TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 1994
GOVERNOR SPEAKS AT LAUNCHING RECEPTION OF EASTERN EXPRESS
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DR MA, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
GO,
CAN I SAY HOW DELIGHTED I AM TO BE HERE AT THE LAUNCH OF THIS NEW NEWSPAPER AND I'D LIKE TO CONGRATULATE YOU, DR MA AND STEVE AND EVERYONE WHO'S BEEN INVOLVED IN PRODUCING A NEWSPAPER FROM THE DRAWING BOARD TO FIRST DUMMY IN SUCH A SHORT TIME. AS PREGNANCIES THIS ONE HAS BEEN EXCEEDINGLY SHORT. IT'S, OF COURSE I KNOW, BEEN VERY EXCITING PREGNANCY, NOT LEAST FOR VIRTUALLY EVERY OTHER EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR IN HONG KONG. THERE WAS, I THINK, A SHORT PERIOD WHEN I WAS THE ONLY PERSON IN HONG KONG WHO WASN'T JOINING THE EASTERN EXPRESS. BUT I STILL HAVE HOPES.
WE ALL
KNOW THAT HONG KONG IS A COMMUNITY WITH, PERHAPS, MORE NEWSPAPERS PER HEAD THAN ANYONE ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD. I READ THAT IN THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO SO IT MUST BE TRUE. NEWSPAPERS, A FREE PRESS ARE, OF COURSE, ONE OF THE HALLMARKS OF A FREE SOCIETY, ONE OF THE HALLMARKS OF AN OPEN SOCIETY, ONE OF THE HALLMARKS OF A SOCIETY AS SOPHISTICATED AND SUCCESSFUL AS HONG KONG. A FREE PRESS IS ALSO ONE OF THE GUARDIANS OF THE VALUES OF A FREE SOCIETY. 80, ALL OF US SHOULD WELCOME THE ARRIVAL OF A NEW NEWSPAPER TO JOIN THE SPECTACULAR RANGE OF CHINESE LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS HERE IN HONG KONG AND THE OTHER TWO ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS AS WELL. I BELIEVE IN COMPETITION AND I AM SURE THAT NEWSPAPER PROPRIETORS AND EDITORS DO AS WELL.
I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THE EASTERN EXPRESS AS OTHER NEWSPAPERS FROM FEBRUARY 1. I AM SURE THAT THE EASTERN EXPRESS WHICH WAS BORN IN HONG KONG WILL NOT ONLY BE READ IN HONG KONG BUT WILL BE COMMITTED TO HONG KONG AND WILL SPEAK UP FOR HONG KONG EVEN SHOULD THAT MEAN, FROM TIME TO TIME, HEAVEN FORBID, SAYING SOMETHING CRITICAL ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT. JUDGING BY THE DUMMY, YOU ARE GETTING INTO YOUR STRIKE ALREADY ON THAT PARTICULAR FRONT.
BUT I AM VERY PLEASED TO BE HERE. I DO THINK THIS IS AN IMPORTANT OCCASION FOR THE MEDIA HERE IN HONG KONG WHERE I HOPE WE CAN BE FAIR TO BE NOT JUST THE BUSINESS CENTRE OF THE REGION BUT THE MEDIA CAPITAL OF THE REGION AS WELL. I MUSTN'T COME BETWEEN YOU AND TWO PRESIDENTS BUT I AM DELIGHTED TO BE SPEAKING AS IT WERE, IN THEIR COMPANY. AND I KNOW THAT THEIR ENDORSEMENT FOR A FREE PRESS WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME THIS EVENING. I DO CONGRATULATE ALL OF YOU AND WISH YOU WELL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH INDEED.
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