.7
Governor: Well, I'm not sure whether it's the view of Apple Daily that it would greatly help your editors or journalists for me to intervene personally with the New China News Agency on your behalf. I will only say in general that I think that all countries, all communities, show more self-confidence, with all the consequences of that, when they allow newspapers of every sort to cover their activities and their affairs and I'd also bet my last dollar that whatever prohibitions you find yourselves working under, haven't stopped you carrying large amounts of footage on what's happening in China.
Question (Kam, Cable TV): My question is sort of similar to Lucy's question and you talk about Xi Yang in your release just now and then I first want to ask you whether you are aware that currently there's numerous short term detention of, you know, reporters going back to Southern China or Northern China, whatever part of China to report, for about six hours, eight hours, something that like? Interrogation, things like that. Do you find it as a way of threatening Hong Kong journalists in the run up to 1997, and also what can the Government do about that?
Governor: Well, if there are particular cases involving Hong Kong residents or Hong Kong citizens, and there are distinctions between what we can do whether it's a resident or a citizen, but if there are particular cases, then we would want to know about them and take them up, for example through the Foreign Office or through the Embassy in Peking. I think it would be both short-sighted and inefficient were such selective harassment taking place, which I hope isn't true.
Let me give you one example of why I think it would be short-sighted and ineffective. What is going to happen here in 1997, is one of the biggest stories of the decade, one of the biggest stories of our generation. Particularly important because many people believe that the story of Hong Kong will be absolutely at the centre of the story of the next stages of economic and social development in China. I think that in the light of that it won't surprise any of you and shouldn't surprise any of British or Chinese officials to learn that the eyes of the whole world will be on Hong Kong and there will be an awful lot of eyes. You won't be able to move for television cameras and distinguished columnists who will all be coming to find out from you what's going on while using their own by-lines. Huge, huge attention will be given to Hong Kong. There's nothing that can stop that, there's nothing that can stop the world reporting what happens here in Hong Kong in 1997, in 1996, and I have to say in 1998 and thereafter as well. So I think that it's not a very original observation to make but freedom of speech is here to stay.
End/Monday, November 20, 1995