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Transcript of the Governor's media session
Following is the transcript of the media session by the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, after visiting Wong Tai Sin District this (Wednesday) afternoon:
Governor: This is the third official visit that I've made to Wong Tai Sin. I was very pleased indeed to see the work being done at the nunnery which I'd visited before. I'm delighted as well to see the work of the Spastics Association. Obviously the main issues of concern to the District Board members are questions affecting public housing and questions affecting the environment, for example the smell from the mullah. And we are addressing the concerns which they have expressed to me this afternoon. It's been a good visit and I'm continuing as you know my round of District Board visits. Perhaps I can say one other thing, now that Donald Tsang has completed his budget statement. This is the first budget by a local Hong Kong Chinese Financial Secretary, and I'm sure the whole community will have recognised that Donald Tsang has risen superbly to the occasion, that he has presented exactly the sort of strong and prudent and self-confident budget which the people of this community would expect. It's a self-confident budget for a successful community. He is as you know being prudent with our finances, but he is also being compassionate wherever he can. And I think what he said about the development of our economic base, the development of our service industries shows a vision for the future. Things don't stop for Hong Kong in 1997. They go on, and we hope they go on getting better. And that's why what the Financial Secretary had to say today about support for manufacturing industry and the support for the development of our service industries was so important. So I think it was a very good budget by a very good Financial Secretary.
Question: (on tobacco duty and cigarette smuggling from China)
Governor: We've considered that issue. We've considered it each year. But I think we took the view that it was a sensible increase to make this year. We don't believe that it should encourage smuggling and of course we're taking increasingly tough and effective measures both through Customs and with the police to discourage and prevent smuggling.
Question: (inaudible)
Governor: I believe that we've done what we honourably and decently and competently could to ensure that Hong Kong remains a free and open and successful community. I think that this week the Prime Minister gave a message as a strong and committed friend of Hong Kong. He made it clear that Britain's moral, legal and economic commitment to Hong Kong doesn't end in 1997, but goes on well beyond. Hong Kong will remain Europe's main gateway into Asia, just as Britain has been Asia's main gateway into Europe. So I do believe we've done what we reasonably could and I believe that will be recognised. But obviously, obviously, the test for us will be what happens in Hong Kong not on the 30th June 1997, but in the years after that. And I very much hope that people will be saying that we did as much as we reasonably could.