XN000022-1993-05-05 — Page 7

WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 1993

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SECONDLY, I THINK THAT WHILE EVERYONE SENSIBLE RECOGNISES THAT U.S. POLICY THIS YEAR IS UNLIKELY TO BE IDENTICAL WITH U.S. POLICY LAST YEAR, THIS IS AN EXTREMELY GOOD MOMENT FOR US TO BE EXPRESSING OUR VIEWS ON WHAT THAT POLICY SHOULD BE. AND THE ACCESS THAT I HAVE HAD AND THE OPPORTUNITY THAT I HAVE HAD OF MEETING ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS AND LEADERS IN CONGRESS HAS, I HOPE, ENSURED THAT WHATEVER POLICY EMERGES WILL REFLECT THE INTERESTS OF HONG KONG. AND IN MY JUDGMENT, THE INTERESTS OF HONG KONG ARE CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE INTERESTS OF THOSE WHO HAVE, WITH CONSIDERABLE ELAN, BEEN PROMOTING ECONOMIC REFORM IN CHINA.

SO I DON'T ACCEPT THE PARADOX POSED BY EITHER JONATHAN OR NAMELESS DIPLOMATIC SOURCES, WHOEVER THEY MAY BE. AND I SPEAK AS A RECENTLY ESTABLISHED DIPLOMAT.

QUESTION: IF I COULD FOLLOW THAT?

GOVERNOR: YES.

QUESTION: IT'S THE OTHER SIDE OF REALLY THE SAME QUESTION. PEOPLE HERE IN WASHINGTON HAVE BEEN TOTALLY IMPRESSED BY THE AMOUNT OF ACCESS YOU'VE GOTTEN AND THE AMOUNT OF PLAY ON DEMOCRACY. AND YOU SEEM NOT TO (INAUDIBLE). AND ALSO HAVE BEEN QUESTIONING THE WAY YOUR SPEECH WHICH YOU MADE AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB, PEOPLE SAYING YOU APPEARED TO BE ALMOST SNUBBING THE PRESIDENT, WHO IS GOING

YOUR SPEECH APPEARED TO PLAY DOWN THE WHOLE QUESTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, EVEN THOUGH YOU SAY HONG KONG UNDERSTANDS YOU. DO YOU THINK THE PLAY HERE HAS ACTUALLY BEING SYMPATHETIC ON THE MFN FRONT?

GOVERNOR: I TOLD THE PRESIDENT WHAT I WAS PROPOSING TO SAY ÁT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB, AND WHAT I SAID AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB WAS NOT VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I SAID TO THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, IN A SPEECH BEFORE I LEFT HONG KONG. SO I GUESS THE PRESIDENT AND THE ADMINISTRATION WOULD HAVE BEEN WELL APPRISED OF MY POSITION.

I THINK THEY UNDERSTAND THAT, AS A MATTER OF BOTH PRINCIPLE AND PRACTICE, AND THE PRINCIPLE IN MY CASE IN SOMEWHAT BUTTRESSED BY THE FACT THAT FREE TRADE IS SOMETHING I FEEL STRONGLY IDEOLOGICAL ABOUT. I THINK THAT THE PRESIDENT AND THE ADMINISTRATION RECOGNISE THAT WE WOULD SET OUT OUR ARGUMENT ON MFN BOTH IN TERMS OF PRINCIPLE AND AS A MATTER OF UTILITARIAN FRONT LINE FACT,

IF MFN WERE TO BE CANCELLED OR IF MFN WERE TO BE SO QUALIFIED BY CONDITIONALITY AS TO MAKE A SERIOUS IMPACT ON TRADE BETWEEN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES, THEN PEOPLE DO NEED TO RECOGNISE THAT HONG KONG WOULD BE HIT, AND WHATEVER THE OBJECTIVES, WHATEVER THE JUSTIFICATION SOME PEOPLE MAY FEEL FOR THOSE OBJECTIVES, THAT IS À FACT WHICH EVERYONE HAS TO RECOGNISE. I GUESS THAT YOU COULD DESIGN SOME FORMS OF EXPECTATION OR MODERATE CONDITIONALITY AROUND MFN WHICH WOULD NOT HAVE THAT EFFECT ON HONG KONG.

/BUT WHAT