XN000022-1993-10-07 — Page 24

23

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1993

MAY HAVE QUESTIONS YOU, AND

CAN I JUST SAY A COUPLE OF THINGS WHICH I DARESAY BEEN SAID BEFORE I ARRIVED. WE WANT TO GET IN AS MANY TONIGHT AS POSSIBLE. SO, IT'S IN THE INTERESTS OF ALL OF PARTICULARLY IN THE INTERESTS OF THOSE WHO HAVEN'T YET BEEN ABI E ΤΟ ASK A QUESTION WHEN YOU ASK YOUR QUESTION, TO KEEP YOUR QUESTIONS SHORT.

LET ME LET YOU INTO A SECRET AS WELL. SHORT QUESTIONS ARE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO ANSWER THAN LONG QUESTIONS. SO IF YOU REALLY WANT TO BE VERY KIND TO ME THIS EVENING, BUT VERY UNKIND TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES HERE, YOU ASK ME LONG QUESTIONS. WHAT I'LL DO, I'LL ASK FOR A SHOW OF HANDS, I'LL TRY TO ASK FOR QUESTIONERS FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE AUDIENCE, I'LL CALL ABOUT THREE PEOPLE AT A TIME, AND YOU CAN TAKE IT IN STAND IN A QUEUE AS IT WERE - AT THE MICROPHONES AROUND THE HALL. RIGHT, WHILE THE REST OF YOU ARE PUTTING YOUR HANDS UP, JUST IN ORDER TO GIVE HIM A BIT OF TIME, THERE'S A GENTLEMAN IN A WHEELCHAIR AT THE BACK OF THE HALL NEAR MICROPHONE NO.3. WHILE HE 1S MANEUVERING HIMSELF OVER INTO POSITION TAKE THE GENTLEMAN NEXT TO NO.1 OVER THERE AND FOLLOWING TAKE THE LADY - SHE'S NEXT TO A GENTLEMAN WHO HAS GOT HIS RIGHT ARM UP THE LADY WITH HER LEFT ARM UP AND IF YOU'D LIKE TO COME DOWN ΤΟ NO.4, IS THAT ALRIGHT? IT'S GOING TO BE THE GENTLEMAN AT THE BACK IN THE WHEELCHAIR, THEN NO.1, AND THEN THE LADY. SO FIRST OF ALL, NO.3.

—

I'LL THEN THAT, I'LL

QUESTION:

MR PATTEN,

THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME ASK THE FIRST QUESTION, I WAS HERE LAST YEAR, IN FACT, YOU MADE THREE PROMISES. THE THIRD ONE WAS TO HELP THE DISABLED PEOPLE TO GET ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT WHICH YOU HAVE DONE EXCELLENTLY AND THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN PRELIMINARILY SOLVED. THERE HAS BEEN A MEETING AMONG ALL THE PARTIES CONCERNED BUT NOW I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION I WANT TO ASK. IT'S ABOUT EMPLOYMENT OF THE DISABLED. WHILE HONG KONG IS SO PROSPEROUS, THERE IS A SHOCKING FACT WHICH IS DISCLOSED IN THE REHABILITATION GREEN PAPER. ABOUT 49% OF THE DISABLED PEOPLE IN HONG KONG ARE UNEMPLOYED. IN THE GREEN PAPER MANY OPTIONS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP, FOR EXAMPLE, TAX CONCESSION, то LEGISLATE, TO REQUIRE THE BUSINESSES TO EMPLOY A PROPORTION OF DISABLED PEOPLE AND TO SET UP A FUND FOR SELF-EMPLOYMENT. ALL THESE ARE GOOD OPTIONS, BUT NOT ANY ONE OF THEM HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED. MAY I ASK YOU, MR PATTEN, TO MOTIVATE THE MATTER, TO CALL A MEETING AMONG THE DEPARTMENTS CONCERNED AND THE LARGE BUSINESSES, SUCH AS BANKS AND SUPERMARKETS AND THE ORGANISATIONS OF THE DISABLED PEOPLE SO THAT WE CAN SIT AROUND THE TABLE AND TALK ABOUT HOW TO HELP THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO CANNOT SHARE THE FRUIT OF PROSPERITY OF HONG KONG.

GOVERNOR:

FOLLOWING QUESTIONS THAT I WAS ASKED HERE AND ELSEWHERE LAST YEAR ABOUT THE PROBLEMS WHICH THE DISABLED FIND THEY HAVE TO COPE WITH IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT, WE HAD A MEETING BETWEEN ALL THE DISABLED GROUPS AND ALL THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT, FERRIES, BUSES AND TRAINS.

GOVERNOR:

THAT WAS A VERY POSITIVE MEETING, WE AGREED A RANGE OF MEASURES WHICH THE TRANSPORT OPERATORS COULD TAKE IN ORDER TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS FOR THE DISABLED. WHAT I SAID AT THAT MEETING WAS THAT WE WOULD HAVE ANOTHER SUMMIT THIS YEAR TO REVIEW PROGRESS AND I PROMISE YOU WE WILL CALL THAT MEETING A LITTLE LATER, SO THAT WE SEE EXCTL WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED OVER THE LAST YEAR.

CAN

CAN

/WE HAVE