XN000022-1988-04-19 — Page 29

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TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 1988

ROBERT COTTRELL: GIVEN THAT PEOPLE ARE BASICALLY FILLING ANY QUOTAS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, IS THERE ANY QUESTION OF HONG KONG OR BRITAIN ASKING DESTINATION COUNTRIES TO RESTRICT THE QUOTAS?

H.E. I DON'T THINK WE WOULD WANT TO GO TO OTHER COUNTRIES AND SAY WILL YOU PLEASE NOT TAKE PEOPLE FROM HONG KONG. I DON'T THINK PEOPLE IN HONG KONG WOULD APPRECIATE THAT.

ROBERT COTTRELL: NOT FORMALLY OR INFORMALLY?

H.E : NO.

PAPER

LO WING-HUNG, FROM HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL: IN THE WHITE FOR POLITICAL REFORM, 1 THINK THAT,

I SEE ADMINISTRATION STATE THAT THEY WANT TO SEE THE POLITICAL SMOOTHLY TRANSIT AFTER 1997. I WANT TO ASK WHETHER THIS WANT THE FIRST SAR GOVERNMENT HAVE A HIGH CONTINUITY WITH HONG KONG GOVERNMENT AND LEGCO, DO YOU MEAN THAT?

THAT THE SYSTEM CAN MEANS THEY THE LATEST

AIM

FOR A CHANGE

H.E.: WHAT IT MEANS IS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SITUATION IN WHICH WHEN WE COME TO THE FIRST OF JULY 1997, THE IS AS SMOOTH AS POSSIBLE IN TERMS OF INSTITUTIONS. OF COURSE THERE HAS TO BE ONE MAJOR AND FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE, THAT IS THE TRANSFER OF SOVEREIGNTY, BUT IF YOU CAN DEVISE ARRANGEMENTS BY WHICH OTHER BITS OF THE STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT AND THE LEGISLATURE,

ETC, ARE BEFORE 1997 SIMILAR TO WHAT IS LAID DOWN FOR AFTER 1997, THEN YOU CAN AIM HAVE THAT PART OF THE TRANSFER AND THE TRANSITION AS SMOOTH POSSIBLE. THAT WOULD SEEM TO BE TO THE BENEFIT OF HONG KONG.

то

AS

LO WING-HUNG: DOES THAT MEAN THE GOVERNMENT WILL ACTIVELY TRY TO CO-OPERATE WITH THE, MAYBE THE PROMULGATION OF THE BASIC LAW, THE REGULATION, OR THE STRUCTURE OF THE BASIC LAW STATED?

H.E. : IT MEANS THAT DEPENDING ON WHAT THE BASIC LAW LAYS DOWN, IF THE BASIC LAW LAYS DOWN A CERTAIN STRUCTURE FOR AFTER 1997 AND THAT LOOKS LIKE A FEASIBLE ARRANGEMENT TO TRY TO MIRROR IMAGE BEFORE 1997, THEN WE WOULD SEE ADVANTAGES IN TRYING TO BRING IN THAT SORT OF STRUCTURE BEFORE 1997 SO THAT YOU COULD HAVE A SMOOTH CHANGE, SO THAT YOU COULD HAVE THE MAXIMUM OF CONTINUITY, WHILE AT THE SAMB TIME HAVING THE MAJOR CHANGE OF THE TRANSFER OF SOVEREIGNTY.

LO WING-HUNG: HAVE YOU TRANSMITTED THIS MESSAGE WITH CHINA, THAT YOU WANT TO DO IT IN THAT WAY?

H.E.: WE HAVE EXPLAINED TO CHINA THAT WE DO SER GREAT ADVANTAGE IN THE MAXIMUM DEGREE OF CONTINUITY AND SMOOTH TRANSITION.

/PETER SEIDLITZ,