3
نيا
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 1994
GOVERNOR: WHAT WE'RE DOING, AS YOU KNOW, IS ENGAGING IN A GENUINE CONSULTATION ABOUT THE BEST WAYS OF ORGANISING THE AUTHORITY OR CORPORATION IN THE YEARS AHEAD. I THINK EVERYBODY RECOGNISES THAT WE'VE GOT TO STRIKE A BALANCE. ON THE ONE HAND, WE WANT TO HAVE AS AFFECTIVE A COMMERCIAL ORGANISATION AS POSSIBLE, MEETING CUSTOMERS DEMANDS IN A COMPETITIVE AND FLEXIBLE WAY. ON THE OTHER HAND, WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT THE ORGANISATION THAT WE SET UP WHERE IT SPENDS PUBLIC MONEY IS PROPERLY ACCOUNTABLE. NOW WITH THE MTRC, WE'VE CALLED IT A "C",
A CORPORATION RATHER THAN AUTHORITY AND IN SOME EXTENT IN HONG KONG, WE USE THE WORD "AUTHORITY" WHEN WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT REGULATORY BODIES AND "CORPORATION" WHEN WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT A HANDS-ON ORGANISATION WHICH IS ACTUALLY AS IT WERE DRIVING A FUNCTION. I DON'T FEEL AT THE MOMENT, AT THIS STAGE OF THE DEBATE, ANY PARTICULAR PASSION ABOUT ONE WORD OR THE OTHER, BUT I DO HOPE THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE CAN FIND THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN THOSE TWO FUNCTIONS, BETWEEN ON THE ONE HAND, HAVING A GOOD, EFFECTIVE COMMERCIAL OPERATION AND ONE THE OTHER HAND, ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE PUBLIC FUND THAT IT USES.
HAVING ONE
QUESTION: TVB HAS CONFIRMED THAT IT HAS THE BBC DOCUMENTARY ZBDONG, DID YOU ASK THEM WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE GOING TO ISN'T THIS THE KIND OF FILM WE LIKE TO SEE SHOWN HERE?
TO
WHICH IS
ON MAO
IT?
SHOW
GOVERNOR: I THINK THAT'S, WITH RESPECT, THAT IS A QUESTION FOR TVB WHICH I AM SURE THEY WILL ANSWER AFTERWARDS. BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF INTEREST IN 1T, I'VE ASKED ABOUT IT. I HAVEN'T SEEN THE PROGRAMME. I THINK THAT IT'S BEEN A SUBJECT OF SOME CONTROVERSY. IN MY EXPERIENCE, IT IS PART OF THE BUSINESS OF RUNNING A TELEVISION COMPANY FIND YOURSELF DRAWN INTO CONTROVERSIES. POLITICIANS ON THE WHOLE AND POLITICAL LEADERS APPEAR MORE ON TELEVISION THAN WATCH IT BUT THEY HAVE PARTICULAR SENSITIVITIES ABOUT WHAT GOES ON TELEVISION AND I HAVE TO SAY, HAND ON HEART, THAT THEY ARE NOT ON THE WHOLE SHARED BY THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG. I THINK IN POLITICS AND IN GOVERNMENT, YOU HAVE ΤΟ TAKE AS IT WERE THE ROUGH WITH THE SMOOTH BUT I THINK THAT IT'S REALLY A QUESTION FOR TVB OR THE BBC WHO MADE THE PROGRAMME IN THE FIRST PLACE.
QUESTION: MR PATTEN, WILL YOU GUARANTEE THAT
?
TVB
EVEN OVER
GOVERNOR: I'M AFRAID TO SAY, APART FROM OF COURSE THE OCCASIONAL PROGRAMME I HAVEN'T MANAGED TO WATCH VERY MUCH TELEVISION CHRISTMAS.
QUESTION: WILL YOU GUARANTEE THAT MEMBERS OF THE AC BOARD SHOULD BE MORE LOCALISED, THAT'S WHAT THE CHINESE SIDE IS WORRIED ABOUT?
GOVERNOR: I AM SURE THAT IN ESTABLISHING THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE CORPORATION OR AUTHORITY, THE DIRECTION OF THE CORPORATION OR AUTHORITY WILL WANT TO AND HAVE THE BEST POSSIBLE TALENTS AVAILABLE AND WILL WANT TO HAVE THE BEST POSSIBLE INJECTION OF LOCAL TALENT. BUT I DON'T THINK THAT IN ANY OF OUR PUBLIC CORPORATIONS OR AUTHORITIES, ANYBODY WANTS TO TOTALLY EXCLUDE EXPATRIATE EXPERTISE. PART OF HONG KONG'S ATTRACTION AS A COMMUNITY AND PART OF HONG KONG'S SUCCESS IS THAT WE BRING IN EXPATRIATES FROM TIME ΤΟ TIME TO DO PARTICULAR JOBS AND I THINK THAT HONG KONG WILL CONTINUE TO BE A GOOD MIX OF ALL SORTS OF TALENT.
/QUESTION: