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Question: With reference to the Chinese official's clear and loud opposition to the OPS, will the government opt for other proposals ?
Governor: I answered similar questions at considerable length in the Legislative Council in December. I don't think I could usefully add to what I said then. I stand by every word of what I said in the Legislative Council on that occasion.
Question: But after Director Lu Ping's clear and loud inclination to the mandatory retirement scheme, will the government re-consider ...?
Governor: It's perfectly clear that if Chinese officials denounce proposals for a pension scheme and if business or many representatives of business denounce the very sensible proposals that we put forward for a pension scheme then if we are looking are a consensus, we have to consider the argument again very carefully. A pension scheme by definition is going to be brought in principally for effect after 1997 and therefore one has to take account of the reality which you've just mentioned. I think it's a pity that there hasn't been more widespread support and endorsement for the pension proposals that we put forward, because I still think that they represent the best way forward but we said when we produced our proposals that they were a consultation document, it's a genuine consultation document. We are now considering all the submissions and we'll put forward proposals again in due course. What I don't want to do is to connive at postponement or delay. The community has been debating this issue for 30 years. Is it going to be any easier to deal with the issue in 1997 or will there then be arguments for delay in the mean time the elderly have needs when we have cold weather as we have over the last few days? The needs of the elderly are even more apparent to all of us. We've been trying to deal with those needs through improving services for the elderly after the report of our working party on the needs of the elderly last August, but we've also obviously got to look at their financial needs. Everybody knows that. Sooner or later, those are social obligations which the community should discharge and certainly has the money to discharge. We're a well off community. The biggest social problem we have is caring for the elderly and we've got to make some decisions about that. I hope that some of those who criticise our very sensible proposals haven't done so on political grounds. I very hope that they'll put the needs of the elderly first. That's certainly what we've been doing.
End/Saturday, January 7, 1995