TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 1992
"THERE'LL BE TIMES WHEN WE HAVE TO TRY THAT LITTLE BIT HARDER TO UNDERSTAND ONE ANOTHER'S POINT OF VIEW. AT ALL TIMES, WE'LL HAVE TO DEMONSTRATE A CERTAIN GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT, WHICH ISN'T ALWAYS A VERY COMMON CURRENCY IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BUT I'M SURE WILL BE IN OURS.
"NONE OF THAT MEANS RESILING FROM WHAT WE BELIEVE IS BEST FOR HONG KONG. IT DOES MEAN BEING PATIENT AND CAUTIOUS AND UNDERSTANDING, AS WELL AS FIRM, IN EXPLAINING WHAT WE BELIEVE
IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF HONG KONG,
THE GOVERNOR SAID.
THE GOVERNOR'S LUNCHEON ADDRESS TO THE HONG KONG GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
HELD AT THE REGENT HOTEL
ON TUESDAY, 4TH AUGUST 1992
CHAIRMAN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
HE WAS LARGEST CAPTIVE
A
YOUR REFERENCE TO A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE REMINDS ME OF WHAT IS PERHAPS AN APPROPRIATE WAY OF BEGINNING MY REMARKS TODAY. A BRITISH HOME SECRETARY, A FEW YEARS AGO - AND THE HOME SECRETARY, AS YOU WILL KNOW, IS THE MINISTER IN THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBLE AMONG OTHER THINGS FOR OUR PRISON SERVICE, FOR BRITAIN'S PRISONS PAYING HIS FIRST VISIT AS HOME SECRETARY TO ONE OF BRITAIN'S PRISONS, DARTMOOR, WHERE MOST OF BRITAIN'S LONGEST-SERVING AUDIENCE IS HELD. AND IN HIS PREVIOUS LIFE HE'D BEEN A LAWYER WITH REPUTATION FOR A GREAT DEAL OF WORK IN THE FIELD OF REFORM AND REHABILITATION AND HE THOUGHT IT WOULD MAKE A NICE CHANGE IF HE WAS ABLE TO SPEAK TO THE ASSEMBLED CONVICTS WHEN HE GOT TO DARTMOOR, ΤΟ GIVE THEM HIS USUAL SPEECH ON THE SUBJECT. THE GOVERNOR AGREED THAT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA AND ON HIS WAY DOWN TO THE PRISON CANTEEN TO ADDRESS THE ASSEMBLED 'LIFERS' AND '20-YEAR MEN', THE MINISTER WONDERED HOW HE SHOULD BEGIN HIS REMARKS. "GENTLEMEN" HE THOUGHT SOUNDED A LITTLE TOO CIVIL, "COMRADES" SOUNDED TOO MUCH LIKE A PARTY- MEETING, SO IN THE EVENT HE BEGAN HIS SPEECH BY SAYING, "I'M PLEASED то SEE SO MANY OF YOU HERE TODAY", I'M OBVIOUSLY PLEASED TO SEE SO MANY OF YOU HERE TODAY, RECOGNISING THAT ON BALANCE, I THINK THAT A SPEECH ON REFORM AND REHABILITATION WOULD BE OUT OF PLACE, BUT I GUESS YOU MAY GIVE ME CAUSE TO CHANGE MY MIND DURING THE COURSE OF THE NEXT TWENTY MINUTES OR SO.
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