XN000022-1992-10-24 — Page 15

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1992

MR LAM KUI-CHUN:

IN VIEW

J

SIR, IN CONSIDERING THE WAY FORWARD, OF THE FAILURE TO REACH AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT ON YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM PACKAGE, WOULD THE MORALE AND THE STABILITY OF THE CIVIL SERVICE BE ONE OF THE KEY FACTORS IN YOUR DELIBERATION, AND HOW DO YOU THINK THE CIVIL SERVICE WOULD BE AFFECTED IF MR LU PROCEEDS AS STATED, WITH FORMATION OF SAR GOVERNMENT LEGISLATURE AND JUDICIARY BEFORE 1997?

GOVERNOR:

ΤΟ

LET ME TRY TO RESPOND AS POSITIVELY AS POSSIBLE THAT QUESTION AND NOT GO BACK OVER SOME OF THE GROUND WHICH I'VE TRAVERSED ALREADY, ABOUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INSTITUTIONS BEING THE MAIN DETERMINANT IN THEIR SURVIVAL. I BELIEVE THAT THE OFFICIALS OF

THE PRC, INCLUDING SOMEONE AS KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE AFFAIRS OF HONG KONG AS DIRECTOR LU, WANT HONG KONG, BEFORE AND AFTER 1997, TO BE WELL GOVERNED, AND WISH THAT GOVERNMENT TO BE CONDUCTED BY THE BEST PEOPLE AVAILABLE. ONE OF THE THINGS FOR WHICH I AM PERSONALLY GRATEFUL IS THE REASSURANCES WHICH DIRECTOR LU HAS GIVEN AGAIN AND AGAIN TO THE EXCELLENT CIVIL SERVICE IN HONG KONG, THAT THEY WILL BE ASSURED A SMOOTH TRANSITION THROUGH 1997. DIRECTOR LU HAS SAID THAT IN PUBLIC, OTHER OFFICIALS HAVE SAID THAT IN PUBLIC, AND I BELIEVE THEM.

MR JIMMY MCGREGOR :

-

GOVERNOR, FIRST OF ALL I SHOULD LIKE ΤΟ SAY THAT THE HONG KONG DEMOCRATIC FOUNDATION SUPPORTS YOU FULLY AND IN GENERAL THERE MAY BE SOME ARGUMENT WITH SOME OF THE SMALLER POINTS IN DETAIL.

AS A VERY SENIOR OFFICIAL WITH LONG EXPERIENCE OF NEGOTIATION IN GOVERNMENT IN THE UK, YOU ARE AWARE THAT YOU HAVE BEGUN A PROCESS OF NEGOTIATION WITH CHINA, THAT THIS NEGOTIATION HAS BEEN GOING ON A VERY LONG TIME AND YOU ARE NOW AT A CRITICAL PART OF IT. ON THE ISSUE OF THE AIRPORT, SEPARATELY FROM THE ISSUE OF DEMOCRATIC REFORM IN HONG KONG, DO YOU HAVE AN AGENDA IN TERMS OF TIME? IS THERE A POINT AT WHICH YOU MUST COME TO A CONCLUSION ON THE AIRPORT ON THE ONE HAND FURTHER WORK ON THE AIRPORT - WITHOUT FURTHER CHINESE INPUT, OR,

AND IN THE TERMS OF THE DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT OF HONG KONG, IS THERE A POINT BEYOND WHICH YOU CANNOT GO BEFORE YOU MUST MAKE DECISIONS? WHAT ARE THESE POINTS, PLEASE?

GOVERNOR:

FIRST OF ALL, SO FAR AS THE TONE AND FEEL OF THE NEGOTIATIONS IS CONCERNED, THESE WEREN'T THE FIRST NEGOTIATIONS THAT I'VE HAD WITH CHINESE OFFICIALS, THOUGH THEY WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT. I HAVE TO TELL THIS COUNCIL THAT IN COMPARISON WITH SOME OF THE NEGOTIATIONS THAT I'VE CONDUCTED IN THE PAST, IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, THESE WERE CARRIED OUT IN A RATIONAL AND CALM AND DIGNIFIED AND NON-ACRIMONIOUS FASHION, HOWEVER STRONGLY VIEWS WERE FELT ON BOTH SIDES. AND I THINK THAT'S PARTLY A REFLECTION ON THE QUALITY OF THE OFFICIALS WITH WHOM I WAS TALKING.

ON THE AIRPORT, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IT'S FAIR TO SAY, AND I NEVER HAVE BELIEVED THAT IT'S FAIR TO SAY, THAT WE FACE ONE DEADLINE. WHAT IS TRUE IS, FIRST OF ALL, THAT INCOMPARABLY THE BEST OPTION IS AN AGREEMENT WITH CHINA WHICH GIVES US AN OVERALL PACKAGE. WE ALL KNOW THAT.

BUT IF WE CAN'T REACH THAT AGREEMENT,

WHICH WOULD GIVE US THE AIRPORT SOONER RATHER THAN LATER, THEN WE HAVE ΤΟ CONTINUE DOING WHAT WE'VE STARTED DOING ALREADY, WHICH IS ALL WE CAN, DAY BY DAY, WEEK BY WEEK, MONTH BY MONTH. AND THAT INVOLVES ONE FACING UP TO A SUCCESSION OF DECISIONS. THE NEXT DECISIONS, AS I SAID EARLIER, WILL COME TOWARDS THE END OF NOVEMBER WHEN THE VALIDITY OF THE TENDER ON THE AIRPORT PLATFORM FALLS DUE, AND WE'LL HAVE, ABOUT THAT STAGE, TO TAKE A DECISION WITH THIS COUNCIL, ABOUT HOW TO PROCEED ON THE AIRPORT PLATFORM. WE'LL HAVE A SERIES OF FURTHER DECISIONS ALONG THE ROAD.

/I THINK,