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THURSDAY, JULY 4, 1991
THE GOVERNOR: I HOPE IT HELPED. I AM VERY PLEASED THAT MR MAJOR IS WILLING TO GO TO CHINA, NOT JUST TO SIGN THIS AGREEMENT; CLEARLY HE IS GOING TO TALK ABOUT MUCH WIDER THINGS THAN HONG KONG'S AIRPORT AND I THINK MUCH WIDER THINGS THAN JUST HONG KONG AND I AM PLEASED MYSELF THAT IT MEANS HE WILL BE COMING TO HONG KONG AS WELL.
REGGIE RATHOUR (RTHK): WHAT WERE THE MAJOR OBSTACLES IN REACHING THIS AGREEMENT? WHAT LED TO THIS DEADLOCK IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS?
THE GOVERNOR: I PREFER AS A GENERAL POINT TO LOOK FORWARD RATHER THAN BACKWARDS. WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME LOOKING AT THINGS THAT WERE PROBLEMS UP TO NOW AND I THINK MANY OF THEM ARE VERY WELL KNOWN. THE MAIN CONCERN THAT I HAVE HAD ALL ALONG, I THINK THAT
I THINK THAT WE'VE HAD FROM HERE, IS THAT IF WE WERE GOING TO HAVE AN AGREEMENT IT SHOULD ENABLE US TO GET AHEAD WITH THE PROJECT, TAKE THE SORT OF DECISIONS THAT WE NEEDED TO AND TAKE THEM QUICKLY. THAT WAS THE KEY POINT FROM
OUR POINT OF VIEW, WE WANTED TO KNOW THAT WE HAD THE AUTHORITY AND THE ABILITY TO GET AHEAD WITH THE AGREEMENT. NOW, I WON'T GO AND LIST ALL THE THINGS WHERE WE ORIGINALLY HAD DISAGREEMENTS AND WHICH WE'VE NOW MANAGED TO SOLVE BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE TURNING WHAT I THINK IS A POSITIVE PIECE OF NEWS INTO LOOKING AT ALL THE DIFFERENT PROBLEMS THAT ONE HAD HAD TO FACE ON THE WAY TO GETTING THERE.
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REGGIE RATHOUR (RTHK): BUT SURELY YOU CAN TELL US WHAT WAS THE MAJOR PROBLEM, THE MAJOR OBSTACLE.
THE GOVERNOR: ONE OF THE MAJOR PROBLEMS WAS TO GET EXACTLY THAT SORT OF AGREEMENT THAT I HAVE DESCRIBED; THAT GAVE US THE CONFIDENCE TO GET AHEAD WITH THIS SORT OF PROJECT. IF WE WERE GOING TO, IF WE ARE GOING TO LAUNCH HONG KONG ON A MASSIVE PROJECT OF THIS SIZE THEN WE NEED TO HAVE THE CONFIDENCE THAT WE CAN TAKE THE DECISIONS, TAKE THEM QUICKLY AND GET AHEAD WITH IT.
REGGIE RATHOUR (RTHK): SO DO YOU THINK WITH THIS AGREEMENT YOU HAVE ACHIEVED THAT DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE THAT YOU WANTED IN THE FIRST PLACE?
THE GOVERNOR: YES.
NGOK SHAN-SHAN (WEN WEI PO) : HOW IS THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT GOING TO IMPLEMENT THE MEMORANDUM REACHED BY THE BRITISH AND THE CHINESE GOVERNMENTS?
THE GOVERNOR: I AM SORRY I MISSED A
I MISSED A BIT OF THAT.
BIT OF THAT. HOW IS THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT GOING TO IMPLEMENT-
NGOK SHAN-SHAN (WEN WET PO] :
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THE MEMORANDUM, THIS MEMORANDUM
REACIOD.
/THE GOVERNOR