPINIONS EMERGING THAT THE DAYS OF FREE SPEECH ARE NUMBERED, AND THAT AND PROTESTS WHICH ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE TO CHINA WILL NOT BE TOLERATED?
OPINIONS
GOVERNOR: CATEGORIC NO. WE HAVEN'T. WE HAVE A TRADITION HERE OF PEOPLE PUBLISHING OF PEOPLE SPEAKING FREELY. WE HAVE A TRADITION FREELY WHAT THEY WANT TO SAY. A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF DIVERSE
ON TELEVISION. NO SHORTAGE OF IN THE PRESS, ON THE MEDIA, SAYING WHAT THEY WANT TO SAY, NO SHORTAGE OF PEOPLE, IF THEY WISH HOLDING DEMONSTRATIONS, HOLDING MEETINGS IN PUBLIC.
PEOPLE
TO,
THINGS LIKE SOMEBODY HOLDING A HUNGER STRIKE OUTSIDE THE A LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL BUILDING, THE ONLY PROBLEM THERE IS IF YOU HAD
DEMONSTRATING TRADITION, IF YOU LIKE, GROWING UP OF PEOPLE ALWAYS
TO OUTSIDE THE LEGCO BUILDING, YOU WOULD START
HINDER THE WORK OF LEGCO. THERE IS NO INTENTION TO TRY TO STOP SOMEBODY EXPRESSING THEIR VIEWS. THERE IS CERTAINLY NO QUESTION AT ALL OF ANY OF THOSE ACTIONS BEING TAKEN BECAUSE IT DOES OR IT DOES NOT AFFECT CHINA.
LIU: TAKING YOUR POINT A STEP FURTHER ON THE ISSUE OF THE THE INTRODUCTION OF DIRECT ELECTIONS IN 1991, WOULD YOU EXPECT TO SEE EMERGENCE OF POLITICAL PARTIES?
GOVERNOR: WHEN YOU GET INTO A POLITICAL SYSTEM WHICH HAS
OF ELECTIONS, DIRECT ELECTIONS, OR INDEED ANY SORT
AUTOMATICALLY I THINK, AND GRADUALLY, YOU GET GROUPS BUILDING UP. NOW IN HONG KONG THEY WON'T NECESSARILY BE POLITICAL PARTIES, THE SAME AS YOU WOULD HAVE POLITICAL PARTIES ELSEWHERE. THEY MAY START
AS GROUPS CENTRING ROUND AN INDIVIDUAL, SORT OF LOYALTY GROUPS TO AN INDIVIDUAL, BUT I THINK IT IS A NATURAL PROCESS THAT YOU WILL GET THOSE GROUPS EMERGING. I AM NOT SURE MYSELF WHETHER THEY WILL BE IDEOLOGICALLY BASED POLITICAL PARTIES AS YOU MIGHT GET THEM IN OTHER PARTS OF THE
WORLD, BUT GROUPS, YES.
LIU: LAST MONTH YOU WENT TO CHINA. NOW HAVE YOU SPOKEN THE CHINESE OFFICIALS, HAVE YOU TOUCHED ON THIS MATTER WHEN YOU THERE?
GOVERNOR: I DIDN'T TALK ABOUT POLITICAL PARTIES, NO.
WITH
WERE
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