نيا
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1994
TRANSCRIPT OF THE CHIEF SECRETARY'S MEDIA SESSION
FOLLOWING IS THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE CHIEF SECRETARY MRS ANSON CHAN'S MEET-THE-MEDIA SESSION AFTER THE OTTAWA-CARLETON BOARD OF TRADE AND HONG KONG-CANADA BUSINESS ASSOCIATION LUNCHEON ON WEDNESDAY
(OCTOBER.12) IN OTTAWA:
CS:
AS YOU WILL HAVE OTTAWA, ALTHOUGH I DIFFERENT
HEARD, THIS IS MY FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT IN HAVE BEEN HERE SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE, WEARING HATS, TO TORONTO AND VANCOUVER. AS I HAVE HAD AN EXCELLENT VISIT SO FAR, AND I HAVE A VERY, VERY CORDIAL DISCUSSION WITH YOUR PRIME MINISTER TODAY, AND I WAS ABLE TO PASS ON GOVERNOR CHRIS PATTEN'S GREETINGS TO YOUR PRIME MINISTER AND TO SAY HOW VERY MUCH WE WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO HIS VISIT IN EARLY NOVEMBER. THE PRIME MINISTER AND I DISCUSSED THIS OPPORTUNITY AND CLEARLY WE BOTH FEEL EXTREMELY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES IN HONG KONG, IN CHINA, AND IN THE ENTIRE ASIA PACIFIC REGION. AND AS I SAID IN MY SPEECH JUST NOW TO THE GATHERING, HONG KONG'S' PROSPECTS ARE EXTREMELY RIGHT IN THE VERY STRATEGIC MENTALITY, WE SEE OURSELVES NOT ONLY AS THE NATURAL GATEWAY TO DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA, BUT ALSO VERY MUCH AS A SPRING BOARD FOR DOING BUSINESS IN THE ENTIRE ASIA PACIFIC REGION, WELL ACCORDING TO, YOU SEE THE STATISTICS THAT AREA IS GOING TO BE THE AREA OF FASTEST GROWTH. OF COURSE, EVERYBODY'S ATTENTION IS FORECAST ON 1997, BUT THE PRIME MINISTER AND I DISCUSSED QUESTIONS
SOME
PUT
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ΤΟ ENJOY A HIGHLY AUTONOMY AFTER 1997 THAT THE SAR GOVERNMENT WHICH WILL BE THE GOVERNMENT, THE FIRST GOVERNMENT POST 1997. WELL, INDEED, WE ARE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THE CONCEPT OF ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS. FRIENDSHIP WITH CANADA IS AN EXTREMELY CLOSE ONE, IT HAS STRENGTHENED OVER THE YEARS, AND IT WILL NO DOUBT CONTINUE то STRENGTHEN, WE VERY MUCH VALUE THAT FRIENDSHIP, AND INDEED I HAVE BEEN VERY ENCOURAGED IN MY DISCUSSION SO FAR WITH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, WITH BUSINESS LEADERS AT A CONSIDERABLE GOODWILL THAT HAS BEEN SHOWN TOWARDS HONG KONG AND AT THE WILLINGNESS OF CANADIANS TO CONTINUE TO BE INTERESTED IN PRODUCTS IN HONG AND IN PARTICULAR TO EXPRESS THE INTEREST IN WISHING TO SEE KONG'S WAY OF LIFE, ITS SYSTEMS, 1TS FREEDOMS CONTINUED 1997. SO THANK YOU, THAT'S ALL BY WAY OF MY BRIEF REMARKS.
OUR
KONG,
HONG
AFTER
/0: