Business-friendly government with a heart. Low taxes. Prudent spending. The link to the US dollar. Growing help for the needy, the sick, the disabled. Better education. Safe homes and streets.
We know that there are some issues which worried more and more people as the election campaign unfolded. That's what the legislators and political parties have been telling me this week. Above all, worries about unemployment. It may be low by international standards. But it's high by ours. And for everyone who loses a job, that means 100% unemployment - at least until another decent employment opportunity comes along. So perhaps more than any other measure, we've got to work with legislators to make sure that we can create more jobs, good jobs, that will last.
In a complex society like ours that's not just a matter for the planners and economists. There's that intangible factor called confidence, too. If we in Hong Kong can demonstrate convincingly, as I believe we can, that democratic advance and good government can go hand-in-hand, that, more than almost anything else, will convince investors here and in the rest of the world that Hong Kong is still the best place to put your money. And the jobs, the growth and the prosperity will continue to follow.
How much that would be helped if Chinese officials would show for their part that the best way of learning about Hong Kong, about our success and how to safeguard it, is to talk to the people who most clearly represent the majority views of the community. Talk to others certainly. But it doesn't make sense to exclude the men and women that Hong Kong votes for. They're the best people to tell you what this place is really thinking.
Sooner or later the talking will have to start. So let's make it sooner. That's what the people want. And it's not really much to ask, about 600 days from the handover, is it?
End/Sunday, October 1, 1995
Warning on stealing water from public fire services
The Water Supplies Department today (Sunday) warns the public that it is an offence to tamper with and steal water from public fire service installations.
The warning is issued following three recent court cases involving such offences.