XN000022-1992-06-29 — Page 3

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MONDAY, JUNE 29, 1992

MY

OR TAKE 1989, THE EVENTS OF MAY AND JUNE, WHICH HAD A TREMENDOUS IMPACT HERE IN HONG KONG, AND I DON'T REMEMBER IN PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE OF THE TERRITORY, ANY TIME WHEN PEOPLE GOT SO LOW IN THEIR OWN CONFIDENCE. THERE WAS A REAL SENSE OF GLOOM WHICH LASTED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. BUT THERE, TOO, WE HAVE COME THROUGH THAT CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE, WE HAVE COME OUT THE OTHER SIDE. YOU CAN SEE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE CONFIDENCE INDEXES WHICH I GET PRODUCED BY A CERTAIN ORGANISATION HERE AND I FIND PRETTY ACCURATE, THAT THE GRAPH DIPS DOWN, STARTS COMING UP AGAIN, LEVELS, AND THEN GOES UP EVEN FURTHER. SO WE'RE ROUGHLY BACK WHERE WE WERE BEFORE MAY AND JUNE OF 1989.

I MIGHT JUST INTERPOLATE A COMMENT: I'M FASCINATED BY THE FACT THAT EVERY TIME I RAISE MY HAND SOMEBODY USES A FLASH-GUN. CLEARLY, GESTURES ARE THE THINGS THAT MATTER:

BUT WE HAVE COME THROUGH THAT CRISIS. WE'VE COME THROUGH THE PROBLEMS THAT WE HAD WITH CHINA AS A RESULT. WE WENT THROUGH SEVERAL MONTHS A YEAR OR MORE WHEN RELATIONS WITH CHINA WERE STRAINED, BUT WE HAVE COME THROUGH IT, WE ARE REPAIRING THOSE RELATIONS, WE'RE GETTING BACK ON TO A SENSIBLE FOOTING AGAIN.

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OR TAKE ANOTHER ONE AND IT IS INTERESTING ΤΟ ME HOW THIS ONE HAS DROPPED OUT OF THE NEWS, AND THAT PERHAPS IS ITSELF A MEASURE OF HOW IT'S BEEN DEALT WITH THE VIETNAMESE MIGRANT PROBLEM.

IN THE PERIOD OF 1988-91 WE HAD SOMETHING LIKE 60,000 PEOPLE COMING HERE FROM VIETNAM, BY BOAT OR ACROSS THE MAINLAND, HUGE NUMBERS. WE DIDN'T BEND UNDER THAT PRESSURE, WE MANAGED, WE RETAINED · OUR POLICY, ALMOST ALONE IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA, WE MANAGED TO KEEP OUR NERVE AND NOW WE ARE WELL ON THE WAY TO FINDING A SOLUTION TO THAT LONG LASTING PROBLEM WHICH WAS HERE IN 1979 WHEN I WAS DOING A DIFFERENT JOB AS POLITICAL ADVISER. WE'VE HAD SOMETHING LIKE 19,000 PEOPLE VOLUNTEERING TO GO BACK AND THE IMPACT OF THE ARRANGEMENTS NOW PUT IN PLACE FOR NON-REFUGEES TO GO BACK TO THEIR HOMES IN VIETNAM IS SUCH THAT THIS YEAR, INSTEAD OF LAST YEAR'S SEVERAL THOUSAND PEOPLE ARRIVING BY THIS TIME, WE'VE HAD HOW MANY? PRECISELY SEVEN PEOPLE COMING HERE THIS YEAR. NOW THAT IS A CONSIDERABLE ACHIEVEMENT.

IT IS THOSE CRISES THAT ALWAYS GRAB THE HEADLINES. NATURALLY YOU WRITE ABOUT THEM, NATURALLY YOU WILL WISH TO GO ON DOING SO. SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT GO ON THE WHOLE TIME DON'T GRAB THE HEADLINES AND I WOULD LIKE JUST TO TOUCH ON A FEW OF THOSE TO SHOW HOW, DESPITE ALL THESE PROBLEMS. AS A SOCIETY WE HAVE CONTINUED TO BUILD OURSELVES UP AND MAKE PROGRESS.

TAKE FOR INSTANCE HOUSING.

SOMETHING LIKE 233,000 APARTMENTS HAVE BEEN BUILT HERE SINCE 1987. THAT WORKS OUT AT SOMETHING LIKE 130 NEW FLATS EVERYDAY, EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK, AND THAT'S NOT A BAD ACHIEVEMENT. OR TAKE EDUCATION. IN 1987 THE NUMBER OF FIRST-YEAR FIRST-DEGREE PLACES WAS APPROXIMATELY FIVE-AND-A-HALF THOUSAND, IT'S NOW SOMETHING LIKE TEN THOUSAND. 1995 IT IS GOING UP TO FOURTEEN-AND-A-HALF-THOUSAND. VERY MAJOR SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT, THE GRAPH GOES UPWARDS AND THE FLASH-GUNS GO OFF!

OR THE HOSPITAL AUTHORITY: I WENT THE OTHER DAY TO QUEEN ELIZABETH AND AN ASTONISHING SIGHT TO SEE, THAT THE CAMP-BEDS ARE ALMOST ALL GONE AND WE ARE MAKING TREMENDOUS PROGRESS WITH OUR HOSPITALS. IN THE PERIOD BETWEEN 1987 AND NOW SOMETHING LIKE 6,000 NEW HOSPITAL-BEDS HAVE BEEN PROVIDED AND MANY MORE ARE IN THE PIPELINE. OR TAKE THE ENVIRONMENT, WHICH IS A SUBJECT CLOSE TO MY OWN HEART. IN 1987 WE WERE SPENDING SOMETHING LIKE $330 MILLION-A-YEAR ON THE ENVIRONMENT. IN 1992-93 WE WILL BE SPENDING $3.9 BILLION ON THE ENVIRONMENT.

I'M NOT SAYING THERE THAT WE HAVE DONE ENOUGH, I'M ONLY SAYING THAT PROGRESS; WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO.

WE HAVE MADE