FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1992
THE
ON YOUR OTHER QUESTION, AFTER I'VE DISCUSSED MATTERS IN PEKING ON THIS AND ON FUTURE OCCASIONS, I WILL REPORT THE OUTCOME TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL AND REPORT THE OUTCOME TO THE COMMUNITY. THERE WILL COME A MOMENT, HAPPILY, SOONER RATHER THAN LATER, WHEN COMMUNITY AND THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCILLORS AND THE GOVERNOR WILL HAVE TO COME TO A DECISION ABOUT THE BEST WAY FORWARD. IT WILL HEAVILY INVOLVE THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL BECAUSE THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL WILL HAVE TO PASS ANY LEGISLATION NECESSARY AND THERE WILL BE LEGISLATION NECESSARY WHATEVER HAPPENS - FOR THE 1994 AND 1995 ELECTIONS. SO THAT WILL BE THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS.
T
I JUST ADD ONE OTHER THING.
I'VE PUT PROPOSALS FORWARD: I DON'T THINK IT'S ENOUGH IN TALKING ABOUT IMPORTANT PUBLIC EVENTS TO CRITICISE PROPOSALS THAT ARE PUT FORWARD UNLESS ONE'S
TO PUT PREPARED
FORWARD ONE'S ALTERNATIVES. SO I HOPE THAT IF ANYBODY THINKS THAT THE PROPOSALS I HAVE PUT FORWARD ARE WRONG OR ILL- JUDGED, THEY WILL PUT FORWARD THEIR OWN PROPOSALS AS AN ALTERNATIVE. WHAT IS ABSOLUTELY CLEAR IS THAT THERE ARE DECISIONS, NOT OF MY MAKING, WHICH WE HAVE TO COME TO, ABOUT A NUMBER OF MATTERS RELATING TO THE 1995 ELECTIONS AND THE SOONER WE COME TO THOSE DECISIONS, IN MY JUDGMENT, THE BETTER.
QUESTION:
GIVEN THAT MANY COMPANIES, FOREIGN MULTI-NATIONAL COMPANIES, HAVE THEIR REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS OFFICES LOCATED IN HONG
WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO ON BEHALF OF THE BUSINESS KONG,
COMMUNITY TO HELP PROMOTE LONG TERM INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG?
OR SPECIFIC PLANS PROGRAMMES THAT YOU HAVE COME UP WITH FOR LONG TERM INVESTMENT POST- 1997.
GOVERNOR:
-
WELL THE FIRST THING I'D LIKE TO DO AND I'M MINDFUL OF THE FACT THAT ONE OF THE GREATEST POLITICAL LEADERS IN ASIA IS IN TOWN AND THEREFORE I'LL BE SLIGHTLY MORE RESTRAINED IN WHAT I SAY BECAUSE I'M GOING
BUT TO SEE HIM TOMORROW MORNING
I DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO A RECENT REPORT IN THE ECONOMIST' MAGAZINE WHICH WAS A DIGEST OF A PIECE OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH, DONE 1 THINK BY MIT, COMPARING SINGAPORE AND HONG KONG AS BUSINESS LOCATIONS, COMPARING THEM AS LOCATIONS FOR MULTI-NATIONALS, AND COMPARING THEIR PERFORMANCE OVER THE YEARS. AND I THINK IF I WAS TRYING TO MULTI-NATIONALS TO BASE THEMSELVES IN HONG KONG IN AS UNPROVOCATIVE WAY AS POSSIBLE, I'D POST THEM, IN A PLAIN ENVELOPE, A COPY OF THAT 'ECONOMIST' MAGAZINE ARTICLE BECAUSE I THINK IT TOLD AN EXTREMELY CONVINCING STORY.
KONG.
ECONOMIC PERSUADE
A
BUT THERE IS ONE OTHER THING WHICH I THINK IS IMPERATIVE AND WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH, OR EVERYTHING TO DO WITH, ECONOMICS. WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MAIN REASONS FOR THIS ASTONISHING SUCCESS IN HONG KONG?. WELL, VERY LARGELY
THE OF COURSE, ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILL AND ENERGY AND HARD WORK OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG THAT GOES WITHOUT SAYING. SECONDLY, A GOVERNMENT WHICH HAS ALLOWED THOSE PEOPLE ΤΟ GET ON WITH WHAT INDIVIDUALS DO BEST. THIRDLY, THE RULE OF LAW; THIRDLY, THE CERTAINTY THAT EVERYBODY WAS PLAYING BY THE SAME RULES, THE CERTAINTY THAT THE MARKET WAS SECTOR. REGULATED CLEANLY FOR EVERYONE, WHETHER GOVERNMENT OR PRIVATE AND I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT GUARANTEE FOR HONG KONG'S FUTURE IS THE CERTAINTY
RULE THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE THE APPLICATION OF THE
OF
LAW.
/THE MOMENT