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Transcript of the Governor's media session
The following is the transcript of the media session by the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, after visiting Central and Western Districts today (Wednesday).
Governor: I've enjoyed another visit to Central and Western. Since I am a resident in Central and Western maybe over doing it to say one of my visits because I live here. Obviously the two issues which I think are most concerning the District Board are, first of all, the provision of services for the elderly. We're seeing a growing number of people retired in the community as a whole. But I think there's a particularly large number of retired people in Central and Western, and there are strong arguments for improving the health facilities for the old in the district which we are going to look at. Secondly, obviously the impact of all the building that's going on, or the infrastructure development, the Central Reclamation, the Western Harbour Crossing and so on, creates problems for the community and we've got to work with the District Board in order to try to address those problems. So, it's a useful visit. I am very grateful to the District Board for their hospitality. And now you want to ask lots of questions about Central and Western.
Question: Governor Patten, I want to ask you with just a little bit more than two years until the hand-over to China, there has been some descriptions of you recently as something of a lame duck, and I want to know how you respond to that?
Governor: I think it's truly difficult to be described both as a lame duck and that somebody who's making too many waves, perhaps by flapping one's limbs too vigorously. I don't think you can be both at the same time. And the truth of the matter is that we are still setting the agenda here in Hong Kong. People have talked about the administration being a lame duck since the mid-1980s. It hasn't been a charge which anybody has seriously levelled for the last two or three years. And as far as we are concerned, we're going to go on taking decisions and go on governing in the interest of the people of Hong Kong until June 30, 1997. That's what I think people in the administration want us to do, and that's what I think the community expects us to do. And I don't think that anything that's happened, whether the outcome of the District Board elections or the outcome of the Municipal Council elections the other day, suggest that there's too much questioning of that approach. Clearly, the closer we get to 1997, the more people are going to look for reassurance about Hong Kong's future to the next sovereign. I can give reassurance about all that I am going to do between now until 1997 to strengthen the foundations of Hong Kong's free and open and successful society. But it's for others in deeds as well as words to give reassurance for the future. That's an inevitable consequence over the next couple of years. But it's not going to make this administration a lame duck or even a vaguely hobbling duck.