GREATER SHOCK TO THE WAY IN WHICH PEOPLE ROUND THE WORLD AND PEOPLE HERE IN HONG KONG LOOKED AT CHINA, BUT THERE IS A TREMENDOUS PRESSURE FOR THAT ECONOMIC CHANGE IN CHINA. THE OTHER POINT I WOULD MAKE IS REALLY FROM A HONG KONG POINT OF VIEW, THE SORT OF CHINA THAT WILL BE HELPFUL FOR THE SUCCESSFUL FUTURE OF HONG KONG IS CERTAINLY ONE IN WHICH THAT PROCESS OF ECONOMIC LIBERALISATION, OPENING TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PARTICULARLY AROUND THE SOUTHERN COAST OF CHINA, THAT GOES ON. AND WHERE THERE IS ALSO A STABLE REGIME, BECAUSE WE NEED STABILITY IN CHINA SO THAT WE'VE GOT A GOVERNMENT IN CHINA THAT WE CAN DEAL WITH. SO THAT IS THE SORT OF CHINA WHICH I WOULD HOPE TO SEE EVOLVE AND THAT IS THE BEST FOUNDATION FOR THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA IN THE FUTURE.
OLIVER SCOTT: ON NOW THEN TO SUSIE WELDON, AGAIN SPEAKING FROM HONG KONG, WITH A QUESTION WHICH IS IN MANY PEOPLE'S MINDS. MISS WELDON, WE WILL REGARD YOU AS THE SPOKESWOMAN.
CALLER : GOOD EVENING, SIR DAVID.
SIR DAVID: GOOD EVENING, MISS WELDON.
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CALLER: PEOPLE ARE LEAVING THE TERRITORY IN DROVES. MORE WORRYING, PERHAPS, IS THAT MANY I WOULD SAY MOST ARE SERIOUSLY THINKING OF OR ACTIVELY PLANNING TO LEAVE THE TERRITORY IN TWO TO THREE YEARS' TIME. IS IT NOT THE CASE THAT IF THESE TRENDS CONTINUE, HONG KONG WILL BE SERIOUSLY UNDERMINED AS A VIABLE BUSINESS CENTRE IN ASIA LONG BEFORE THE CHINESE TAKEOVER IN 1997? WHAT IS THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT DOING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM?
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SIR DAVID: WELL, THANK YOU FOR RAISING THAT ISSUE BECAUSE IT IS ONE WHICH IS ON THE MINDS OF A LOT OF PEOPLE, I KNOW, AND A LOT OF NEWSPAPER READERS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. WE DO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE LEAVING HONG KONG, AS YOU ARE SAYING AND AS WE BOTH KNOW. THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE PHENOMENON OF PEOPLE COMING INTO HONG KONG, PARTICULARLY FROM CHINA, AND THEN LEAVING ABOUT 20,000 27,000 A YEAR TYPICALLY. THIS YEAR IT IS HIGHER, IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE 55,000 AND PROBABLY IT WILL CONTINUE AT A HIGHISH LEVEL WHEN THERE ARE PLACES TO FILL IN IMMIGRATION QUOTAS ELSEWHERE. NOW, I THINK THAT WE WOULD MUCH RATHER THAT MORE OF THOSE PEOPLE REMAINED IN HONG KONG BUT IN NO WAY WILL WE EVER TRY TO STOP PEOPLE LEAVING. WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? WELL, WE CAN ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO COME BACK WHEN THEY HAVE THEIR INSURANCE POLICY, THAT IS ONE THING, AND MANY DO COME BACK. ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT THING IS TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF TRAINING WE PROVIDE SO THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE TO STEP INTO THE PLACES WHICH ARE LEFT VACANT. SO THAT IS THE REASON WHY LAST AUTUMN I ANNOUNCED A MASSIVE NEW PROGRAMME FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, DOUBLING THE NUMBER OF FIRST-DEGREE PLACES IN OUR UNIVERSITIES. THAT IS ANOTHER THING WE CAN DO. WE WILL ALSO HAVE TO ENCOURAGE AND MAKE IT EASY FOR PEOPLE FROM ELSEWHERE TO COME AND WORK TEMPORARILY IN HONG KONG. IT IS A VERY INTERNATIONAL CITY, AS YOU KNOW, IT IS AN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CENTRE, INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE. WE HAVE A LOT OF EXPATRIATES WORKING HERE AND THAT'S SOMETHING WHICH CAN GO ON. PROVIDING THAT OUR ECONOMY IS SUCCESSFUL, I BELIEVE WE WILL FIND PEOPLE TO FILL THOSE SLOTS, AND THAT IS SOMETHING FOR WHICH WE MUST WORK OUT POLICIES SO IT IS NOT DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO FILL THOSE SLOTS, SO THAT WE TRAIN AS MANY LOCAL PEOPLE IN HONG KONG AS WE POSSIBLY CAN TO FILL THE PLACES LEFT BY THOSE WHO HAVE GONE ELSEWHERE TO GET A DIFFERENT FOREIGN
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