XN000022-1994-02-24 — Page 5

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1994

SO WE DIFFER WITH CHINA ON THIS IMPORTANT POINT ABOUT THE ELECTIONS. BUT IT DOES NOT FOLLOW THAT WE HAVE TO ARGUE WITH CHINA ABOUT EVERYTHING. LET US TRY TO DRAW A LINE UNDER THIS DISPUTE, AND COOPERATE TOGETHER IN OTHER AREAS IN THE INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG, WE NOW HAVE LESS THAN THREE AND A HALF YEARS LEFT BEFORE THE TRANSITION AND A GREAT DEAL OF WORK TO DO. FOR OUR PART BRITAIN'S AND HONG KONG'S - WE STAND WILLING AND ABLE TO WORK TOGETHER. WITH CHINA IN HONG KONG'S INTERESTS ON OTHER MATTERS, EVEN IF ON THIS, ADMITTEDLY IMPORTANT ONE, IT HAS UNFORTUNATELY NOT PROVED POSSIBLE TO DO SO.

-

FOR

MR PRESIDENT,

MR ANDREW WONG (THROUGH INTERPRETATION):

ALTHOUGH YESTERDAY I VOTED AGAINST THE MOTION MOVED BY MRS ELSIE TU TO DELAY OUR CONSIDERATION OF THE FIRST PART OF THE ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS BILL IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT I DO NOT AGREE WITH HER, THE RATIONALE BEHIND HER MOVE. I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT BOTH CHINA AND BRITAIN SHOULD BE SINCERE AND OPEN TO REACH AN AGREEMENT THROUGH TALKS. FOR THIS REASON I HOPE THAT YOU, MR GOVERNOR, CAN RESPOND TO SEVERAL QUESTIONS. FIRST PERHAPS THAT WAS ANSWERED IN YOUR STATEMENT, THAT IS THE BRITISH SIDE AND THE HONG KONG SIDE ARE STILL WILLING TO TALK WITH THE CHINESE SIDE. NOW I WOULD NOT LIKE TO MENTION MY OWN PROPOSAL, BUT I BELIEVE THAT UNDER THE EXISTING CIRCUMSTANCES THERE WOULD NOT BE ANY FRUITFUL OUTCOME SINCE BOTH SIDES ARE SO INSISTENT ON THEIR OWN STANCE. NOW EVEN IF WE HAVE THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL IN 92 AND WATER IT DOWN IN 93 IT MAY NOT BE ACCEPTED, SO I HOPE THAT MR GOVERNOR YOU WILL CONSIDER ANOTHER CHANNEL TO TALK WITH THE CHINESE SIDE ON ANOTHER METHOD, NOT YOUR ORIGINAL PROPOSAL AND NOT THE PROPOSAL THEY HAVE IN MIND CAN YOU START FROM A THIRD BASIS? MR. GOVERNOR, I HOPE THAT YOU WILL ALSO RESPOND TO ONE POINT, IF THE TALKS GIVE US SUCCESS THEN PLEASE TRY FOR THIS.

THE HONG KONG ADMINISTRATION AND YOU, MR GOVERNOR, IF THERE IS A CHANCE OF REACHING SUCCESS WILL YOU BE WILLING TO WITHDRAW THE REMAINING PART OF THE LEGISLATION AND TO START FROM ANOTHER BASIS AND DISCUSS THAT OTHER PROPOSAL. WELL TECHNICALLY THIS MAY BE POSSIBLE. NOW IF SOME PORTIONS MAY BE DIFFERENT FROM THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL THEN I THINK SOME MODIFICATIONS CAN BE MADE. MOREOVER, WITHIN THE LEGISLATION THAT WE PASSED YESTERDAY, THERE ARE SOME PARTS WHICH ARE AGREED BY BOTH PARTIES THEN THOSE PARTS CAN ALSO BE PUT INTO THE NEW BILL. WELL I AM BEING VERY FRANK. IF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL AND THE FUTURE LEGISLATURE CAN HAVE MOST SEATS RETURNED BY ELECTION AND ABIDE BY PRINCIPLE OF BEING FAIR AND OPEN THEN CAN YOU NOT CONSIDER ADOPTING PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATIVE VOTING SYSTEM? THANK YOU.

GOVERNOR: THE HONOURABLE MEMBER RAISED A NUMBER OF ISSUES, SOME OF THEM ARE A LITTLE COMPLICATED, BUT LET ME TRY TO RESPOND AS CLEARLY AS POSSIBLE. FIRST ON WILLINGNESS TO TALK. IN, I HOPE, AS FACTUAL AND UNPROVOCATIVE A WAY AS POSSIBLE LET ME REMIND THE COUNCIL THAT WE PROPOSED TALKS IN OCTOBER 1992 THAT WE WENT ON SAYING THAT WE WANTED TO TALK FOR THE NEXT SIX OR SEVEN MONTHS WHILE

WE WEREN'T FRANKLY

GETTING A VERY WARM RESPONSE FROM CHINESE OFFICIALS. WE WERE PLEASED WHEN TALKS EVENTUALLY GOT UNDERWAY IN APRIL 1993, ONLY SORRY THAT THEY HAD TAKEN SO LONG TO GET UNDERWAY. WE WOULD HAVE LIKED ΤΟ GO ON TALKING EVEN AFTER TIME HAD PRESSED US TO PUT IN THE SECOND OF THE THREE BILLS WHICH THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL IS GOING TO HAVE то CONSIDER, BUT ALAS CHINESE OFFICIALS INSISTED THAT WE WITHDRAW THE SECOND BILL, THE PARTIAL LEGISLATION THAT WAS PASSED YESTERDAY, BEFORE THEY WERE PREPARED TO COME BACK TO THE TABLE.

/OUR DOOR