THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1990
1
HK/CHINA RELATIONS ARE CENTRAL TO SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION: CS
***
THE CHIEF SECRETARY, SIR DAVID FORD SAID IN SEATTLE ON WEDNESDAY (NOVEMBER 14) THAT HONG KONG'S RELATIONS WITH CHINA WERE CENTRAL TO A SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION.
"HONG KONG'S POSITION IN RELATION TO CHINA HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE ESSENTIAL POLITICAL FACT OF LIFE, SAID SIR DAVID WHEN ADDRESSING A JOINT LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE SEATTLE WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL, WASHINGTON COUNCIL ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND WASHINGTON STATE CHINA RELATIONS COUNCIL.
"FOR MANY YEARS HONG KONG HAS BEEN DEPENDENT ON CHINA FOR MUCH OF ITS FOOD, AND MORE RECENTLY FOR MOST OF ITS DRINKING WATER.
"FOR NEARLY FOUR DECADES HONG KONG PEOPLE HAVE KNOWN THAT, CHINA CONSIDERED HONG KONG DEVELOPMENTS TO BE SERIOUSLY AT ODDS CHINA'S OWN BASIC NATIONAL INTERESTS, HONG KONG'S SPECIAL WOULD BE PUT AT RISK, HE SAID.
rt
IF
WITH
POSITION
HOWEVER, SIR DAVID POINTED OUT THAT THE CONTACTS BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA HAD INCREASED DRAMATICALLY OVER RECENT TIMES.
WALK
SIX
TEN YEARS AGO THE ONLY WAY FROM HONG KONG TO CHINA WAS TO ACROSS THE RAILWAY BRIDGE AT THE BORDER AND LAST YEAR HONG KONG'S MILLION PEOPLE MANAGED TO MAKE 15 MILLION VISITS ACROSS THE BORDER.
THIS
TRANSLATED INTO 14,000 VEHICLES CROSSING THE LAND EVERYDAY, WITH OTHER TRAVELLERS HAVING THE CHOICE OF BOAT, HOVER-FERRY, BUS OR CAR, HE SAID.
BORDER
PLANE,
TRAIN,
THE CHIEF SECRETARY SAID COMMERCE CONTINUED TO DRIVE HONG AND CHINA CLOSER. "WE ARE EACH OTHERS' LARGEST TRADING PARTNERS TRADE CONTINUES TO GROW FURIOUSLY.
KONG
AND
"HONG KONG
[
ENTREPRENEURS EMPLOY ABOUT TWO MILLION PEOPLE
ALONE - TWO-AND-A-HALF TIMES HONG GUANGDONG PROVINCE
KONG'S OWN PEOPLE SOME 50,000 SKILLED HONG KONG MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE. REGULARLY INSIDE CHINA, HE SAID.
IN
WORK
AT OFFICIAL
LEVEL,
IMMIGRATION, ON
SIR DAVID SAID,
WERE NOW
CONTACTS
CRIME, SMUGGLING, TRANSPORT, ENVIRONMENT WITH THE NEIGHBOURING GUANGDONG PROVINCE.
THERE
DAILY AND THE
"BUT
EACH
ABOUT HONG KONG AND CHINA STILL HAVE MUCH TO LEARN OTHER. MORE AND MORE GROUPS FROM HONG KONG,
PROFESSIONALS BUSINESS, AND ACADEMIC, VISIT THE MAINLAND,
IN
EVER- OF FREE
ARE
"DELEGATIONS FROM ALL OVER CHINA VISIT HONG KONG INCREASING NUMBERS. FOR THOSE WITH A THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE MARKET ECONOMICS HONG KONG'S SUCCESS, ITS JUSTICE AND GOOD ORDER, A POWERFUL ILLUSTRATION," THE CHIEF SECRETARY SAID.
/EXPLAINING WHY