XN000022-1993-12-20 — Page 6

เก

MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1993

THE

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QUESTION: GOVERNOR YOU GAVE A PRETTY GOOD RUN TO THE FINANCIAL TIME ON

17 ROUNDS OF NEGOTIATIONS

THAT'S PROBABLY THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNTS SO FAR. DON'T YOU THINK THAT THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG WANT TO RECEIVE A FULL AND COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNTING OF THOSE ROUNDS AND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE?

17

TALKS

GOVERNOR: I DON'T THINK THAT I SAID ANYTHING IN THAT INTERVIEW WHICH

SAID ON A NUMBER OF OTHER OCCASIONS. THERE WERE I HADN'T

SEVERAL

CHINESE OFFICIALS,

AND I THINK INCLUDING DIRECTOR LU PING

MINISTER JIANG ENZHU, WHO COMMENTED AT SOME LENGTH AS WELL AND THERE WERE OBVIOUSLY A NUMBER OF OTHER SOURCES WHICH THE JOURNALISTS DIDN'T

HAD USED.

THE I'VE SAID BEFORE AND I REPEAT THAT IF QUESTION

то WERE ENDED AND WE WERE MOVING AHEAD WITH OTHER LEGISLATION WE HAVE

AND THE MAKE CLEAR TO THE COMMUNITY THE BACKGROUND TO THAT DECISION BACKGROUND TO WHAT HAD HAPPENED.

AT A WE ARE IN NO DIFFICULTY, IF CERTAIN POINT IT IS DECIDED ON BOTH SIDES THAT IT WOULD BE SENSIBLE TO TALK ABOUT THE WAY THAT THE DISCUSSIONS HAVE SHAPED UP, I THINK PEOPLE

AND IN

SENSIBLE KONG WOULD RECOGNISE THAT WE'VE BEEN FLEXIBLE HONG

THINK WITHOUT ABANDONING THE PRINCIPLES WHICH PEOPLE IN HONG KONG I RIGHTLY FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT. SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS SINCE ASKING WE ARE USED TO LIVING IN AN OPEN SOCIETY WITH PEOPLE LIKE YOU

OPEN AS US QUESTIONS. WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFICULTY IN BEING AS NECESSARY ABOUT THE 17 ROUNDS OF DISCUSSIONS.

QUESTION: WHEN WILL SIR ROBIN MCLAREN RETURN TO BEIJING ?

GOVERNOR:

KNOW

I DON'T KNOW. HE'S BEEN RECEIVING TREATMENT. AS YOU HE HAD AN OPERATION ON HIS BACK. HE WAS IN VERY CONSIDERABLE 'PAIN DURING CERTAINLY THE LAST FEW ROUNDS OF TALKS AND SITTING ALL DAY IN A

I

PARTICULARLY BACK CHAIR IN A NEGOTIATING ROOM WASN'T,

THINK, HARD GOOD FOR HIS BACK. SO HE WAS IN VERY CONSIDERABLE PAIN. I THINK SOME OF YOU WHO WERE UP IN PEKING COULD PROBABLY DETECT THAT FROM THE WAY YOU NODDING. WALKED AND SOME OF THE OTHER DIFFICULTIES, AS I SEE SO THE SOONER SIR ROBIN CAN RETURN TO HIS JOB, I AM SURE THE THAT'S WHAT HE WOULD WANT TO DO. HE'S AN EXTREMELY HARDWORKING PUBLIC LADY SERVANT AND

AM SURE HE'LL WANT TO BE BACK IN MCLAREN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. LAST QUESTION.

HE

HARNESS

BETTER.

WITH

QUESTION: MR PATTEN, DO YOU THINK HE WILL SEEK AN EARLY IS HE GOING TO RETIRE NEXT YEAR?

RETIREMENT,

GOVERNOR:

NO, I DON'T. I THINK THAT WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS

HE HAS BEEN AN OUTSTANDING EARLY AS POSSIBLE A RETURN TO FULL HEALTH.

KONG. AMBASSADOR FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM. HE'S A GREAT FRIEND OF HONG

PUBLIC IN

BEEN HE'S WORKED

HONG KONG AND MUCH OF HIS

CHINA. DEVOTED TO HONG KONG AS WELL AS TO BRITAIN'S RELATIONSHIP WITH

SOONER AND THE

HE CAN GET BACK INTO HARNESS THE

A AMBASSADOR, EXCELLENT

GREAT EXPERT ON RELATIONSHIP, AND AS I'VE SAID, A SERVANT OF HONG KONG.

AS

CAREER

HAS

BETTER.

HE'S THE BRITISH-CHINA

AN

ARE

THE

QUESTION: HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT NEARLY ALL THE POLITICAL PARTIES

CENTRAL PROVIDENT SAYING THAT UNLESS THE GOVERNMENT INTRODUCES THE FUND AS WELL AS THE NEW SCHEME, OR ELSE THEY MAY NOT ACCEPT ONLY LATTER ONE?

/GOVERNOR: