XN000022-1992-10-08 — Page 40

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1992

GOOD MORNING MR PATTEN.

QUESTION:

MY QUESTION IS ABOUT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN HONG KONG UP TO AND AFTER 1997. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IS GUARANTEED IN THE BASIC LAW, AND CHURCH ACTIVITIES AS OUTLINED IN ARTICLE 141 ARE ALSO GUARANTEED, BUT IN THE LIGHT of CHINA'S ANGRY REACTION YESTERDAY TO YOUR POLICY SPEECH AND THEIR UNWILLINGNESS то ADHERE TO THE CONDITIONS AS LAID OUT IN THE JOINT DECLARATION AND THE BASIC LAW, WHAT GUARANTEE CAN YOU GIVE TO CHRISTIANS AND OTHER RELIGIOUS GROUPS THAT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WILL BE PRESERVED IN HONG KONG UP TO AND AFTER 1997?

GOVERNOR:

IT'S A SUBJECT ABOUT WHICH I FEEL VERY STRONGLY BECAUSE LIKE YOU I'M A PRACTISING CHRISTIAN AND I VERY MUCH ENJOY BEING PART OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IN HONG KONG. I ENJOY VISITING CHURCHES OF A NUMBER OF DENOMINATIONS BUT PARTICULARLY, OBVIOUSLY, CATHOLIC CHURCHES BECAUSE I WAS A BORN CATHOLIC. I THINK THAT WE MUST TAKE WHAT IS SAID IN THE JOINT DECLARATION AND THE BASIC LAW ABOUT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AT ITS WORD, AND I DON'T BELIEVE FOR ONE MOMENT THAT CHINA WOULD WANT TO UNDERMINE THE FREEDOMS WHICH ARE SO FUNDAMENTAL. WE DO TALK ABOUT "ONE COUNTRY TWO SYSTEMS" AND PART OF OUR SYSTEM IS THAT PEOPLE SHOULD BE FREE TO WORSHIP AS THEY WANT, PEOPLE SHOULD BE FREE TO ALLOW THEIR CONSCIENCES TO DICTATE THEIR MORAL AND POLITICAL ACTIONS, THAT'S WHAT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IS ALL ABOUT AS WELL. I THINK IT'S ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS IN OUR WAY OF LIFE AND I TRUST THOSE WHO SIGNED THE JOINT DECLARATION, AND TRUST THOSE WHO AGREED TO THE BASIC LAW, TO MAINTAIN IT. I HAVE TO DO THAT AND I'M SURE THAT IF MR LU PING WAS DOING THIS 'QUESTION TIME', OR ANY OF THE OTHER CHINESE OFFICIALS THAT I DEAL WITH IF MR ZHOU NAN WAS DOING IT HE WOULD MAKE THE SAME POINT.

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QUESTION:

BUT THERE ISN'T RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN

CHINA AT THE

PRESENT TIME.

4

GOVERNOR:

NO, BUT WE DO TALK ABOUT "ONE COUNTRY TWO SYSTEMS" I'M NOT GOING TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE OTHER SYSTEM, THOUGH I HEARD AN EXTREMELY INTERESTING SERMON THE OTHER DAY ABOUT THE POSITION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CHINA. BUT WE KNOW WHAT OUR SYSTEM IS, WE KNOW THE GUARANTEES FOR OUR SYSTEM FOR 50 YEARS AFTER 1997 AND I'M ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT WHEN THE JOINT DECLARATION TALKS ABOUT PRESERVING FREEDOM OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP AND FREEDOM OF RELIGIOUS THOUGHT, IT'S BANKABLE AND THERE'S A SORT OF GUARANTEE WHICH IS 18 CARAT.

QUESTION:

GOOD MORNING MR PATTEN. NOW WE'VE READ FROM THE NEWSPAPER TODAY, THEY'RE SAYING THAT THE LAST GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG IS NOW SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY, SO IS IT TRUE THAT THE LAST GOVERNOR, OR A POLITICIAN, WILL TRY TO USE ALL THE RESERVES OF THE SAR? FROM THE POLICY ADDRESS

—

AND THEN AS A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC IT PROBABLY SEEMS PERFECT AND TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. AND AS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, IF THERE IS GOING TO BE AN IMPACT, WILL THAT BE ABLE TO BE CARRIED OUT FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, BECAUSE THE POLICY ADDRESS IS FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS?

/AND THEN

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