XN000022-1991-02-20 — Page 11

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1991

A.:

GOVERNOR: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. MOST OF YOU PROBABLY CAN'T SEE THE QUESTION BUT LUCKILY I CAN. I DON'T KNOW WHICH PUBLIC OPINION POLLS YOU READ. LET ME PUT IT LIKE THIS: EVERY GOVERNMENT IN THE WORLD IF THERE WERE OTHER GOVERNORS IN MY POSITION I WOULD SAY EVERY GOVERNOR, BUT THERE AREN'T MANY OF US AROUND, WOULD LIKE TO SEE PUBLIC OPINION POLLS WHICH HAD MAXIMUM SUPPORT. IF YOU LOOK AT THE OPINION POLLS GIVING VIEWS OF THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT AND YOU COMPARE THEM WITH VIEWS OF OTHER GOVERNMENTS ROUND THE WORLD THE SURPRISING THING IN MANY WAYS IS THAT OUR OPINION POLL RATINGS ARE CONSISTENTLY AS HIGH AS THEY ARE AND MANY GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD, I THINK, WOULD VERY PLEASED TO SEE THOSE SORT OF FIGURES. NOW, I DON'T WANT THAT IN ANY WAY TO SOUND COMPLACENT BECAUSE I AM NOT COMPLACENT. HONG KONG HAS AN IMMENSE NUMBER OF PROBLEMS. IT IS FACING VARIOUS UNCERTAINTIES ABOUT ITS OWN FUTURE, IT LIVES IN A WORLD WHICH, IN ITSELF. IS UNCERTAIN. I WOULD BE SURPRISED IF THERE WERE NOT PEOPLE WHO WERE CRITICAL OF THE GOVERNMENT. I AM. HOWEVER, PLEASED, GENUINELY PLEASED, BY THE AMOUNT OF SUPPORT THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT HAS, ALWAYS HAS HAD AND CONTINUES TO HAVE THROUGHOUT SOCIETY BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT IS GOING TO MATTER ENORMOUSLY TO HONG KONG IN THE FUTURE. WE DO HAVE PROBLEMS. WE HAVE TO FACE THOSE PROBLEMS AS REALISTICALLY AS WE CAN то THE GREATEST EXTENT WE CAN. WE NEED TO TRY TO TACKLE THEM AS A COMMUNITY, NOT SIMPLY ONE PART OF THE COMMUNITY ATTACKING ANOTHER PART OF THE COMMUNITY FOR NOT PULLING ALL OF ITS EGGS OUT OF THE BASKET, BUT TRYING TO SEE TOGETHER WHAT IS THE RIGHT WAY FORWARD FOR HONG KONG.

NOW, FOR WHAT IT IS WORTH AND WHY I SAY WHAT OPINION POLLS DO YOU LOOK AT, THE POINT THAT STRUCK ME IN THE LATEST SERIES THAT I WAS WATCHING, WHICH I THINK WAS THE SRH ONES, WERE THAT THE POLITICAL CONFIDENCE INDICATORS HAD RISEN AFTER L989 AND WERE REMAINING PRETTY STEADY, BUT IT WAS THE ECONOMIC CONFIDENCE INDICATORS THAT WERE DROPPING RATHER THAN THE POLITICAL CONFIDENCE ONES.

Q.:

ARE YOU SURPRISED BY, AND HOW DO YOU ACCOUNT FOR THE FACT THAT ONLY 10,000 PEOPLE HAVE APPLIED TO DATE AND IT WOULD APPEAR THAT BY THE FEBRUARY 28TH DEADLINE THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS WILL BE FAR BELOW THE ESTIMATES FOR THOSE APPLYING FOR BRITISH PASSPORTS?

OF

A.:

GOVERNOR : THIS IS ON THE BRITISH NATIONALITY

ACT. YES, I THINK I AM SURPRISED BY THE NUMBERS TO DATE. WHAT WE DON'T KNOW, COURSE. IS HOW MANY APPLICATIONS WILL COME IN BEFORE THE DEADLINE CLOSES. BUT, TO MY MIND THE KEY THING IS THAT THE NATIONALITY PACKAGE IS THERE ON OFFER: IF PEOPLE WANT TO TAKE IT UP, FAIR AND GOOD. IF FOR WHATEVER REASON PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO TAKE IT UP FAIR AND GOOD. THAT'S THEIR RIGHT. EXACTLY LET ME JUST FINISH THE POINT. EXACTLY HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL APPLY BY THE END OF THIS MONTH I DON'T KNOW AND THE PRECISE REASONS WHY PEOPLE HAVE DECIDED NOT TO PUT IN APPLICATIONS, AGAIN, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT INDEED TO GUESS BECAUSE YOU ARE TRYING TO GUESS ON NON ACTION BY A WHOLE RANGE OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND I DON'T THINK I WOULD VENTURE EVEN TO TRY TO GUESS. HAVE A SECOND POINT?

SORRY,

YOU

/Q.: