25
Secondly, I am absolutely convinced that a government after 1997 will want to continue the development of the Health Service which we have seen starting in the last few years. The Hospital Authority has been a tremendous success, it is providing more care, it is providing more care more rapidly. We have got more clinics. We promised in 1992 that we would open 13. I think we have opened 10 of those and there are three more to go which will open before the end of 1997. We are of course trying to develop our services for the elderly geriatric outreach services, psycho- geriatric services and so on. We must make sure that we have the services which the elderly need because as people live longer so the care of the elderly becomes a larger part of the Health Service's responsibility.
-
I am sure all that will continue after 1997 and that people like you who are concerned about their parents and their parent's welfare will be listened to. We are spending, I think, at the moment about 23 billion on health care, that is 14/15 per cent of our current public spending, and the bill for health care has been increasing on average by about 20% a year over the last decade. I don't see that finishing.
Question (in Chinese): Good morning Mr Governor. Respected Governor, you're the last Governor in Hong Kong, you have stood up for us, given us rule of law, human rights and civil liberties. Unfortunately, this is sunset. In Chinese we have a saying that, well the sunset is beautiful but unfortunately it's the worst night. Well in fact you are quite helpless. You are trying to help Hong Kong but your people like Sir Percy, you've got the business sector in Hong Kong, they want to protect themselves and they've got the seven chambers of commerce and they criticise you and in the southern parts of China there might be floods and they also fight for Diaoyu. But why are they so quick in criticising you? I'm not afraid, I don't have too much money but I can survive and I feel that we need to be on moral high ground. After you have left Hong Kong, I think Hong Kong, you will still have friends. Now there are people who can't understand you. You are protecting us. You are speaking up for us. You are also protecting the civil liberties and also our business community and our cohesion. Well you don't want to name names, but I can just speak out for you. It's the seven chambers of commerce and they're interests are
Presenter: Your point is well put. Governor, please.
Governor: Well, I am the last British Governor and I think that Hong Kong will welcome the arrival of a Chief Executive who is, as it were, home grown and everybody in Hong Kong will wish him or her the very best of luck. And as the last, as you say in that extremely colourful expression which I'll remember, as the last I come with the sunset I suppose. We've got an expression in English, 'red sky at night shepherds delight'. I very much hope that I fall into that category. But even if, as the last Governor, I represent the end of the day, I think the ideas which you're talking about represent the dawn and represent the dawn, not just in Hong Kong but in Asia as well. I think the sort of values which you've touched on, the rule of law, human rights, protection of civil liberties, I think all those freedoms that we take for granted in an open society, represent the sort of Asia which we're going to see in the next few years. I think Hong Kong to that extent is a beacon to the rest of Asia. Not a sign of how people don't want things to be.