SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1993
+
OBVIOUSLY GOVERNOR
ANY CRITICISM PUT FORWARD BY MR LEE AND THE UDHK, I WOULD NEED TO LISTEN TO VERY CAREFULLY BECAUSE IN THE LAST ELECTIONS TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, THEY GOT THE LARGEST SHARE OF THE POPULAR VOTE AND IN THOSE ELECTIONS CLEARLY CAME NEARER THAN OTHER POLITICAL PARTIES TO REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG. SO WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY REMAINS A MATTER OF CONSIDERABLE IMPORTANCE INTEREST. BUT I'M SURE THAT MR LEE AND OTHERS RECOGNISE THAT IT IS FOR THIS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO TAKE THE LEGISLATIVE DECISION ON THE
WHEN WAY FORWARD.
I EVENTUALLY PUT PROPOSALS
THE TO
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, WHETHER THEY ARE PROPOSALS WHICH HAVE BEEN AGREED WITH CHINA,
A WHICH I THINK WOULD BE THE BEST WAY FORWARD IF WE CAN ACHIEVE IT IN REASONABLE WAY, OR WHETHER THEY ARE PROPOSALS WHICH ALAS HAVEN'T BREN AGREED WITH BY CHINA, I WOULD BE ARGUING FOR THOSE PROPOSALS BECAUSE THOSE WILL BE THE PROPOSALS WHICH I THINK ARE REASONABLE AND FAIR AND I HOPE ACCEPTABLE TO THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG. THE IMPORTANT THING FOR US TO DO IS TO HAVE CLEAN ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS. WE ARE, OBVIOUSLY NONE OF US, TRYING TO GET ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS WHICH HELP ONE PARTY OR ANOTHER. BUT I REPEAT, ANYTHING THAT MR LEE AND HIS COLLEAGUES HAVE TO SAY, I HAVE TO TAKE PARTICULAR AND CLOSE ATTENTION TO.
QUESTION : HAS MR MAJOR WRITTEN A LETTER TO MR LI PENG, URGING HIM TO SPEED UP THE PACE OF THE NEGOTIATIONS ?
COMMITTEE
GOVERNOR
IT WOULDN'T BE SURPRISING IF AFTER THE CABINET : MEETING THAT WE HAD IN LONDON LAST WEEK THERE WAS FURTHER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN LONDON AND PEKING. BUT OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE SOMETIMES WHEN IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO ANNOUNCE THAT DIPLOMATIC EXCHANGES HAVE TAKEN PLACE THAN OTHERS. BUT I REPEAT, IT WOULDN'T BE SURPRISING IF THERE WERE EXCHANGES AND COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN LONDON AND PEKING.
QUESTION: DO YOU THINK THAT IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN WORK...
TO TAKE THE DECISION TO...?
+
PERHAPS
LEVEL
GOVERNOR: WELL, DECISIONS WILL, OBVIOUSLY, BE TAKEN AT A SENIOR ON BOTH SIDES AS THEY WERE TAKEN IN LONDON AT THE MOST SENIOR LEVEL LAST WEEK. BUT THE HARD WORK OF NEGOTIATION HAS TO GO ON ROUND THE TABLE. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT WE ARE OBVIOUSLY SAD THAT SIR ROBIN MCLAREN IS OFF THE FIELD FOR THE TIME BEING AS SOME OF YOU WILL KNOW, HAVING SEEN HIM WORKING IN HONG KONG, HE'S BEEN SUFFERING FROM A VERY BAD BACK FOR SOME MONTHS AND HAS BEEN HOSPITALISED WHILE THE DOCTORS SORT THAT OUT. BUT HE'S BEEN IN CONSIDERABLE PAIN AND HAS BEEN VERY BRAVE AND STOICAL OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS. HIS PLACE IS BEING TAKEN BY CHRISTOPHER HUM WHO IS ONE OF THE MOST EXPERIENCED DIPLOMATS IN THE FOREIGN OFFICE AND HE'S GOT AN EXCELLENT TEAM FROM HONG KONG INCLUDING A NUMBER OF MY SENIOR COLLEAGUES IN THE GOVERNMENT. BUT THAT IS WHERE THE REALLY HARD WORK WILL HAVE TO BE DONE THOUGH I AGREE WITH YOU THAT THE MAIN POLITICAL DECISION IS TAKEN AT A RATHER HIGHER LEVEL. LAST QUESTION.
QUESTION: IS IT VERY IMPORTANT THAT THERE IS THIS UNITY IN THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND THE PARLIAMENT ON HONG KONG POLICY AT THIS POINT AND IS THIS THE REASON FOR THE OPTIMISM IN LONDON THAT THE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD IN THE NEXT ROUND?
NEGOTIATION IS
/GOVERNOR: