XN000022-1992-03-23 — Page 2

MONDAY, MARCH 23, 1992

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TRANSCRIPT OF THE SPEECH OF THE GOVERNOR LORD' WILSON

AT THE FORBIGN CORRESPONDENTS' CLUB

ON MONDAY, MARCH 23, 1992

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THOSE OPENING REMARKS. IT'S VERY NICE FOR MR TO BE AROUND HERE AT MY LOCAL NEIGHBOURHOOD CLUB. I HAD EXPECTED TO COME HERE, AS YOU SAY, INFORMAL SURROUNDINGS AND I'M SURPRISED THAT YOU SEEM TO HAVE TOLD OTHER PEOPLE THAT I WAS COMING AND I SEE THERE IS AN ENORMOUS NUMBER OF PHOTOGRAPHERS OUTSIDE THE DOOR AS I CAME IN NOT WHAT I HAD EXPECTED.

FAMOUS TODAY,

I AM VERY KEEN ON PRESERVING THIS PLACE AS ONE OF HONG KONG'S OLD BUILDINGS AND I AM VERY GLAD, LOOKING ROUND THE TABLES TO SEE YOU'RE ALSO PRESERVING SOME OF HONG KONG'S FAMOUS OLD CORRESPONDENTS.

I NOTICE THAT I'M BILLED BY RTHK AMONGST OTHERS AS MAKING A SPEECH AND THEN ANSWERING QUESTIONS. JUST SAID YOU DON'T BLAME THOSE PEOPLE FROM GOVERNMENT INFORMATION HERE, I AM NOT GOING ΤΟ MAKE A SPEECH OFF A WRITTEN TEXT, I'M JUST GOING TO TALK. I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME THOUGHTS OF MY OWN ABOUT THE LAST FEW YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE, SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING, AND ALSO SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA AND PARTICULARLY WITH SOUTHERN CHINA.

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AND JUST LOOKING AT VARIOUS THINGS BEFORE COMING HERE TODAY CAME ACROSS ONE OF THOSE VERY NICE QUOTATIONS FROM MAR WEST, WHICH WAS: "IT'S BETTER TO BE LOOKED OVER THAN OVERLOOKED". WELL, AS A GOVERNMENT, WE ARE USED TO BEING LOOKED OVER' AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ACCEPT, WE EXPECT PEOPLE TO GNAW OVER THE VARIOUS BONES OF WHAT THE GOVERNMENT 15 DOING, SO I THOUGHT I'D GIVE YOU SOME IDEA OF THE SORT OF FLESH THAT I PUT ON THOSE BONES MYSELF.

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ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STRIKES ME, AS I LOOK BACK OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE AS GOVERNOR, IS THE NUMBER OF STORMS OF VARIOUS SORTS THAT WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH AND NOT JUST BEEN THROUGH BUT SURVIVED AND COME OUT VERY WELL FROM AND LET ME JUST GIVE YOU A FEW OF THOSE BECAUSE PEOPLE'S MEMORIES TEND TO BE RATHER SHORT EVEN PERHAPS SOME DISTINGUISHED OLD CORRESPONDENTS, ALTHOUGH I'M SURE YOUR MEMORIES ARE BETTER THAN MOST.

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TAKE FOR INSTANCE ONE OF THE ONES THAT HIT ME IN THE FIRST YEAR I

+ WAS HERE, THE STOCK EXCHANGE CRISIS, THE CRASH OF

CRASH OF OCTOBER 1987'. IT WAS A VERY DRAMATIC PERIOD, IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT PERIOD.

WE WERE AFFECTED BY THINGS FROM OUTSIDE HONG KONG: THE MARKET CLOSED, IT SHOWED UP ALL SORTS OF PROBLEMS IN OUR MARKET.

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WELL, TAKE FROM THERE TO WHERE WE ARE NOW. WE HAD A REVIEW OF THE WHOLE PROCESS OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE; WE'VE INTRODUCED SOME VERY SWEEPING REFORMS THOSE ARE WORKING; WE ARE EXPECTING TO BRING IN NEW SETTLEMENT SYSTEM VERY SOON, SO THAT WE WILL BE THE SORT OF MODERN UP-TO-DATE MARKET THAT HONG KONG OUGHT TO BE. AND THEN LOOK AT THE MARKET ITSELF AND DON'T JUST LOOK AT THE MARKET ITSELF BUT COMPARE IT WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND THE REST OF THE WORLD.

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