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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1992
OUR PORT, AND THE ENERGY AND EFFICIENCY WITH WHICH IT OPERATES, MAKE HONG KONG THE MARITIME CENTRE OF THE FAR EAST. OUR PORT IS AT THE HEART OF OUR PROSPECTS AND I THINK AT THE HEART OF OUR PROSPERITY.
DOES
AT THIS TIME OF ASTONISHING CHANGE, THERE IS ONE THING THAT NOT CHANGE, HOWEVER. AND THAT IS THE FORMULA FOR HONG KONG'S EXTRAORDINARY ECONOMIC SUCCESS OVER THE YEARS. OUR WINNING FORMULA THE HONG KONG FORMULA IS NO TRADE SECRET. BUT IT IS THE BEST PROOF, LIVING PROOF, ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, THAT A FREE ECONOMY, OPERATING WITHIN A SOUND FRAMEWORK OF LAW, AND GUARANTEED BY THE GROWING PARTICIPATION OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OF HONG KONG IN THE MANAGEMENT THEIR OWN AFFAIRS, OFFERS THE BEST PROSPECT OF PROSPERITY AND RISING STANDARDS OF LIVING.
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OUR PRESCRIPTION FOR PROSPERITY IS STRAIGHT-FORWARD. WE FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT BUSINESSMEN
MAKE NOT POLITICIANS OR CIVIL SERVANTS THE BEST COMMERCIAL DECISIONS. THE JOB OF GOVERNMENT IS TO OFFER MAXIMUM SUPPORT BUT MINIMUM INTERFERENCE. WE BELIEVE IN COMPETITION WITHIN A SOUND, FAIR FRAMEWORK OF REGULATION. WE BELIEVE IN LOW TAXES AND IN FIRM CONTROL OF PUBLIC SPENDING, WHICH MUST FOLLOW NOT OUT-PACE ECONOMIC GROWTH.
IT IS THAT SIMPLE, TRIED AND TESTED ECONOMIC PRESCRIPTION, COUPLED WITH THE HARD WORK OF HONG KONG'S REMARKABLE PEOPLE, THAT HAVE TURNED THIS GREAT COMMUNITY INTO ONE OF THE ECONOMIC WONDERS OF THE WORLD. AN ECONOMIC PRESCRIPTION THAT ITSELF FORMS AN INTEGRAL PART OF WHAT WE MEAN BY HONG KONG'S "WAY OF LIFE", A WAY OF LIFE DESCRIBED IN LINE AFTER LINE OF THE JOINT DECLARATION. IT IS THAT WAY OF LIFE UNDERPINS HONG KONG'S PROSPERITY AND STABILITY. THAT WAY OF WHICH IT IS MY JOB AS GOVERNOR TO PRESERVE IN THE RUN-UP TO 1997 BEYOND THE NIGHT WHEN THE FLAG COMES DOWN. ALL THOSE VALUES OF AN OPEN, TOLERANT AND FREE SOCIETY INTERLOCK. TAKE AWAY ONE AND THE WHOLE EDIFICE IS ENDANGERED. BIND THEM TOGETHER AND THE COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO THRIVE AND PROSPER.
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THAT LIFE
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P & O'S ASSOCIATION WITH HONG KONG IS, AS WE LEARNED THIS EVENING, AS OLD AS THE TERRITORY ITSELF. REPULSE BAY IS ONLY THE LATEST
IF THE LARGEST OF A LONG LINE OF YOUR VESSELS THAT HAVE STEAMED IN AND OUT OF HONG KONG HARBOUR. TODAY YOUR SHARES ARE LISTED ON THE HONG KONG STOCK EXCHANGE. YOU PLAY A FORMIDABLE PART IN HONG KONG'S ECONOMY, JUST AS YOU DO IN SO MANY ECONOMIES ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD. YOU ARE GOING, I KNOW, TO PLAY AS IMPORTANT A PART IN SHAPING THE HONG KONG OF TOMORROW, JUST AS YOU HAVE PLAYED A LARGE PART IN SHAPING THE HONG KONG OF TODAY.
COULD LIFE
THIS
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AS REPULSE BAY PREPARES TO PLY HER TRADE, THE PROSPECTS HARDLY BE SET MORE FAIR FOR HER. JUST THINK. DURING HER WORKING SHE WILL SEE THIS REGION TRANSFORMED. YOU CAN ALREADY FEEL IN PART OF THE WORLD THE ECONOMIC PULSE. IN THE COMING YEARS ASIA IS TO TRANSFORM ITSELF INTO THE WORLD'S ECONOMIC HEART. REPULSE BAY AND HER CREWS WILL WITNESS IT HAPPEN AS ALL OF YOU, THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY OF HONG KONG, HELP TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. I WANT THIS EVENING TO SALUTE YOU BOTH.
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