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you?
Did Anson Chan call you this morning and if so, can you tell us what she told
Governor: She did not call me this morning, either in her capacity as Chief Secretary or in her capacity as the wife of the Commandant of the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Police. She did not call me this morning but her meeting with Director Lu is not until this afternoon, so maybe she thought it better to talk to me after her meeting. And whenever she talks to me I am sure she will be even franker when she is back in Hong Kong than when she is talking on a telephone. I don't suggest anything.
Next question. Yes, there is one member of the press who is also, I am sure, a member of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.
Question: In 'The Times' of London, Governor, you say that you would like members of this Chamber to press their American friends about MFN. Is there anything that you would like members of these Chambers to say to their friends in Peking about the continuation of Hong Kong's way of life and way of mind?
Governor: Of course! And this is an organisation which I know follows my speeches with considerable interest and I am sure they will be aware of my views about the relationship between Hong Kong's economic prosperity and its values as an open plural society. I think there are two particular areas where the business community can make a strong and important impact.
The first is in speaking out for Hong Kong's autonomy as an economic and trading city. I think that is exceptionally important. And it is a very important message for us to get across today, not least because some people out there in the world are a little sceptical about it. Some people start to ask whether they should really make all that much of a distinction between intellectual property legislation and policing in Hong Kong and what happens in China. Some people ask themselves questions about Hong Kong's autonomy in fiscal and monetary matters this side of 1997 and the other side. Some credit rating agencies ask those sort of questions as well. So I think it is very important that the business community, whatever views about other matters, should be up front there arguing the imperative of safeguarding Hong Kong's autonomy as an economic city,
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Secondly, I think the business community as I think it showed in the debate over the Court of Final Appeal can and should make the case again and again about the fundamental importance of the rule of law for Hong Kong's way of life and for Hong Kong's success. One of the reasons why this great city has reached these undreamed of levels of prosperity is the effect of the rule of law and all of us must want to see that continuing and must speak out for it as well.