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MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1990
"THOSE ESSENTIAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HONG KONG AND NOW RECOGNISED IN THE JOINT DECLARATION AND IN THE DIFFERENCES WHICH RELATE NOT ONLY TO THE ECONOMY BUT TO FISCAL AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS.
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CHINA ARK BASIC LAW, THE LEGAL,
NO DOUBT
SIR DAVID POINTED OUT THAT DESPITE THOSE ASSURANCES SOME STRAINS WOULD DEVELOP FROM TIME TO TIME OVER THE EXERCISE OF FREEDOM HERE.
"MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING WILL BE ESSENTIAL IF THE CONCEPT OF COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS" IS TO WORK OUT WELL IN PRACTICE.
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"CERTAINLY HONG KONG PEOPLE ARE VERY PRAGMATIC ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA AND HAVE NO WISH TO CONFRONT HER, HE SAID.
THAT
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SIR DAVID STRESSED THAT THE UNDERLYING KEY TO THE SUCCESS OF RELATIONSHIP, AND IT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL DESPITE SOME HIGHLY PUBLICISED DIFFERENCES, HAS BEEN THE RECOGNITION BY ALL CONCERNED OF THE IMMENSE MUTUAL BENEFIT TO BE GAINED FROM A PROSPEROUS HONG KONG MAKING A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE MODERNISATION OF CHINA.
"AND 90 I REMAIN OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG,
HE SAID.
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ILLUSTRATING HONG KONG'S ECONOMIC PHILOSOPHY, SIR DAVID SAID THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS OF HONG KONG'S SUCCESS WERE OPENNESS AND
CONSISTENCY.
SIR DAVID SAID THE GOVERNMENT BELIEVED IN GIVING MARKET FORCES FREE REIN AND ACCEPTED AS AN ARTICLE OF FAITH THAT FREE TRADE BENEFITTED ALL.
"NEITHER OPERATE EFFICIENTLY WITHOUT FREEDOM OF TRAVEL AND FREE MOVEMENT OF CAPITAL. BOTH DEPEND FOR THEIR SUCCESS ON THE FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION IN WHICH YOU, THE PRESS, PLAY SUCH AN IMPORTANT ᏢᎪᏒᎢ . HE SAID.
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SIR DAVID POINTED OUT THAT IN A GLOBAL MARKET PLACE, WARNING OF EVENTS AND TRENDS WAS AT A PREMIUM.
EARLY
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"WE ARE STRONG BELIEVERS IN THE CHINESE PHILOSOPHY THAT TO SUCCESSFUL IN BUSINESS ONE ALWAYS HAS TO BE ONE STEP AHEAD, SIR DAVID SAID.
UNDERLINING THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSISTENCY ON GOVERNMENT POLICY, SIR DAVID POINTED OUT THAT FEW OTHER GOVERNMENTS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PURSUE A SET OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL POLICIES SO UNWAVERINGLY.
"THE RELATIVELY SLOW PACE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT HERE AND THE ENSUING LACK OF THE INFLUENCE OF POLITICAL DOGMA ON PUBLIC POLICY HAS CLEARLY BEEN A MAJOR FACTOR IN ENSURING CONTINUITY.
"AS A RESULT OUR TAX REGIME HAS BEEN A MODEL OF STABILITY AND PREDICTABILITY. SO ALSO HAS THE RELENTLESS DETERMINATION WITH WHICH WE, AS A GOVERNMENT, HAVE PLOUGHED BACK OUR SURPLUSES INTO THE PROVISION OF INFRASTRUCTURE FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT," SIR DAVID SAID.
/SIR DAVID
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