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Statement by the Governor
Following is a statement by the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, on the selection of the first Special Administrative Region Chief Executive today (Wednesday):
Along with my colleagues in the Hong Kong Government, I welcome the selection of Mr Tung Chee-hwa as the first Special Administrative Region Chief Executive.
The job of the first Chief Executive is enormously challenging and carries great responsibility. Mr Tung will be playing a central role in the establishment of the Special Administrative Region and the Special Administrative Region Government. He will be charting the course for Hong Kong as it enters a new era. And he will be at the helm of what is at once an economic powerhouse and a dynamic, sophisticated metropolis.
The community will be looking to the Chief Executive to provide strong leadership with vision, integrity and determination; to defend Hong Kong's interests and the autonomy guaranteed to it under the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law; and to preserve the cornerstone of Hong Kong's success - the rule of law, a level playing field for business, the protection of individual rights and freedoms in an open and accountable society, and a first class economic infrastructure.
I wish Mr Tung every success in his endeavour and I have congratulated him personally. The Government is committed to providing all necessary assistance to Mr Tung to help him in his preparations for assuming the office of Chief Executive on July 1, 1997. We stand ready to discuss with Mr Tung the level and type of assistance he may require.
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