XN000022-1992-10-24 — Page 11

10

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1992

MRS MIRIAM

YOU

JUST

MENTIONED

CO-OPERATION.

IN

YOUR

HAVE

LAU: ASSESSMENT, WHAT IMPACT WILL THE ABSENCE OF CHINESE CO-OPERATION ON THE OTHER IMPORTANT HONG KONG ISSUES DURING THE REMAINING PERIOD OF WITH TRANSITION? AND COULD YOU TELL US WHAT ISSUES WE MUST RESOLVE

THE THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT BEFORE 1997? AND HOW MANY OF THESE ISSUES CHINESE GOVERNMENT CAN LEGITIMATELY SAY YES OR NO?

GOVERNOR:

CAN DEAL

CHINESE OFFICIALS HAVE REPEATEDLY STATED THAT THERE CAN FOR EXAMPLE, THEY HAVE BE NO LINKAGE BETWEEN ONE ISSUE AND ANOTHER. SAID OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN THAT THERE IS NO LINKAGE BETWEEN THE SO I TAKE IT THAT WE AIRPORT AND QUESTIONS OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. CAN BELIEVE WHAT THOSE OFFICIALS SAY AND I TAKE IT THAT WE WITH ISSUES AS WE SHOULD ON THEIR MERITS. I HAVE SAID BEFORE THAT, IN WHATEVER THE MY JUDGMENT, THINGS SURVIVE AND PROSPER WHEN THEY WORK,

AND I'M SURE THAT THE RHETORIC OF ONE PARTY OR ANOTHER MIGHT SUGGEST;

BE PROPOSALS WHICH THIS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL EVENTUALLY ENDORSES WILL PROPOSALS THAT THIS COUNCIL WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE WORK AND COMMUNITY WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE WORK. AND THAT THOSE WHO ARE PRAGMATIC AND THAT THOSE WHO ARE REALISTIC AND THOSE WHO HAVE THE BEST INTERESTS ΤΟ DISRUPT THOSE OF HONG KONG AT HEART WOULD NOT, THEREFORE, WISH PROPOSALS. I DON'T THINK THIS COUNCIL IS LIKELY TO REACH DECISION ABOUT THAT.

MR

SAI-CHEONG:

THAT THIS

THE WRONG

TALKED HIS TALK

HE WAS GETTING

ABOUT

ON

THE

THE

HAS

NEGATED

THE

MAN

PING MR GOVERNOR, NR LU AIRPORT. DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC RESPONSE TO AIRPORT? DO YOU

THAT HE SAID THIS FEEL

BECAUSE

YOU EMOTIONAL OR, DO

VIEWPOINT POSSIBILITY OF HONG KONG BUILDING THE AIRPORT ON ITS OWN?

GOVERNOR:

THINK THAT

HIS

ARGUMENTS

ONE

CONTAIN OF MY AMBITIONS IN LIFE IS TO RATHER THAN ALLOW THEM TO SPREAD TOO WIDE; AND I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION HAVE BEEN IN THAT SPIRIT. I HAVE BEEN PUZZLED BY SOME THINGS THAT

THINGS THAT SAID ABOUT THE AIRPORT, PUZZLED NOT ONLY BY ONE OR TWO HAVE BEEN SAID ABOUT THE AIRPORT IN THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS BUT IN THE IN LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. THE POSITION IS ABSOLUTELY CLEAR AS I SAID MY STATEMENT. WE HAVE SO FAR AGREED AND STARTED WORK ON 17 PROJECTS WHICH TOGETHER MAKE UP THE AIRPORT PROJECT AS A THAT HAS INVOLVED A COMMITMENT OF WHICH THIS COUNCIL IS AWARE OF ABOUT HK$18 BILLION. IT'S A VERY SUBSTANTIAL COMMITMENT.

OF

OF THE WHOLE AND

WE'LL HAVE TO GO AND AT EVERY STAGE, ON ADDING, AS IT WERE, BRICK ON BRICK AS WE CAN.

COME TO TO

THIS WHEN WE

ONE PUT

BRICK ON ANOTHER, WE WILL HAVE COUNCIL AND

THIS LEGISLATIVE ASK FOR THE APPROVAL LEGISLATIVE

HAVE COUNCIL FOR THE FINANCING OF INDIVIDUAL MEASURES AND WE'LL ALSO

THINGS TO EXPLAIN TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL AT EACH STAGE HOW WE SEE

THE FUTURE. BEING TAKEN FORWARD. THAT'S HOW I INTEND TO PROCEED IN

AND WE'LL SHORTLY BE DISCUSSING THIS MATTER IN THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

THERE IS, OF THEN SHARING OUR THOUGHTS WITH THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. COURSE, AN ELEMENT OF UNREALITY IN SOME OF THESE DISCUSSIONS EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT

A GOOD WE WILL HAVE AN AIRPORT AND EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT WOULD LIKE THAT SOONER RATHER THAN LATER, EVERYONE KNOWS THAT IF IT'S INEVITABLY GOING TO BE MORE COSTLY AND THAT THE FUTURE SAR

WOULD WON'T ENJOY THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS AS SOON AS IT SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED AIRPORT. I COULD SAY MORE, BUT I'M IMMENSELY DIPLOMATIC.

IT'S

BECAUSE AIRPORT. ΤΟ ACHIEVE LATER,

GOVERNMENT LIKE OF A BECOMING

/DR LEONG CHE-HUNG: