XN000022-1987-04-30 — Page 2

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 1987

GOVERNOR IMPRESSED WITH YUEN LONG DEVELOPMENT

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THE GOVERNOR, SIR DAVID WILSON, SAID TODAY (THURSDAY) THAT HE WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE WAY YUEN LONG HAD MANAGED TO COMBINE TRADITIONAL WAY OF LIFE WITH VERY ACTIVE MODERN DEVELOPMENT.

SPEAKING TO REPORTERS AFTER HIS FIRST DISTRICT VISIT, TO YUEN LONG, SIR DAVID SAID HE WAS STRUCK BY THE VARIOUS PLACES HE HAD SEEN AND THE ACTIVE PARTICIPATION BY THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.

+ONE HAS A TREMENDOUS SENSE OF LOYALTY TO THIS DISTRICT BY THE COMMUNITY AND FOR ME IT'S BEEN A FASCINATING AFTERNOON,+ HE SAID.

ASKED WHETHER THE GOVERNMENT WOULD DO ANYTHING ABOUT THE SMELL OF A NULLAH IN YUEN LONG, SIR DAVID SAID THERE WAS A PLAN TO DEAL WITH IT, BUT IT WOULD TAKE TIME.

AT THE REQUEST OF THE DISTRICT BOARD, HE SAID THE GOVERNMENT WAS DOING A SURVEY ON WHAT MIGHT BE DONE IN THE SHORT TERM AND A REPORT WOULD BE COMING OUT WITHIN A MONTH. BUT IT NEEDS WORK DONE ON IT. IT WILL TAKE TIME AND THE HOPE IS THAT SOMETHING CAN BE DONE IN THE SHORT TERM, + HE SAID.

THE GOVERNOR ADDED THAT POLLUTION WAS A TREMENDOUS PROBLEM. +IT'S NOT JUST THE NULLAH HERE, IT'S A PROBLEM ELSEWHERE IN HONG KONG, IT IS NOT EASY TO DEAL WITH, HE SAID.

ASKED ABOUT HIS IMPRESSION ON HIS VISIT TO THE LOK MA CHAU BORDER, SIR DAVID SAID IT WAS VERY INTERESTING FOR HIM TO SEE THE CHANGE THERE.

+ I WAS HERE FIVE AND A HALF YEARS AGO WHEN THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORT ACROSS THE BORDER WAS JUST BEGINNING. AND I AM VERY STRUCK BY NOW THE AMOUNT OF MOVEMENT THERE IS BETWEEN HONG KONG AND SHENZHEN, AND I HOPE THAT IS GOING TO BENEFIT THIS PART OF HONG KONG, BECAUSE WITH TRANSPORT GOING ACROSS THAT SHENZHEN RIVER BRIDGE, IT WILL HELP THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NORTH-WEST PART OF THE TERRITORY, HE ADDED.

ON THE QUESTION OF ANIMAL WASTE, SIR DAVID SAID THAT THERE WAS A SCHEME TO COMPENSATE FARMERS WHO WOULD GO OUT OF BUSINESS BECAUSE OF THE NEW ANIMAL WASTE PROGRAMME.

HE HOPED THE SCHEME WOULD DEAL WITH THE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS WHICH FARMERS FACED.

THE GOVERNOR SAID THERE WAS A NEED TO BALANCE BETWEEN THE NEEDS OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND PROBLEMS LIKE THE NULLAH, AND THE LIVELIHOOD OF THE FARMERS. +OBVIOUSLY, THEY ARE VERY ANXIOUS ABOUT THEIR OWN FUTURE, HE CONTINUED.

/ASKED ABOUT