TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1992
GOVERNOR:
LADY WOULD
IN
BE
IN
MY
WELL, I'M SURE THAT THE HONOURABLE FIRST OF ALL WANT TO CONFIRM THAT WHATEVER I MAY RESPONSIBLE FOR, WHAT MINISTERS SAID IN 1978, OR WHAT OTHERS SAID 1978, OR WHAT GOVERNORS SAID IN 1978, 1SN'T ENTIRELY
IF RESPONSIBILITY.
HAS THE HONOURABLE LADY IS SAYING THAT IT
BEEN
ARGUED
THE PAST THAT THERE COULD BE NO GREATER PROGRESS ΤΟ TO DEMOCRACY BECAUSE CHINA WOULD OBJECT TO THAT, THEN I'M INTERESTED HEAR HER PUTTING THAT ARGUMENT. IT'S PERFECTLY CLEAR UNDER THE JOINT DECLARATION THAT THERE SHOULD BE ORDERLY PROGRESS TOWARDS GREATER DEMOCRACY. THAT IS PLAIN IN THE JOINT DECLARATION. IT'S ALSO PERFECTLY CLEAR THAT YOU CANNOT FIND IN THE BASIC LAW, ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WHICH I HAVE TRIED TO TACKLE IN THE PROPOSALS THAT I'VE FORWARD FOR THE 1995 ELECTIONS. BOTH THOSE PROPOSITIONS ARE CLEAR, AND I THINK THAT THE HONOURABLE LADY WOULD REGARD ME AS FAILING IN DUTY
THE IF I DIDN'T PUT FORWARD MY OWN PROPOSALS.
I ASSUME THAT HONOURABLE LADY REGARDS THE CRITERIA THAT I'VE SET OUT AS BEING ACCEPTABLE ONES.
THE
PUT
MY
WILL
WHAT
WELL, THE CRITERIA, THE HONOURABLE LADY RECALL, ARE THAT THE ELECTIONS SHOULD BE FAIR AND OPEN AND ACCEPTABLE TO THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG. I THINK IT'S DIFFICULT TO PUT AN ARGUMENT FOR THE CONTRARY PROPOSITIONS. SO I'VE DONE
I'M OBLIGED TO DO SINCE THERE ARE GAPS IN THE PRESENT ARRANGEMENTS, AND I'VE DONE SO IN A WAY WHICH I THINK RECOGNISES NOT WHAT POLITICAL GROUP OR COMMUNITY GROUP HAS BEEN PRESSING FOR COMMUNITY, BECAUSE THE POSITION WHEN I CAME WAS THAT PEOPLE PRESSING FOR A GREAT DEAL MORE DEMOCRACY THAN THE MODEST STEPS ALLOWED FOR IN MY PROPOSALS.
EVERY
IN THE WERE
JIMMY MCGREGOR:
SURE
GOVERNOR, YOU WILL COME TO A POSITION, I'M QUITE SOON, WHEN YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ASSESS WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT HAVE FOR YOUR PROPOSALS EXTENSIVELY ACROSS THE COMMUNITY SAME
AND
AT
WILL
ALSO
POINT
YOU THE
TIME WHERE THE DISAGREEMENT WITH YOUR PROPOSALS
RISE.
I'M SORRY TO SAY THAT IN BUSINESS THERE
IS AN INCREASING CONCERN WITH THE ATTITUDE TAKEN BY CHINA AND A VERY SUBSTANTIAL CONCERN WITH THE CONTINUATION OF DIALOGUE WITH CHINA. AT SOME FAIRLY SOON, AND BEFORE YOUR LEGISLATION COMES BEFORE THIS COUNCIL, THINK, WHEN REALLY YOU'VE REACHED A POINT ALMOST OF NO RETURN I WOULD AT LEAST YOU'RE PUTTING INTO THE COUNCIL DECISIONS AT THAT STAGE WHICH
POSSIBLY COULD
HAVE BEEN MADE BEFORE THE
18 LEGISLATION
THE DRAFTING DRAFTED
PROCESS HAS
YOU SITUATION WHERE YOU ARE WILLING TO CONSIDER SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE TO OF THE PRINCIPAL PROPOSALS THAT YOU HAVE MADE AND I REALLY REFER 'THE TWO WHICH ARE CAUSING THE GREATEST SINGLE CONCERN IN HONG KONG, WILLING AND IN CHINA ARE YOU IN A SITUATION WHERE THE GOVERNMENT IS TO DISCUSS WITH THIS COUNCIL BEFORE LEGISLATION GOES
IS DRAFTED, CHANGES WHICH MIGHT BE MADE TO THE PRINCIPAL PROPOSALS?
-
FINISHED.
-
по
ACTUALLY
HAVE
A
ANY TO
FORWARD,
GOVERNOR:
THERE ARE TWO POINTS TO THAT QUESTION. I THINK, ENTIRELY
RIGHT
IN
FIRST OF ALL THE HONOURABLE MEMBER IS, SAYING THAT OF THE SEVEN PROPOSALS THAT I PUT IN MY LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TWO.
PRINCIPALLY
ON SPEECH IN EARLY OCTOBER, CONTROVERSY FOCUSES AND t WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT EVEN THOUGH THERE WOULD BE ARGUMENT IN THE COUNCIL, ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHERS, AS THERE HAS BEEN IN
PAST,
HOW CAN I PUT IT? THE
THAT THAT ARGUMENT WOULD BE CONTAINED WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF DECORUM,
-
-
EASILY
/AS FOR