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GOVERNOR EMPHASISES HK OPPORTUNITIES
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HONG KONG IS A TREMENDOUS PLACE OF OPPORTUNITY WHERE THOSE WHO HAVE GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO BE COMPETITIVE CAN BE MORE SUCCESSFUL IN A SHORTER PERIOD OF TIME THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD, THE GOVERNOR, SIR DAVID WILSON, SAID IN LONDON TODAY (THURSDAY).
OPENING A SEMINAR JOINTLY ORGANISED BY THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE AND THE HONG KONG TRADE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, SIR DAVID URGED AN OVERFLOW AUDIENCE OF MORE THAN 150 PROMINENT UK BUSINESSMEN TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES AND PARTICIPATE IN THE TERRITORY'S FUTURE.
STRESSING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE JOINT DECLARATION AND THE ARRANGEMENTS IT PROVIDES, THE GOVERNOR SAID: "THE BASIS IS THERE AND WE MUST BUILD ON THOSE FOUNDATIONS TO GIVE HONG KONG EVERY POSSIBLE CHANCE OF BEING A SUCCESS IT OUGHT TO BE."
HE SAID THERE WAS EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT WOULD REMAIN COMMITTED TO THE AGREEMENT.
"THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAS REPEATED, AGAIN AND AGAIN, AND DID SO THROUGHOUT THE DIFFICULT TIMES OF LAST YEAR, THAT THEY ARE FULLY COMMITTED TO THE JOINT DECLARATION. ·
"THERE IS NO REASON TO DOUBT THAT COMMITMENT, NONE AT ALL, HE STRESSED, ADDING THAT CHINA HAD AN IMMENSE PRACTICAL INTEREST IN ENSURING THE ARRANGEMENTS WORK.
HONG KONG CONTRIBUTES ENORMOUSLY TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA; 70 PER CENT OF ALL FOREIGN INVESTMENT COMES FROM HONG KONG OR THROUGH THE TERRITORY.
IN HONG KONG ITSELF, SIR DAVID SAID THE POLITICAL STRUCTURE HAD TO CHANGE QUITE SUBSTANTIALLY. THE FIRST MAJOR STEP WOULD BE THE DIRECT ELECTIONS OF 18 MEMBERS INTO THE LEGISLATURE.
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THE GOVERNOR DESCRIBED THE "BRAIN DRAIN AS A PROBLEM BUT NOT A CRISIS, WHICH HAD TO BE DEALT WITH BY TRAINING MORE PEOPLE.
"WE HAVE A PLAN TO VERY SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASE OUR EDUCATIONAL MANPOWER RESOURCES. IN FACT, WE ARE GOING TO DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF OUR FIRST DEGREE PLACES BY 1994, HE SAID.
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ON THE BUILDING OF INFRASTRUCTURE FOR HONG KONG'S FUTURE, SIR DAVID SAID: "WE CANNOT STAND STILL AND LEAVE HONG KONG THE WAY IT IS, CITING AS EXAMPLES THE NEW CROSS HARBOUR TUNNEL, THE OPENING OF THE TATE'S CAIRN TUNNEL NEXT YEAR, NEW ROADS, PORT EXPANSION AND PLANS TO BUILD A NEW AIRPORT.
COMMENTING ON CHINA'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE NEW AIRPORT PLAN, HE SAID: "WE ARE CAREFULLY AND PATIENTLY EXPLAINING то THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION. IN OTHER WORDS, HONG KONG MUST HAVE A NEW AIRPORT AND THAT, I THINK, IS ACCEPTED QUITE CLEARLY BY THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT.
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