XN000022-1993-05-04 — Page 21

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(Outside the Russell Building)

QUESTION: Just one question.

GOVERNOR PATTEN:

Yes.

TUESDAY, MAY 4, 1993

QUESTION: What's the impression you are

forming? The dinner last night must have been helpful. Are you getting the impression that it's going to be conditional, it's going to be put off? What are you forming?

GOVERNOR PATTEN: Well, I tell you what I am forming, a very clear impression about American concerns:

American concerns about the huge Chinese trade surplus,

American concerns about human rights, and American

concerns, which I think have been growing and growing very

rapidly over the last year, about weapons proliferation.

Now, in those circumstances what I think we have

to do is to make sure that the U.S. officials who are

making policy and U.S. legislators, understand our

concerns and understand the importance of trade as freely

conducted as possible to the improvement of the quality of

living of people in China, as well as to the economic

position of Hong Kong.

on

It's a moving situation. It's not exactly the

same as it would have been lobbying last year, where a

President had made absolutely clear where he stood and,

the whole, was having to repel a Congress which was taking

a slightly different point of view. Things have changed

since then, and my impression is the administration is

looking for as broad a consensus between the

administration and Congress as possible.

/But I