17
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 1993
GOVERNOR : I MUST SAY THAT IN THE DAYS WHEN PEOPLE USED го PUT UP POSTERS WITH MY NAME OR FACE ON THEM I USED TO TAKE THE VIEW THAT MY POSTERS WERE ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN AND OTHER PROPLRS* POSTERS WERE ENVIRONMENTALLY HOSTILE. IT MAY BE THAT OTHERS TAKE THE SAME VIEW. I HOPE THAT ALL THEIR PARTIES OR INDIVIDUALS AND PERHAPS THIS IS SOMETHING WITH COMING ELECTIONS OVER THE HORIZON WE SHOULD BEAR IN MIND, I HOPE THAT ALL PARTIES AND INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE CAMPAIGNING WILL RECOGNISE THAT IF THEY'RE SERIOUS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, ONE THING THEY COULD USEFULLY DO SHORTLY AFTER THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN IS OVER IS TO GO ROUND AND TAKE DOWN ALL THE POSTERS AND BOARDS WHICH THEY ENTHUSIASTICALLY PUT UP IN THE PRECEDING TWO OR THREE WEEKS. I THINK THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING WHICH THEY COULD VERY USEFULLY DO, QUITE APART FROM THE FACT THAT FOR THOSE WHO LOSE, THE SOONER, I'M SURE THEY'RE ABLE TO STOP REMINDING PEOPLE OF THE FACT THE BETTER. IT'S IMPORTANT TO LOOK BEYOND POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING AS WELL. I THINK FLY POSTING AND GRAFITTI CAN HAVE AN APPALLING EFFECT ON THE ENVIRONMENT. FORTUNATELY, AND LONG MAY IT REMAIN SO, HONG KONG HAS LARGELY, THOUGHI NOT ENTIRELY, AVOIDED THE APPALLING SIN OF SCRAWLING ALL OVER WALLS WHICH WE SEE IN TOO MANY EUROPEAN AND NORTH AMERICAN URBAN AREAS. I HOPE WE CAN GO ON AVOIDING THAT HERE. I THINK THAT BY AND LARGE WE SHOW RATHER GREATER RESPECT FOR OUR PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT THAN IS THE CASE ELSEWHERE AND I HOPE THAT YOUNG PEOPLE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
ANNA WU:
GOVERNOR, I WONDER IF YOU CAN TELL US WHAT ARE THE AREAS ON WHICH COOPERATION CAN BE SOUGHT FROM GUANGDONG. PERHAPS YOU CAN HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE PRIORITIES.
GOVERNOR:
DOWN
THAT
I THINK THAT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITIES IS IN DEALING WITH WATER POLLUTION, AND I COMMEND A VERY USEFUL SEMINAR THAT WAS HELD UNDER I THINK THE AUSPICES OF THE BRITISH COUNCIL WHICH DEALT LARGELY WITH THAT ISSUE A FEW MONTHS AGO,
BRINGING TOGETHER EXPERTS FROM GUANGDONG, EXPERTS FROM HONG KONG AND EXPERTS FROM EUROPE AS WELL. ALL ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS HAVE, IN A SENSE, A LOCAL CAUSE, BUT ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS ARE THE AGGREGATE OF LOCAL CAUSES EITHER ON THE REGIONAL OR ON THE GLOBAL LEVEL. IT WOULDN'T MAKE VERY MUCH SENSE IF WE MANAGED TO CLEAN UP ALL OUR OWN WATERS AT CONSIDERABLE EXPENSE OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS BUT FOUND THAT POLLUTION COMING DOWN FROM THE PEARL RIVER AND COMING THE PEARL RIVER ESTUARY WAS NEGATING SOME OF THE GOOD EFFECTS WE'D HAD FROM OUR OWN INVESTMENT. EQUALLY, IT'S TRUE THAT POLLUTION IS AN ISSUE THAT HAS TO BE DEALT WITH REGIONALLY AND NOT JUST BY ONE COMMUNITY SITTING BEHIND ITS BORDER. A THIRD AREA WHERE THE WHOLE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL RECOGNISES THAT WE NEED TO COOPERATE OVER THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION AND THE TAKING OF PRECAUTIONS RELATION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS, AND THAT IS AN ISSUE THAT WE ARE DISCUSSING WITH THE GUANGDONG AUTHORITIES, AS THE HONOURABLE LADY WILL I AM SURE KNOW, AT THE MOMENT. SO THOSE ARE THREE AREAS WHERE COOPERATION IS ESSENTIAL AND THEY ARE THREE AREAS WHERE I HOPE THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO SEE VERY EFFECTIVE COOPERATION IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS SO THAT ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING PLACES IN THE WORLD THE PEARL RIVER ESTUARY AND THE PEARL RIVER
+ BECOME AN ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD.
BORDERS,
AIR
IS
IN
DOESN'T
/MR TAM