XN000022-1988-04-19 — Page 24

8

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 1988

OF

IN

HEATHROW

18 WAY

TOO TRAVELLING AT DEALING WITH I WAS

THE

OF

AN

OF

H.E.: FIRST

ALL THE PROBLEM. MTRC IN A SUCCESSFUL AND IT HAS A PROBLEM OF FAR TOO MANY PEOPLE PRAK HOURS AND THEY'VE PUT FORWARD THEIR PROPOSALS FOR IT. THERE'S JUST ONE COMMENT I'D MAKE ON MTR BEING SUCCESSFUL.

THE OTHER DAY LOOKING AT THE FIGURES

AND COMPARING THE COST AND LONDON.

THERE TRAVELLING IN HONG KONG WITH THE COST

IS

IN AIRPORT INTERESTING COMPARISON BETWEEN

CENTRE TSUEN WAN TO LONDON AND TSUEN WAN AND THE CENTRE OF HONG KONG.

THE

TO CENTRE OF HONG KONG IS LONGER THAN HEATHROW

LONDON. HEATHROW TO LONGER CENTRAL LONDON COSTS FIVE TIMES AS MUCH AND TAKES 15 MINUTES

WE THAN THE HONG KONG JOURNEY. SO

HAVE AN EFFECTIVE MASS TRANSIT ONE, BUT

A SYSTEM AND A REASONABLY CHEAP

THEY'VE GOT

PROBLEM OF

OVERCROWDING AT PEAK HOURS.

IN THE

TO

GIVING GENERAL IT

ON THE GOVERNOR'S POWERS, THEY ARE LIMITED DIRECTIONS TO MTR ON MATTERS WHERE A PUBLIC INTEREST IS INVOLVED. WOULD NOT, I THINK, MAKE SENSE FOR THE GOVERNMENT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT WOULD BE, TO INTERVENE

DETAILED MANAGEMENT OF THE GIVE THEM OPERATION, BECAUSE THE PURPOSE OF SETTING UP AN MTR IS TO

OTHER THE JOB OF RUNNING IT AS A COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE. BUT THERE ARE

FOR INSTANCE, IF FACTORS INVOLVED,

PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO BE THEN THEY'VE TRAVELLING ON THE MTR AT PEAK HOURS,

GOT TO BE USING THE OTHER FORMS OTHER FORMS OF TRANSPORT, HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE THAT OF TRANSPORT ARE THERE

AVAILABLE, AND THE TRANSPORT ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS LOOKING AT PRECISELY THAT PROBLEM THIS AFTERNOON.

AND

THE LAST PART OF YOUR QUESTION, I THINK, WAS THE ORDINANCE

MOMENT I THINK IS ADEQUATE. THE ANSWER AT THE

YES, AND THAT IS PHILOSOPHY TO BECAUSE IT'S PART OF THE

GIVE THE RUNNING OF THIS OPERATION TO A CORPORATION, 90 THAT IT CAN DO IT EFFECTIVELY AND

BUSINESS DECISIONS ECONOMICALLY, TAKING

AND NOT WITH BUREAUCRATS CONSTANTLY LOOKING OVER THEIR SHOULDERS.

FANNY WONG, FROM ORIENTAL DAILY NEWS: SIR, DO YOU IT IS FAIR FOR US TO PAY MORE THAN 60 PER CENT OF DEFENCE THE COMING YEAR, AS WE HAVE TO PAY A LOT MORE TO PAY FOR AN POLICE FORCE FOR THE REST OF THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD?

THINK THAT COSTS IN EXPANDING

H.E : WE'VE BEEN PAYING A LARGE PART OF OUR DEFENCE COSTS FOR A LONG TIME, WE'VE BEEN PAYING PART OF OUR DEFENCE COSTS FOR EVEN LONGER. AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD A LONG PERIOD OF NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE IN LONDON ON THIS. SOMETIMES, QUITE DIFFICULT NEGOTIATIONS. WHERE WE ARE NOW AT IS THAT WE HAVE THE BASIS FOR A NEW AGREEMENT. THE DETAILS OF THAT HAVE STILL GOT ΤΟ BE WRITTEN DOWN. AND UNTIL THE WHOLE PACKAGE WITH THE DETAILS ARE COMPLETE, I THINK IT WOULD BE MISLEADING FOR ME TO GIVE YOU ANY PART OF THE PACKAGE. BUT WHAT I CAN SAY IS THAT IN THE PAST. EACH NEW DEFENCE COSTS AGREEMENT HAS FINISHED WITH HONG KONG PAYING MORK THAN BEFORE. THIS TIME HONG KONG WILL FINISH UP PAYING LESS THAN BEFORE.

/FANNY WONG: *******