WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1993
40
GOVERNOR GIVES BROADCAST ON POLICY ADDRESS
FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THE GOVERNOR THE RT HON CHRISTOPHER PATTEN'S BROADCAST ON HIS POLICY ADDRESS:
THIS HAS BEEN A GOOD YEAR, A SUCCESSFUL YEAR, FOR HONG KONG, IN EVERY AREA EXCEPT ONE. I'LL COME TO THAT IN A MINUTE. BUT FIRST THERE'S THE GOOD NEWS.
OUR AMBITIONS REST ABOVE ALL ON THE STRENGTH OF OUR ECONOMY. OUR AMBITIONS FOR OUR OWN FAMILY'S WELL-BEING. AND OUR AMBITIONS FOR THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
ONCE AGAIN, DESPITE TOUGH INTERNATIONAL CONDITIONS, FLAT ECONOMIES IN EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA, INFLATIONARY PROBLEMS IN CHINA, WE'VE DONE EXTREMELY WELL HERE IN HONG KONG. AT THE LAST BUDGET WE NOT ONLY REDUCED TAXES, BUT WERE ALSO ABLE TO PUT MORE MONEY INTO OUR RESERVES, AND TO INCREASE SPENDING ON THE THINGS THAT REALLY CONCERN
US.
SO WE'VE HAD A GOOD YEAR TOO ON THE HEALTH, SOCIAL WELFARE EDUCATION FRONTS.
OUR
AND
LAST YEAR I ANNOUNCED A FIVE-YEAR AGENDA FOR MEETING SOME OF GOALS IN THESE AREAS. LIKE REDUCING CLASS SIZES AND DOING MORE FOR THE HANDICAPPED. LIKE RECRUITING MORE POLICE AND BUILDING HOMES. WE'VE PUBLISHED TODAY A CHECK LIST ON THE PROGRESS MADE. A PRETTY GOOD STORY. AND I INTEND TO KEEP YOU WHOLLY INFORMED HOW THINGS CONTINUE TO UNFOLD.
MORE
IT'S
ABOUT
THANKS TO YOUR HARD WORK, THANKS IN OTHER WORDS TO OUR BOOMING ECONOMY, WE CAN PRUDENTLY AFFORD TO DO A BIT MORE THIS YEAR.
SO WE'RE ANNOUNCING BIG IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMMES FOR OUR HOSPITALS AND SCHOOLS. WE'RE PUTTING MORE MONEY INTO LANGUAGE AND COMPUTER TRAINING AT SCHOOLS, AND INTO DOING MORE TO HELP FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN OF KINDERGARTEN AGE. WE'RE ALSO DOING MORE TO RAISE TRACHING STANDARDS. WE'RE GOING TO RECRUIT MORE NURSES. I'M PUTTING SPECIAL EMPHASIS THIS YEAR ON THE NEED TO DEVELOP BETTER PROGRAMMES FOR OUR ELDERLY PARTICULARLY IN HEALTH CARE AND HOUSING.
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WE'RE RAISING ALLOWANCES FOR CHILDREN IN NEED. WE'RE DOING MORE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT ESPECIALLY IN THE NEW TERRITORIES AND FOR ARTS AND SPORT. WE'VE GOT AND WE CERTAINLY NEED IT A BIG ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME. AND WE'RE PUTTING MONEY ASIDE AS A SORT OF INSURANCE POLICY FOR CIVIL SERVICE PENSIONS; THEY'VE BEEN WORRIED ABOUT THEIR FUTURE, AND I WANT TO PUT THEIR MINDS AT REST.
ALL THIS HAS GONE WELL. BUT THERE'S BEEN ONE BIG SNAG. PROBLEM SEEMS TO COME DOWN TO HOW DETERMINED WE ARE TO SAFEGUARD WONDERFUL AND SUCCESSFUL WAY OF LIFE HERE IN HONG KONG.
THE
OUR
/UNDER THE