12
TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 1993
QUESTIONS AND ANSWEARB
PROFESSOR MARTIN: Ladies and gentlemen, we have almost
half an hour for your questions and discussion. The Governor has said that he would prefer to do this standing.
JACK THOMPSON (BBC World Service Television News): A9
I am sure you are well aware, on 2 April the Chinese language newspaper in Hong Kong, Sing Pao, reported from Bejing remarks made by the CCP General Secretary, Jiang Zernin:
'If the situation between Britain and China continues,
the Joint Declaration will actually be discarded by
Britain and will no more be binding on the two
countries. To safeguard China's sovreignty and to
protect Hong Kong's compatriots' interests, we have
the power to take decisive measures to take over Hong Kong ahead of schedule when necessary."
My rather plain question to those rather ominous remarks is: how
do. you construe them?
CHRIS PATTEN: I have heard a lot of things said in the
last few months and some of them might have been better not said.
But overall, I have noticed again and again Chinese officials
saying that they would abide by the Joint Declaration, as I would
expect, given that it is in effect a binding treaty between
Britain and China. I have heard them say that they have no
question of attempting to resume sovreignty before 1997, I have
heard them underlining their commitment to co-operation in order
to guarantee the the well-being, the livelihood and the standard