XN000022-1984-02-28 — Page 7

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1984.

6

Q:

MR LUCE...

A:

I SHOULD JUST ADD, SORRY, BEFORE YOU PUT YOUR QUESTION, I HAVE HAD A WIDE VARIETY OF VIEWS PUT TO ME AND THESE ARE THE KIND OF QUESTIONS AND POINTS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT TO ME OVER THE COURSE OF BOTH MY VISITS.

Q: MR LUCE, CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION IN CHINESE?

Q: DO. BUT SHALL JUST HAVE TO PUT MY FAMOUS EARPHONES ON. I HAVEN'T GOT TO THE STAGE OF BEING ABLE TO UNDERSTAND CHINESE.

Q:

(IN CHINESE): WHEN YOU WERE LAST IN HONG KONG, YOU SAID THAT THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT WOULD TRY ITS BEST TO FIND A SOLUTION AND THAT THE SOLUTION WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE TO THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG AND THE CHINESE AND BRITISH GOVERNMENTS, BUT IN A SITUATION WHERE WE DON'T HAVE HAVE ANY REFERENDUM, HOW CAN YOU ENSURE THAT THE SOLUTION EVENTUALLY REACHED WILL BE ACCEPTABLE TO THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG

Q: DO YOU NEED ME TO REPEAT THE QUESTION IN ENGLISH?

A: NO, NO, NO. THE INTERPRETER IS VERY GOOD INDEED. I THINK 1 AM THERE. WELL, WE ARE ON, AGAIN, THE ACCEPTABILITY AND HOW IT IS ACHIEVED. AND I THINK, AS I SAID EARLIER, NO FINAL DECISIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN AS TO THE MECHANICS FOR ACCEPTABILITY. IT IS A MATTER OF VERY GREAT IMPORTANCE. I WOULD MAKE ONE OBSERVATION IN ALL THIS, AND THAT IS THAT HONG KONG REALLY HAS, AND IT STRIKES AN OUTSIDER LIKE ME, IT STRIKES, I HAVE NOTICED, EVERY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT WHEN HE VISITS HERE, THE RATHER, IN SOME WAYS UNIQUE, AND SOPHISTICATED RANGE OF INSTITUTIONS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN DEVELOPED AND ARE IN THE PROCESS OF BEING DEVELOPED STILL FURTHER IN HONG KONG. 1 DON'T JUST MEAN THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, I DON'T JUST MEAN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, YOU HAVE GOT YOUR URBAN DISTRICT COUNCILS, YOUR DISTRICT BOARDS, YOU HAVE GOT THIS LATEST PROPOSAL, THAT THE GOVERNOR HAS ANNOUNCED, FOR REGIONAL COUNCILS. THERE ARE OTHER MEANS TOO. YOU HAVE UMELCO, OF COURSE, AND THE RATHER DISTINCTIVE FEATURES AND MECHANICS, MECHANICAL SYSTEMS, INVOLVED THERE. AND SO, HON G KONG HAS, AS SEE IT, OVER THE YEARS DEVELOPED A HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED SYSTEM. THEREFORE WE MUST TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT, THAT VERY FULLY INTO ACCOUNT, WHEN WE ARE ASSESSING HOW WE CAN TAKE THE VIEWS OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG. BUT, I MUST STRESS TO YOU, NO FINAL DECISIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN. IT IS OUR INTENTION AND OUR OBJECTIVE TO UNDERTAKE THE WIDEST POSSIBLE RANGE OF OPINIONS, TO GET THEIR OPINIONS, TO GET THEM FED BACK TO US, AND TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS ADEQUATE TIME TO DO JUST THIS. AND, WE WILL, OBVIOUSLY, BE ABLE TO FORM OUR FINAL JUDGEMENTS ABOUT HOW THIS IS DONE IN DUE COURSE.

Q: HOW ABOUT IF SOMEONE IS NOT SATISFIED WITH THE PROPOSED AGREEMENT? WHAT WILL THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT DO TO TAKE CARE OF THIST

/A: WHY DIDN'T