XN000022-1992-06-29 — Page 4

M

MONDAY, JUNE 29, 1992

NOW

——

IF WE

WE CAN ACHIEVE ALL THIS BECAUSE OF ONE OTHER FUNDAMENTAL THING: A PLATFORM WITH A FLASH-GUN!

THAT PLATFORM

THE ECONOMY, AND THE ECONOMY DOING WELL.

DIDN'T HAVE THE ECONOMY DOING WELL, WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE ALL THESE OTHER THINGS. BUT WE HAVE BEEN DOING WELL, WE'VE BEEN GROWING AT SOMETHING LIKE SIX-AND-A-HALF-PERCENT-A-YEAR ON AVERAGE DURING ALL THAT TIME. OUR PER CAPITA GDP, ABOUT THE ONLY MEASURE WE HAVE OF WEALTH, HAS BEEN RISING STEADILY DESPITE INFLATION, THE REAL FIGURE HAS BEEN RISING TOO. WE'RE CLOSE NOW ON US$16,000 PER CAPITA INCOME PER YEAR, AND THAT PUTS US VERY HIGH IN ASIA, IT PUTS US HIGHER THAN MANY COUNTRIES IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, AND THAT IS REALLY THE FOUNDATION OF THE REST OF OUR SUCCESS. THE FOUNDATION OF THAT SUCCESS, THE BASIS FOR THE BASIS,

(WHICH PRODUCES EVEN MORE FLASHES!}

THE GROWING ECONOMY OF SOUTHERN-CHINA, THE WAY IN WHICH WE ARE LINKED IN TO THE ECONOMY OF SOUTHERN-CHINA. THE GROWTH OF THAT ECONOMY, THE WAY WE HAVE BENEFITED FROM IT AND CONTRIBUTED TO IT, THAT I THINK HAS BEEN FUNDAMENTAL TO OUR OWN SUCCESS.

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NOW AS ONE LOOKS AHEAD, ONE CAN SEE MANY ISSUES THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH. ONE CAN SEE THINGS LIKE SPEED OF POLITICAL EVOLUTION. EXACTLY HOW DO WE MANAGE IT WORKING. OUT THOSE DEBATES, DISCUSSING WITH CHINA WHAT WE DO IN THE 1995 ELECTIONS? YOU CAN SEE MANY ISSUES ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE TACKLED IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, BUT ONE IMPORTANT THOUGHT WHICH I'D LIKE ΤΟ LEAVE WITH YOU IS THAT AS WE FACE THESE ISSUES, WE SHOULDN'T BE DEFEATED BY THE PROBLEMS. WE SHOULDN'T BE DEFEATED EITHER BY A TIMESCALE, WE SHOULD LOOK WELL BEYOND 1997 AND WE SHOULD PLAN AND WE SHOULD WORK NOW, FOR THE SUCCESS OF HONG KONG, AS AN SAR, AFTER 1997. THAT'S THE REASON THAT I PERSONALLY ATTACH SO MUCH IMPORTANCE TO LONG TERM PLANS AND TO GETTING ON WITH THEM NOW, HOWEVER DIFFICULT THAT MAY BE. HOWEVER MUCH ADMINISTRATIVE EFFORT, HOWEVER MUCH RESOURCES THAT MAY REQUIRE. FOR INSTANCE: AIRPORT, OR THE PORT DEVELOPMENT, OR ROAD DEVELOPMENT, OR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, OR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT. WE SHOULD NOT ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE TIME-LIMITED, WE SHOULD NOT ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE FRIGHTENED BY PROBLEMS INTO DOING NOTHING. AND IF WE DO THAT, AND IF HONG KONG HAS WHAT IT HAS I BELIEVE NOW, THE CONFIDENCE IN ITSELF, THE DYNAMISM OF THIS SOCIETY WHICH IS ALMOST WITHOUT PARALLEL AROUND THE REST OF THE WORLD, THEN WE WILL SEE THROUGH THOSE DIFFICULTIES AND WE WILL COME OUT SUCCESSFUL.

[ LEAVE, MYSELF, ON FRIDAY. I AM PROUD TO HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED AND INVOLVED WITH THE SUCCESS AND THE OVERCOMING OF DIFFICULTIES WHICH HONG KONG HAS SHOWN IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS. THAT HAS BEEN DONE BY THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG BUT I AM PROUD TO HAVE BEEN GOVERNOR DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME. THANK YOU.

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