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Question: Governor, do you think that the trial Mr Wang Dan in Beijing will affect Hong Kong people about their future after 1997?
Governor: It's not easy for me to comment on the judicial practices and the judicial processes in other places. But of course I recognise the very considerable concern that many people in Hong Kong, and many people around the world, feel about a sentence imposed on a young man for activities which in most places, including Hong Kong, would be entirely legal. So, yes there is undoubtedly concern in the community, and there is concern outside the community as well.
Question: But do you think that LegCo members should stay out of these issues?
Governor: Do I think that what?
Question: That LegCo members should not take a pro-active role in supporting these issues?
Governor: How could any Governor tell leading members of the community that they shouldn't be concerned about an issue like that?
Anything else? Thank you very much indeed.
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Governor to lobby for SAR passport
The Governor, the Right Honourable Christopher Patten, will visit France and Germany next month to lobby for visa free access for holders of the future Special Administrative Region (SAR) passport.
While he is in Paris and Bonn between November 12 and 14, Mr Patten will be meeting ministers to discuss a range of Hong Kong issues and particular attention will be paid to French and German policy on visa arrangements for Hong Kong residents.
Mr Patten will leave Hong Kong on November 10, arrive Paris on November 12 and depart for Bonn the following afternoon. He will be giving speeches on Hong Kong in the two capitals. He will be back in Hong Kong on November 15.
During a one-day stopover in the United Kingdom on November 11, the Governor will address the annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry at Harrogate.
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