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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1993
BUT LET ME COME TO YOUR BUILDING ANALOGY, AND I'LL BE BRIEF BECAUSE I WANT TO FIT IN ONE LAST QUESTION IN A MOMENT. WHAT HAPPENS IF I'M THE LANDLORD TODAY AND THE LANDLORD THREE OR FOUR YEARS AHEAD SAYS TO ME, "YOU MUSTN'T BUILD A WALL USING THAT CEMENT BETWEEN THE BRICKS, YOU MUST BUILD A WALL WHICH HAS SAND BETWEEN THE BRICKS."? WHAT DO I DO? DO I SAY, "ALRIGHT, I'LL BUILD A WALL WHICH I THINK WILL FALL DOWN", OR DO I SAY, I'M GOING TO BUILD WHAT I THINK IS THE BEST WALL; I VERY MUCH HOPE YOU WILL KEEP IT, I VERY MUCH HOPE WE CAN AGREE THAT THAT IS THE BEST WALL, BUT IF, IN DUE COURSE, YOU THREATEN TO KNOCK IT DOWN, THERE IS NOT VERY MUCH I CAN DO ABOUT IT."? A SENSIBLE LANDLORD BUILDS WALLS THAT ARE GOING TO STAND UP, NOT FALL DOWN.
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GOVERNOR:
HE'S PROMISED TO BE VERY BRIEF.
QUESTION:
GOVERNOR:
THANK YOU MR PATTEN, MY QUESTION IS ON POLITICS.
I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS ABOUT
WELFARE AND EDUCATION AND HOUSING.
QUESTION:
MR PATTEN YOU HAVE BEEN HERE FOR MORE THAN A YEAR. YOU OFTEN SAY SOMETHING WHICH IS, IN HONG KONG, FOR THE 94/95 ELECTIONS, THE ARRANGEMENTS MUST BE FAIR, OPEN AND ACCEPTABLE TO THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG.
GOVERNOR:
QUESTION:
RIGHT, RIGHT.
BUT YESTERDAY, IN YOUR SECOND POLICY SPEECH, YOU ALSO REPEATED THIS POINT. BUT IN YOUR TALKS WITH CHINA, I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE PROPOSED ΤΟ CREATE A FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCY FOR THE CIVIL SERVANTS. I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS NO SUCH PRACTICE IN THE WESTERN DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES, INCLUDING BRITAIN. AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND A LOT OF PEOPLE IN HONG KONG, AND A LOT OF ORGANISATIONS, INCLUDING A LOT OF CIVIL SERVANTS, THEY ARE FIRMLY AGAINST THIS PROPOSAL. SO WHAT ABOUT YOUR POINT OF BEING ACCEPTABLE TO THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG? SO I THINK YOU ARE CONTRADICTING YOURSELF.
GOVERNOR:
IF
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J
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO THINK OF ANY OTHER SOCIETY WHICH HAS FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES, LET ALONE A FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE, OR DOCTORS OR TEACHERS OR ANY OTHER GROUP. I EXPECT YOU KNOW THAT CIVIL SERVANTS VOTE IN AT PRESENT EIGHT DIFFERENT FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES. THEY MAKE UP 12% OF THE ELECTORATE IN THOSE FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES. IN TWO FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES THEY MAKE UP MORE THAN 50% OF THE VOTE. SO, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT NEW FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES WITH CHINESE OFFICIALS AND YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT ME TO BREAK CONFIDENTIALITY I AM SURE, OTHERWISE THE NCNA WOULD BE VERY CROSS BUT IF WE WERE TALKING ABOUT A CIVIL SERVICE FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCY IT WOULDN'T BREACH SOME NEW PRINCIPLE. BUT YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT THAT, AT THE END, WE WILL HAVE TO PUT FORWARD ARRANGEMENTS WHICH WE BELIEVE ARE ACCEPTABLE ΤΟ PEOPLE IN HONG KONG, ACCEPTABLE TO A RANGE OF PEOPLE FROM YOU TO THOSE OVER THERE WHO PUT UP A FORMIDABLE CASE AGAINST FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES AT ALL. YOU MENTIONED THOSE THREE WORDS
FAIRNESS, OPENNESS AND ACCEPTABILITY I AM SOMETIMES AMUSED THAT THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO THINK OR SEEM TO ARGUE THAT THERE'S SOMETHING STRANGE ABOUT WANTING ARRANGEMENTS THAT ARE FAIR AND OPEN AND ACCEPTABLE.
-T