XN000022-1990-06-25 — Page 23

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OF COURSE, HAVE LIKED TO SEE AN ARRANGEMENT LET'S SAY A RIGHT OF ENTRY FOR PEOPLE WHO HOLD BRITISH PASSPORTS IN HONG KONG GIVEN BACK TO THEM. THEY USED TO HAVE IT, YOU SEE, BEFORE 1962 AND CHANGES IN THE IMMIGRATION RULES. THEY WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE SEEN THAT GIVEN BACK TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HOLD BRITISH HONG KONG PASSPORTS BUT THE POLITICAL REALITY IN BRITAIN QUITE CLEARLY IS THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING WHICH WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR THE GOVERNMENT. AND FACED WITH THE POLITICAL REALITIES IN BRITAIN, THE GESTURE OF FULL BRITISH PASSPORTS FOR 50,000 HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD, UP TO 225,000 PEOPLE, WAS, I THINK, A VERY COURAGEOUS DECISION BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. I HOPE THAT IT WILL GET THROUGH PARLIAMENT. OF COURSE WE IN HONG KONG WOULD HAVE LIKED MORE BUT WE REALISE THAT THE PRACTICAL AND THE POLITICAL REALITIES ARE THAT THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE, AND THAT WITH 50,000 WE CAN STILL DO SOMETHING. WE CAN HELP TO ANCHOR IN HONG KONG 50,000 KEY PEO (3 AND THAT IS NOT JUST FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT, FOR THE SAKES OF TEOGE 50,000 - BUT THERE IS A TREMENDOUS TRICKLE-DOWN EFFECT; IF YOU GET THE KEY PEOPLE, THEY INFLUENCE THE REST OF THE ECONOMY AND THE REST OF THE SOCIETY, SO IT BENEFITS OTHER PEOPLE, EVEN IF THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T THEMSELVES GET THOSE FULL BRITISH PASSPORTS.

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OLIVER SCOTT:

WELL, WE MOVE ON NOW TO A CALLER FROM ROTTERDAM. I APOLOGISE IN ADVANCE HERE, I'M ALMOST CERTAIN I AM GOING TO PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME WRONG, MR HANSUER, BUT I DO KNOW IT'S A QUESTION ABOUT VIETNAMESE REFUGEES FOR SIR DAVID.

CALLER: YES, AND GOOD AFTERNOON.

SIR DAVID:

CALLER:

GOOD AFTERNOON, MR HANSUER.

I HEARD YOU TALKING ABOUT WESTERN VALUES IN THE 'WORLD TODAY' LAST WEEK. COULD YOU EXPLAIN, IN SHORT PLEASE, WHAT YOU UNDERSTAND BY 'WESTERN VALUES '?

SIR DAVID:

I'M SORRY, I DON'T THINK IT

IT WAS ME YOU HEARD TALKING ABOUT WESTERN VALUES. I MEAN, I WILL TALK ABOUT THAT IF YOU LIKE, BUT JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK I SAID LAST WEEK.

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Jww.

CALLER: I JUST REMEMBER IT WAS IN WORLD TODAY' IT WAS THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG, I THINK MAYBE YOU, MAYBE NOT BUT THE WESTERN VALUES, IN HONG KONG THEY ARE LIVING ACCORDING TO WESTERN VALUES. RIGHT OR NOT?

SIR DAVID:

I SEE. IT WASN'T ME, IT MUST HAVE BEEN SOMEBODY MASQUERADING AS THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG, WHICH I WOULDN'T INCLUDE AS ONE OF THE WESTERN VALUES. BUT LET ME JUST SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE VALUES HERE IN HONG KONG BECAUSE IT IS A VERY GOOD POINT. WE DO OPERATE ON CERTAIN VALUES HERE. I MEAN FIRST OF ALL LET'S TAKE ECONOMIC VALUES; WE OPERATE ON A CAPITALIST SYSTEM; WE OPERATE ON A FREE MARKET SYSTEM. WE MUST BE, I THINK, THE MOST FREE MARKET ECONOMY OPERATING IN THE WORLD, WITH NO TRADE BARRIERS, AND WE BELIEVE THAT HAS BEEN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL; THAT THAT IS ONE OF THE FOUNDATIONS OF HONG KONG'S ECONOMIC SUCCESS. NOW THAT IS ONE SORT OF VALUE. BUT THEN THERE ARE OTHERS WHICH ARE, I BELIEVE, VERY IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE HERE. THERE'S THE VALUE OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH. WE HAVE A VERY FREE, A VERY OUTSPOKEN PRESS HERE IN HONG KONG AND THAT IS SOMETHING WHICH PEOPLE HERE VALUE A GREAT DEAL.

ANOTHER ONE IS OUR LEGAL SYSTEM WHICH IS THE ENGLISH COMMON LAW SYSTEM, THAT IS OF ENORMOUS IMPORTANCE

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