XN000022-1992-10-13 — Page 3

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1992

2

THE GOVERNOR, THE RT HON CHRISTOPHER PATTEN'S PUBLIC MEETING AT TSUEN WAN TOWN HALL

ON TUESDAY, 13TH OCTOBER 1992

*

MICHAEL, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FIRST OF ALL, WELCOME,

THAT YOU ALL CAME THIS EVENING.

THIS IS

THE

IN

I'M DELIGHTED

SECOND VISIT THAT I'VE PAID TO THIS HALL, THE FIRST ONE WAS ABOUT THREE MONTHS AGO WHEN I WAS BEGINNING TO GET OUT AND MEET AS MANY PEOPLE HONG KONG AS POSSIBLE. I'M DELIGHTED THAT YOU'RE HERE TO THIS EVENING.

MEET ME

QUITE A LOT OF THINGS, IN THE THREE MONTHS THAT I'VE SOME WAYS BEEN HERE, HAVE SURPRISED AND DELIGHTED ME BUT I THINK IN THE THING THAT HAS SURPRISED ME MOST HAS BEEN THE CONTROVERSY WHICH SURROUNDED MY DECISION TO COME OUT OF GOVERNMENT HOUSE AND ANSWER YOUR

AROUND QUESTIONS

HONG KONG.

WRITING SOMEBODY, FOR EXAMPLE, THESE MEETINGS THIS MORNING, DESCRIBED THEM AS A "SHOW". THAT'S A TERRIBLY PATRONISING WAY TO DESCRIBE THE OPPORTUNITY WHICH QUESTIONS YOU HAVE, AS THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG, TO ASK YOUR GOVERNOR ABOUT YOUR FUTURE.

I

ABOUT THINK

WHAT I TALKED ABOUT LAST WEEK IN MY SPEECH TO THE COUNCIL

MORE WAS YOUR FUTURE, AND YOU HAVE LEGISLATIVE

RIGHT THAN ANYONE TO QUESTION ME ABOUT MY VIEWS ON YOUR FUTURE BECAUSE IT IS YOUR

SO THIS YEAR, AND EVERY YEAR THAT I AM FUTURE.

GOVERNOR OF HONG I WILL COME OUT AND GIVE YOU THE CHANCE OF ASKING ME KONG,

QUESTIONS LIKE THIS, AND I VERY MUCH HOPE THAT MY SUCCESSOR, THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE SAR, WILL DO THE SAME.

IT

EXPLAIN

SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT IT WEAKENS THE GOVERNMENT IF THE COMES

THINK OUT AND TRIES TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. I GOVERNOR MAKES GOVERNMENT STRONGER, AND I THINK IT MAKES GOVERNMENT BETTER. AND I THINK THAT FOR ONE VERY SIMPLE REASON: IF YOU'RE IN GOVERNMENT AND YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE GOING TO GO OUT SOMETIME AND HAVE TO YOUR DECISIONS TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, IF YOU KNOW YOU'RE GOING GO OUT AND HAVE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR DECISIONS FROM OF THE PUBLIC, YOU THINK A GREAT DEAL HARDER ABOUT THOSE DECISIONS THE FIRST PLACE. SO ONE THING THAT HAPPENS IS, I BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE GOVERNMENT THAT IS ACCOUNTABLE, YOU HAVE STRONGER AND GOVERNMENT.

MEMBERS

ΤΟ

IN

WHEN BETTER

I JUST WANT TO SAY FOUR THINGS VERY, VERY BRIEFLY, ABOUT THE SPEECH THAT I MADE LAST WEEK. I SET OUT TO DO FOUR THINGS. FIRST

WE TO SHOW HOW

CAN KEEP HONG KONG AS AS POSSIBLE:

WITH WITH LOW TAXES,

PRUDENT

ALL, OF ECONOMICALLY FINANCES,

I WANTED SUCCESSFUL

POSSIBLE

WITH SENSIBLE CONTROL OVER SPENDING, WITH THE FRIENDLIEST

BECAUSE ALL OF ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS.

US KNOW

UNLESS HONG KONG IS ECONOMICALLY SUCCESSFUL, MANY OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO DO WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE.

THAT

THAT

/SECONDLY, I ....