XN000022-1992-10-13 — Page 10

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1992

GOVERNOR:

AS

I THINK THAT IN A COMMUNITY WHICH REGARDS EDUCATION IMPORTANT AS HONG KONG DOES, IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE THAT THE TEACHING PROFESSION HAS AS MUCH ESTEEM AS POSSIBLE. PEOPLE VERY OFTEN ASK WHAT IT IS THAT PRODUCES A GOOD EDUCATION, AND THERE HAS BEEN ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF RESEARCH ON THE SUBJECT. WE ALL KNOW THAT WHAT PRODUCES THE BEST EDUCATION IS GOOD TEACHERS. AND I THINK THAT THE RECOGNITION THAT TEACHERS ARE AT THE HEART OF A GOOD EDUCATION, PROPERLY REMUNERATED, PROPERLY PAID, GIVEN THE CONDITIONS IN WHICH THEY CAN WORK BEST, THOSE ARE THE WAYS IN WHICH WE'LL BE ABLE TO ATTRACT MORE AND BETTER PEOPLE INTO THE PROFESSION.

NOW, YOU HAVE QUITE RIGHTLY SAID THAT WE HAVE SET

OURSELVES AMBITIOUS AND PERHAPS DIFFICULT TARGETS. WE'RE TRYING TO RECRUIT ANOTHER 700 TEACHERS NEXT YEAR, AND WE WANT TO RECRUIT, ON TOP OF THAT, ANOTHER 1,500 TEACHERS IN THE FOLLOWING YEARS, IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE TEACHING FORCE BY ABOUT 2,200. I HOPE THAT THE FACT

THAT WE ARE REDUCING CLASS SIZES, THE FACT THAT WE ARE GIVING TEACHERS MORE TIME TO PREPARE THEIR LESSONS AND MORE TIME ΤΟ SPEND WITH INDIVIDUAL TEACHERS, WILL MAKE TEACHING ITSELF BOTH MORE ATTRACTIVE AND PERHAPS A LITTLE LESS BURDENSOME FOR TEACHERS THEMSELVES. IT'S A SUBJECT ABOUT WHICH 1 SPEAK WITH SOME PERSONAL INTEREST MY GRANDPARENTS WERE TEACHERS.

-

AND BOTH

QUESTION:

MR GOVERNOR, AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND, THE FUNCTION OF A POLICY ADDRESS IS TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING ΤΟ DO FOR US AND WHAT ARE THE MAJOR GOVERNMENT POLICIES THAT YOU ARE GOING ΤΟ IMPLEMENT. YOU HAVE ALREADY TOUCHED ON SEVERAL SOCIAL POLICIES AND I AM SURE YOU HAVE ALREADY LISTENED TO A LOT ABOUT THE PROS AND CONS ABOUT THESE POLICIES AND YOU HAVE ALREADY STRUCK A BALANCE BETWEEN THEM.

BUT RIGHT NOW THERE ARE STILL GREAT CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT, BUT IN YOUR POLICY SPEECH YOU HAVE ALREADY PUT FORTH RADICAL CHANGES. SO DO YOU 'THINK IT WOULD DETERIORATE THE RELATIONS BETWEEN CHINA, BRITAIN AND HONG KONG? NORMALLY, A GREEN PAPER WOULD BE ISSUED TO CONSULT THE PUBLIC ON MAJOR POLICIES, BUT WHY WAS THERE NO GREEN PAPER THIS TIME?

A LOT

IN HONG KONG THERE IS THIS POLITICAL REALITY: OF PEOPLE DO NOT REGISTER AS VOTERS. THOSE WHO HAVE REGISTERED DID NOT GO TO CAST THEIR VOTE. SO UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES WHY DO YOU HAVE SO MUCH CONFIDENCE THAT THE MAJORITY OF HONG KONG PEOPLE WANT SO MUCH DEMOCRACY? WHAT IS THE BASIS OF YOUR ARGUMENT?

GOVERNOR:

FIRST OF ALL, AS I SAID EARLIER, WHAT I HAVE DONE IS TO SET OUT MY PROPOSALS FOR THE 1995 ELECTIONS AND FOR OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES, AND THOSE PROPOSALS, I OBSERVE, ARE BEING WIDELY DISCUSSED IN HONG KONG, AS WOULD HAPPEN IF I'D PRODUCED A GREEN PAPER. WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN ANY HAPPIER IF J HAD SAID, IN MY LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL SPEECH, "I'M PRODUCING A GREEN PAPER WITH ALL THESE PROPOSALS IN", RATHER THAN STATING THEM IN THE SPEECH? I'M NOT SURE THAT THAT WOULD HAVE PRODUCED MORE OR LESS DISCUSSION.

/BUT YOU

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