XN000022-1992-10-08 — Page 3

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1992

MISS EMILY LAU:

GOVERNOR

J

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I THINK I'D RATHER ADDRESS YOU AS GOVERNOR RATHER THAN MR PRESIDENT GOVERNOR, IN YOUR AGENDA FOR HONG KONG YOUR GOAL IS FORMIDABLY SIMPLE, TO SAFEGUARD HONG KONG'S WAY OF LIFE,

AND YOU OUTLINE FOUR KEY PRINCIPLES WHICH YOU SAY IF WE UPHOLD THEM WE SHALL SECURE A COMMUNITY WHOSE FREEDOMS AND WAY OF LIFE ARE PROTECTED. GOVERNOR, AFTER READING THESE 43 PAGES, I FAIL TO SEE A BLUEPRINT WHICH WILL GIVE US HONG KONG PEOPLE THE CONFIDENCE THAT WE WILL ACHIEVE THIS OBJECTIVE, AND OF COURSE I'M SURE YOU KNOW I AM REFERRING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOCRACY AT THE VERY HIGHEST LEVEL IN GOVERNMENT, MEANING THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL AND THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, ON WHICH YOUR PROPOSALS HAVE MADE US ALL VERY UPSET. AND ALSO ON THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, GOVERNOR, THOSE WORDS I COULD NOT FIND IN THIS AGENDA. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THEY ARE DIRTY WORDS TO THE HONG KONG ADMINISTRATION. AND YOU MENTION THREE SETS OF LAWS THAT YOU WILL CHANGE, WHICH I WELCOME: THE PUBLIC ORDER ORDINANCE, THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY, AND A LOOK AT LAWS WHICH MAY INFRINGE PRESS FREEDOM. BUT WHAT ABOUT OTHER LAWS GOVERNOR? SO WILL YOU PLEASE TELL US, HOW DO YOU INTEND TO CONSTRUCT A FREE AND DEMOCRATIC FUTURE FOR THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG BY LAYING VERY FIRM FOUNDATION AN AREA OF DEMOCRACY AT THE VERY HIGH LEVEL AND FIRM PROTECTION AND SAFEGUARDS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS?

GOVERNOR:

IN

I AGREE THAT IT IS PROBABLY BETTER TO ADDRESS ME AS GOVERNOR RATHER THAN MR PRESIDENT, PARTICULARLY AT THIS POINT IN THE AMERICAN POLITICAL CALENDAR. UNLIKE MR PEROT, I HAVEN'T YET DECLARED.

I'M SORRY THAT IN ALL 43 PAGES OF MY ADDRESS, OF THE AGENDA THAT I SKETCHED OUT, YOU FAILED то FIND ANYTHING WHICH CONVINCED YOU OF MY PURPOSE AND MY CONVICTION ABOUT THE SECURING OF HONG KONG'S WAY OF LIFE BEFORE AND AFTER 1997. LET ME, AT THE RISK OF REPETITION, SAY WHAT I WAS TRYING TO DO.

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I WAS TRYING TO FIND A POINT OF BALANCE IN THE COMMUNITY. I NOTICE THAT THIS MORNING SOME HAVE DESCRIBED ME AS TOO CAUTIOUS, CAUTIOUS TO A FAULT, OTHERS HAVE DESCRIBED ME - OTHERS WHO ARE NOT UNKNOWN FOR THEIR RHETORICAL EXCESSES FROM TIME TO TIME OTHERS HAVE DESCRIBED ME AS BEING RECKLESS.

I DON'T NECESSARILY BELIEVE IT'S ALWAYS TRUE THAT IF YOU HAVE OPPOSITE ADJECTIVES USED ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING YOU MUST BE COMING SENSIBLY THROUGH THE MIDDLE, BUT I DO BELIEVE ON THIS OCCASION THAT THE BALANCE I'VE PUT FORWARD IS JUST ABOUT RIGHT. AS I UNDERSTAND THE ASPIRATIONS OF PEOPLE IN HONG KONG, THEY DO WANT MORE DEMOCRACY. EVERY TIME THEY HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY OF DECLARING THEIR POSITION THAT IS WHAT THEY HAVE SAID. BUT I ALSO THINK THAT THEY WANT MORE DEMOCRACY WHICH THEY BELIEVE WILL LAST AND MANY OF THEM, AS Į KNOW FROM A PHONE-IN PROGRAMME THAT I TOOK PART IN THIS MORNING, DEFINE THAT AS DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENTS WHICH ARE CONSISTENT WITH HONG KONG'S MINI CONSTITUTION AFTER 1997 AND THE BASIC LAW.

SO WHAT I ATTEMPTED TO DO YESTERDAY WAS THIS: TO SAY, IF IT IS CHINA'S POSITION THAT THERE CANNOT BE ANY INCREASE IN DIRECTLY ELECTED SEATS BECAUSE THAT WOULD CONTRAVENE THE BASIC LAW, THEN LET US LOOK AT OTHER THINGS WHICH WOULD BROADEN DEMOCRACY WHICH ARE ENTIRELY CONSISTENT WITH THE BASIC LAW. I THINK THAT IS A COHERENT PACKAGE, I THINK THAT IS A COHERENT SET OF PROPOSALS, AND ONE WHICH I AM PREPARED TO DEFEND IN THIS COUNCIL, AND ONE WHICH I AM PREPARED TO DEFEND AND ARGUE FOR IN PEKING.

/BUT LET