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Secondly, I think this community recognises that we do have responsibilities to those who are in real need, who need a helping hand. That's why we've increased spending for example on the elderly in the last four and a bit years by, I think, over 55 per cent in real terms after inflation. You mentioned CSSA and what a four-member family would get. Actually we were looking at the figures and some international comparisons the other day and on CSSA a four-member family would get rather less than medium income in Hong Kong. At the same time it's worth recalling that a four member family on medium income wouldn't be paying any salaries tax either. I think that's not a bad balance, but I repeat I think we can afford a decent level of welfare, though all of us recognise that we mustn't get into the same difficulties that many European and North American countries have got into.

Question: Good morning. Thank you for your annual address which is so good an achievement. I would like to ask the question, who are the businessmen who go to China to report on our bad things because we now ourselves as you mentioned in your address yesterday. Please tell, relate to us, so we can take down those names, make known and give an account of those names and we can treat them as offenders. They breach our civil rights and spread rumours you see.

Governor: I think that I have probably said -

Question: You must mention.

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Governor: I think I have probably said all that I need to say on that particular subject. When, yesterday at my press conference I said, "I don't think I need to refer to the cases which have concerned me and concerned the country do I?", there were a lot of people around the room who clearly by their body language were agreeing with me. I have registered the point. I would not back off from it one iota but having registered it, I think I will let people talk about it and I hope I'll let people recognise that the most important way of protecting our autonomy in Hong Kong is if all of us stand up for it.

I can give an example of what happens when we do all find ourselves singing the same song on the same side. I think that last year one of the reasons for getting a satisfactory settlement on the Court of Final Appeal was that everybody was saying the same thing to Chinese officials. So I very much hope that we will continue to stand up and speak up for Hong Kong and, just because a particular franchise or some other economic issue doesn't suit us, I hope that we won't find people questioning the Hong Kong Government. This is the Hong Kong Government. It's not the British Government. It's a Hong Kong Government overwhelmingly now staffed and run by local Chinese.

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