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And what's been the overall consequence of all those ingredients when you pull them together? It's been that we've been more competitive than most of the others. That's the end result. That's why we've been able to grow and prosper. That's why we've been able to invest more in our own happiness, in the community programmes, in our own individual aspirations and ambitions. Part of your role, as an organisation, is to go on reminding government, whether the Governor or some of his distinguished advisers, but the moment we forget in Hong Kong the importance of maintaining our competitive edge, that's the moment when governors or chief executives won't be able to talk any more about decades of uninterrupted economic growth. So thank you for your invitation today, and thank you for so consistently reminding us of the basic truths of Hong Kong's success.
End/Thursday, July 6, 1995
Transcript of the CS's media session
The following is a transcript of the media session by the Chief Secretary, Mrs Anson Chan, after a visit to the border this (Thursday) afternoon:
Question: When will you next take... Beijing ?
Chief Secretary: I don't know. The frank answer is we didn't discuss exact dates but both Vice Premier Qian and Director Lu agreed that there should be more contact, or regular contact at my level, at senior official level, so that we can get to know each other better. We have an opportunity to discuss problems and to hopefully seek solution to these problems. So, I think that's an excellent beginning.
There is no question of by-passing the Governor. I agree entirely with the remarks that the Governor yesterday made. The Governor is the head of the Hong Kong Government. I am a member of his team. I'm responsible to him. But, in addition to my self, there are other policy secretaries and senior officials. I think you will agree that in any organisation there has to be team work. There has to be mutual trust, shared objectives and our objective is quite clearly, from the Governor downward, is to work faithfully for the implementation of the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, to work for a smooth transition and to maintain Hong Kong's stability and prosperity. I hope very much that in the way that I currently enjoy a close and trusting relationship with the Governor that I can similarly develop a close and trusting relationship with Chinese leaders.
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