FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1992
QUESTION:
1'M SURE, GOVERNOR, YOU HAVE READ THE NOVEL BY SIMON WINCHESTER, THE JOURNALIST WHO RESIDES IN HONG KONG, ENTITLED, "THE PACIFIC NIGHTMARE". NOW GOVERNOR, IF YOU HAVE READ THIS NOVEL I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW FROM YOU, TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK THE NOVEL HAS THE REALISTIC ELEMENTS, TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK THE NOVEL WILL BECOME A REALITY OR ACTUALITY? NOW, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IS, AS HONG KONG HAS EVOLVED ACCORDING TO ... AND SO FORTH, AND JAPAN ALSO, WITH SUCH DEVELOPMENTS, TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK THERE MAY BE AN INHERENT DANGER OF US BEING INVOLVED IN THE CIVIL WAR, PERHAPS, THAT MAY HAPPEN INSIDE CHINA? PERHAPS THIS MAY BI A VERY DIFFICULT QUESTION FOR YOU TO ANSWER AS A PUBLIC PERSON, BUT PERHAPS IN THE CAPACITY OF JUST ONE READER, ONE BOOK LOVER, IF YOU COULD GIVE YOUR PERSONAL COMMENT.
GOVERNOR :
AS A BOOK LOVER, WHAT MAKES IT PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT FOR ME TO ANSWER THE QUESTION IS THAT I HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK.
AM
I USED TO REVIEW QUITE A LOT OF BOOKS AND I KNOW, AS MANY OF YOU DO, THAT IT'S NOT ENTIRELY NECESSARY TO READ THE BOOK BEFORE REVIEWING ᎥᎢ . HE MAKES SOME ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE PLOT IN ORDER TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, HONG KONG HAS BEEN AN ASTONISHINGLY SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY AND IT REPRESENTS TODAY ABOUT 18 PERCENT OF CHINA'S.. GDP. WITH GUANGDONG IT REPRESENTS, I SUPPOSE, ABOUT 29 PERCENT OF CHINA'S GDP. AND HONG KONG IS A PRICELESS ASSET AND I SURE THAT CHINA, WHEN CHINA RESUMES SOVEREIGNTY, WILL WANT TO CHERISH IT. WHAT I HOPE THAT CHINA WILL RECOGNISE IN 1997, IS THAT GOVERNING INSTITUTIONS THAT WORK, GOVERNING INSTITUTIONS WHICH HELF TO SUSTAIN THE RULE OF LAW, SHOULD BE KEPT, SHOULD BE PRESERVED, SINCE THE RULE OF LAW AND HONG KONG'S WAY OF LIFE ARE ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS FOR HONG KONG'S PROSPERITY AND STABILITY.
QUESTION:
IT SEEMS THAT THE JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER HAS NOT SHOWN HIS SUPPORT FOR YOUR POLITICAL REFORMS CLEARLY DURING VISIT.
YOUR
GOVERNOR:
I'LL REPEAT WHAT I SAID EARLIER. I ANSWERED THE QUESTION BEFORE I CAME TO TOKYO, I ANSWERED IT AT THE AIRPORT WHEN I ARRIVED, AND I'VE ANSWERED IT ON A NUMBER OF OTHER OCCASIONS. I DID NOT COME TO TOKYO ASSUMING THAT JAPAN WOULD SAY OTHER THAN JAPAN RAS ALREADY SAID, BECAUSE, I REPEAT, JAPAN AND JAPANESE OFFICIALS RECOGNISE THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE JOINT DECLARATION IS A MATTER FOR PEKING, FOR LONDON, AND FOR HONG KONG. AND THAT, I REPEAT, IS WHAT I SAID BEFORE I CAME TO TOKYO ON TIHIS TRIP. WHAT I WAS VERY PLEASED ABOUT WAS TO HAVE 15 MINUTES WITH THE PRIME MINISTER AT WE HAD AN EXTREMELY GOOD DISCUSSION ABOUT THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES THAT FACE HONG KONG, AS WELL AS ABOUT OTHER MATTERS OF MUTUAL INTEREST, AND IT WAS A PARTICULAR PLEASURE TO BE ABLE то EXPLAIN MY AGENDA FOR HONG KONG FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND WHAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG HAVE BEEN SAYING ABOUT IT.
THERE'S A PERFECTLY OBVIOUS POINT - YOU CAN DISAPPOINTED IF YOU EXPECTED SOMETHING TO HAPPEN AND IT SINCE BEFORE I CAME I SAID WHAT I EXPECTED TO HAPPEN, AND DIDN'T EXPECT TO HAPPEN, I WASN'T DISAPPOINTED THAT WHAT I EXPECT TO HAPPEN DIDN'T HAPPEN.
WHICH
ONLY BE DOESN'T.
WHAT I DIDN'T
/QUESTION: I