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Governor: I don't want the honourable member, or anybody else, to think that I don't have strong views about the importance of policing demonstrations in a firm but fair way. But I have to say that I don't think the Commissioner of the Royal Hong Kong Police or his senior or junior officers need instructions from me about how to handle these matters. I think they handled them conspicuously well. I think they handled them with good sense. I think they handled them with good humour and I think they have managed to handle them, most of the time, with dignity.
I repeat what I've said before. I've been Governor of Hong Kong for four years. We've had remarkable social harmony during that period, despite the fact that we've had arguments on very important issues and we've very often found ourselves, I can look around this Chamber and see honourable members who've been vigorously on the other side of the debate, but we've had social harmony and we've had social harmony because we've had an open dialogue. If you try to exclude people, particularly those who can point to the fact that they represent the majority of opinion in Hong Kong, if you try to exclude people from the debate and the discussion about their own future, then you are going and I borrow again from Mr Li Ruihuan, you're going to risk social disharmony. You're going to risk a perpetuation of instances in which public officials feel obliged to leave meetings by the back door. I've never in four years left anywhere in Hong Kong by the back door and I never well.
The people in Hong Kong are extremely law abiding. The people in Hong Kong are decent and fair minded. The people of Hong Kong want to make a success of 1997. The people of Hong Kong would like to hear from Director Lu and his senior colleagues.
I'm delighted, just let me make this additional point. I'm delighted that this evening Director Lu will be seeing the Chief Secretary. I hope that he sees the Chief Secretary on many future occasions. I hope that he sees other secretaries and members of the Administration. I'd like to see him going to our hospitals with the Secretary for Health and Welfare. I'd like to see him going to our schools with the Secretary for Education and Manpower. I'd like to see him going to our public housing estates with the Secretary for Housing. If Chinese officials would do that, even though they will sometimes have to receive a petition or listen to people saying things that they don't much care for. If they do that they will find that the people of Hong Kong are extremely kind hearted, warm hearted and wish to ensure that Hong Kong remains as successful after 1997 as it is today. There is nothing in Hong Kong that anybody should be anxious about or frightened about.
Mr David Chu: Mr Governor, I have a question regarding the provisional legislature. I hope you do not answer the question by giving me a Chairman Mao quotation.