MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1992
GOVERNOR:
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FORTUNATELY, WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY WHERE PEOPLE CAN MAKE THEIR VIEWS PLAIN AND GET THEM REPORTED, EVEN WHEN THEY DON'T AGREE WITH THE GOVERNOR. I'D SAY THREE THINGS IN RESPONSE TO THAT SORT OF CRITICISM. FIRST, AS I'VE SAID ALREADY DURING THE COURSE OF MY REMARKS, I BELIEVE VERY STRONGLY THAT THE PROPOSALS, THE RATHER RESTRAINED PROPOSALS THAT I'VE PUT FORWARD, ARE THE BEST WAY OF ACHIEVING POLITICAL STABILITY, AND THAT IT WOULD BE NO WAY OF ACHIEVING POLITICAL STABILITY, TO BLOCK OFF, TO RESIST, EVERY AMBITION OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG TO HAVE A RATHER GREATER SHARE IN MANAGING THEIR OWN AFFAIRS. I DON'T THINK THAT SOME OF THOSE WHO HAVE OFFERED CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS WOULD ARGUE, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT DEMOCRACY BEEN APPALLINGLY BAD FOR THE ECONOMY OF JAPAN.
SECONDLY, I ALSO THINK THAT PEOPLE WHO MAKE THOSE OF REMARKS MIGHT THINK FORWARD TO THE POSITION AFTER 1997, AND THINK ABOUT THE BEST WAYS IN WHICH TO SECURE THE WAY OF LIFE THEY ENJOY AND THE WAY OF LIFE WHICH HAS HELPED TO MAKE HONG KONG
PROSPEROUS.
HAD
SORT
MIGHT WHICH SO
AND THIRDLY, I THINK SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE WILL BE HOPING THAT THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG WILL BE A VERY ACTIVE LOBBYIST FOR FREE TRADE, NOT LEAST BETWEEN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES, IN THE COMING MONTHS, AND I THINK THEY MIGHT HAVE A THOUGHT ABOUT THE CREDIBILITY OF THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG WHEN HE'S ARGUING THE CASE FOR FREE TRADE BETWEEN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES. I THINK HE'S MORE LIKELY TO BE ABLE TO PUT THOSE ARGUMENTS WITH AUTHORITY AND CONVICTION IF HIS AUDIENCES THINK THAT HE'S SOMEBODY WHO STANDS UP FOR HONG KONG RATHER THAN THE REVERSE.
FRANK CHING (FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW) : MR PATTEN, IF, AS YOU SAY, THE UK GOVERNMENT WAS ALWAYS COMMITTED TO DEMOCRACY IN HONG KONG, WHY IS IT THAT WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING NOW IS COMING AT SUCH A LATE DATE? WHY, FOR INSTANCE, WAS IT DECIDED NOT TO HOLD DIRECT ELECTIONS IN 1988, WHEN IT WAS CLEARLY THE VIEW OF THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE IN HONG KONG AT THE TIME THAT THAT SHOULD HAPPEN?
AND IN THAT CONNECTION, HAVE YOU READ THE REPORT WRITTEN BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF GALLUP ON THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT'S OPINION SURVEYS IN 1987?
WE
GOVERNOR:
ON THE LATTER POINT, NO, I HAVEN'T, BUT I WILL BEFORE YOU ASK ME THE QUESTION AGAIN. AND I'M NOT SURE THAT MY KNOWLEDGE OF RECENT POLITICAL HISTORY IN HONG KONG IS AS GOOD AS YOURS, BUT LET ME JUST SAY WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO. THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE 1995 ELECTIONS WERE NOT CUT AND DRIED, WE ALL KNOW THAT. ALL KNOW WHAT THE PRESENT SOVEREIGN POWER AND THE FUTURE SOVEREIGN POWER HAD IN THE PAST SAID ABOUT ONE ASPECT OF THOSE ELECTIONS, THAT IS THE NUMBER OF DIRECTLY ELECTED SEATS TO BE IN THE LEGISLATURE AFTER 1995. I'VE TRIED, I THOUGHT REASONABLY CONSTRUCTIVELY AND HELPFULLY, TO FIND A WAY IN WHICH WE COULD ACHIEVE SOME OF OUR OBJECTIVES WHILE GETTING ROUND THAT ROAD-BLOCK. I STILL HAVEN'T HEARD ANY BETTER WAY OF ACCOMPLISHING THAT EXERCISE.
OBVIOUSLY,
AS FOR THE PAST, I THINK THAT THERE HAVE BEEN, DISAGREEMENTS WITHIN HONG KONG, AND BETWEEN HONG KONG AND THE UNITED KINGDOM, AND BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA, ABOUT THE PACE OF DEMOCRATISATION
/FRANK CHING: