XN000022-1987-11-11 — Page 5

3

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1987

"THESE BOTTLENECK PROBLEMS WILL PROBABLY MAKE SOMB SLOWING DOWN INEVITABLE. RECENT EVENTS COULD WELL ACCELERATE THE PROCESS.

TOO

"BUT PROVIDED THE SLOWDOWN IN OUR ECONOMIC GROWTH IS NOT DRAMATIC, WE SHOULD NOT BE ALARMED. IF WE MAINTAIN OUR CONFIDENCE, AND IF WE ARE LUCKY ENOUGH ΤΟ SEE GOVERNMENTS WORLDWIDE PURSUING POLICIES AIMED AT FOSTERING ECONOMIC GROWTH, WHILE ELIMINATING THE IMBALANCES IN THE WORLD ECONOMY, THEN HONG KONG SHOULD CONTINUE ΤΟ PROSPER.

14

ΤΟ

ON

MR JACOBS NOTED THAT THE HON THOMAS CLYDESDALE HAD REFERRED A PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATIVE TO PRODUCE A FORWARD LOOKING REPORT THE ECONOMY. "I HAD HEARD THIS PROPOSAL BEFORE, BUT IN THE LIGHT OF WHAT HE HAS SAID, I SHALL BE HAPPY TO GIVE IT FURTHER CONSIDERATION, MR JACOBS SAID.

**

THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY ALSO NOTED THAT THE HON CHUNG PUI-LAM AND THE HON Но SAI-CHU HAD BOTH MENTIONED THE BENEFITS TO THE ECONOMY THAT HAVE COME FROM ITS INCREASINGLY CLOSE TIES WITH CHINA.

"THESE CLOSER TIES, WHICH ARE EVIDENCED BY THE INCREASED TRADE FLOWS BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA, AND BY THE LARGE NUMBER OF CHINESE WORKERS ENGAGED ON PROCESSING WORK FOR HONG KONG MANUFACTURERS, SHOULD BE WELCOMED FOR HAVING ADDED A NEW AND BENEFICIAL DIMENSION TO OUR ECONOMY," HE SAID.

"AN EVEN GREATER DEGREE OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE FUTURE AS CHINA CONTINUES ΤΟ PURSUE ITS POLICY OF ECONOMIC REFORMS.

"ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY TO PREDICT THE PRECISE WAYS

IN WHICH THIS ECONOMIC INTEGRATION WILL DEVELOP, THE GOVERNMENT TAKES THIS TREND INTO ACCOUNT IN ITS PLANNING OF HONG KONG 9 INFRASTRUCTURE.'

MR JACOBS ALSO DEALT WITH VARIOUS OTHER MATTERS:

DAYA BAY PROJECT

MR JACOBS SAID THE GUANGDONG NUCLEAR POWER JOINT VENTURE COMPANY HAD MADE IT CLEAR THAT WHILE THE RECENT INCIDENT INVOLVING MISSING BARS REVEALED SHORTCOMINGS IN THE QUALITY CONTROL ARRANGEMENTS AT THE DAYA BAY SITE, ALL THE PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT REMAIN COMMITTED TO ENSURING THAT BOTH DURING THE CONSTRUCTION AND SUBSEQUENT OPERATION OF THE POWER STATION SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS WILL NOT BE COMPROMISED.

HE ADDED THAT IN SUCH A LARGE AND COMPLEX PROJECT IT WOULD BE UNREALISTIC TO ASSUME THAT PROBLEMS AND MISTAKES WOULD NOT OCCUR.

"WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT WHEN SUCH PROBLEMS DO ARISE, THEY ARE DEALT WITH IN A RATIONAL WAY AND SATISFACTORY REMEDIAL SOLUTIONS ARE DEVELOPED," HE SAID.

/MR JACOBS