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The Chief Secretary's speech
Following is the speech of the Chief Secretary, Mrs Anson Chan, at the luncheon meeting hosted by the Indian Chamber of Commerce today (Friday):
Mr Handasani, Members of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I.
Introduction
Can I first of all apologise for my late arrival at this function. I think it will now be clear to you all why I was unable to keep to the previous commitment to speak to you all, but I am delighted that you have managed to rearrange the schedule for today's meeting, although I am very sorry that some of you who wanted to attend this luncheon are in the event unable to do so because of the difficulty in booking a venue. But I do apologise and I am delighted to have this occasion to speak to you all.
Can I first of all say that the contribution of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, your members, and indeed the entire Indian community, to the well-being and prosperity of Hong Kong is deeply appreciated. You are as much a part of the Hong Kong history and Hong Kong community as local Chinese. Your Chairman referred, just now, to your concern over British Passports for ethnic Indians. As you well know, the Government has been pressing the case with the British Government. Unfortunately, as the Chairman pointed out, we have not, so far, been successful but you can be assured that we will continue to press your case. But I also hope that the remarks of Mr Lu Ping, when he last addressed this problem, particularly in terms of assuring you all that you are all most welcome to stay in Hong Kong after 1997, and that for second and third generation Indians you can apply for Chinese nationality, will go some way towards addressing your concern, although I fully accept that it does not address your complete concern.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, summer appears, in our mind, to be somewhat a season that concentrates minds better, certainly in so far as reaching agreements about Hong Kong's future is concerned. Let me illustrate. One year ago, on 30 June 1994, the Legislative Council passed the second stage of the electoral reform package. This same day we reached agreement with the Chinese side on the future use of Hong Kong's defence estate. This year, I am very glad to note that four weeks ago, on June 9, the Senior Representatives to the Joint Liaison Group signed an agreement on the Court of Final Appeal. And three weeks later, on 30 June, we concluded discussions with the Chinese side on the long awaited Airport and Airport Railway Financial Support Agreements. At the same time, we reached agreement on the air cargo franchises. I very much hope that further agreements, especially on the important outstanding issues, will be reached in the coming months.