WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1993
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"AND I SAY THIS TO ALL OF YOU. IF WE ARE NOT PREPARED TO STAND FOR HONG KONG'S WAY OF LIFE TODAY, WHAT CHANCE OF DOING SO TOMORROW?
UP
"I SAY THAT WE CAN ONLY BE AS BOLD AS YOU. THAT IS NOT A SURRENDER OF LEADERSHIP. IT IS A STATEMENT OF FACT,
"WE CANNOT BE BOLDER THAN YOU BECAUSE LIBERTY STANDS IN THE HEART. WHEN IT SHRIVELS THERE, NOTHING CAN SAVE IT,' HE SAID.
AND THERE IS ANOTHER REASON, HE SAID.
ti
BUT
"WE DO NOT YET HAVE FULL DEMOCRACY HERE IN HONG KONG. DEMOCRACY IS THE ROAD WHICH THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAS AGREED HONG KONG SHOULD FOLLOW.
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MR PATTEN POINTED OUT THAT THE JOINT DECLARATION LAYS DOWN THAT "THE LEGISLATURE OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION SHALL BE
CONSTITUTED BY ELECTIONS"
·
IT ALSO PRESCRIBES THAT THE EXECUTIVE "SHALL BE ACCOUNTABLE ΤΟ THE LEGISLATURE".
"THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT, THEREFORE, THAT WE ARE DESTINED TO BE MOVING FIRMLY IN THE DIRECTION OF DEMOCRACY," MR PATTEN SAID.
THE GOVERNOR SAID THIS DEMOCRATIC GOAL MEANT THR GOVERNMENT COULD NOT CLAIM TO BE ANY STRONGER, ANY WISER, ANY MORE DETERMINED THAN THE COMMUNITY ITSELF.
THE
"AND IN THE LAST RESORT, IT IS YOU ABOVE ALL. YOU COMMUNITY'S LEGISLATURE, THE LEGISLATURE THAT AS THE JOINT DECLARATION SAYS, HOLDS THE EXECUTIVE ACCOUNTABLE IT IS YOU WHO SET THE LIMITS TO THE GOVERNMENT'S POWER TO PROTECT AND STRENGTHEN OUR SYSTEM.
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JOINT
THE DEMOCRATIC IDEAL (CLEARLY ENSHRINED IN THE DECLARATION) MEANS THAT THE COMMUNITY, THROUGH ITS ELECTED LEGISLATURE, MAKES THE LAWS THAT GOVERN IT, HE SAID.
"YOU ARE BOTH THE RULERS AND THE RULED. THAT IS WHY DEMOCRACY
IS BOTH A HIGH PRIVILEGE AND A HEAVY RESPONSIBILITY.
"I SAY ALL THIS BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT TO BE TRUE. AND I SAY IT AS WELL BECAUSE I AM GROWING TO LOVE HONG KONG AS YOU WHO HAVE CREATED IT FROM ROCK AND SCRUB LOVE HONG KONG.
"AND I WANT, AS YOU WANT, TO SEE HONG KONG AS IT CONFIDENTLY ENTERS THE NEXT MILLENNIUM UNDER CHINESE SOVEREIGNTY, A BLAZING BEACON OF GOOD FORTUNE, A DAZZLING EXAMPLE OF WHAT FREE MEN AND WOMEN, PUTTING ADVERSITY AND HARDSHIP BEHIND THEM CAN TOGETHER ACHIEVE.
"THAT IS WHAT WE WANT.
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ALL
AND THAT IS WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE. WE REQUIRE IS TO KEEP OUR CONFIDENCE IN THE VALUES THAT BIND US INTO A THRIVING COMMUNITY.
"WITH THE COURAGE THAT HAS BROUGHT SUCCESS IN THE PAST, AND THE CONFIDENCE THAT SUCCESS HAS EARNED, EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
"I BELIEVE THAT. AND I BELIEVE THAT YOU BELIEVE IT, TOO, THE GOVERNOR SAID.
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