XN000022-1994-04-29 — Page 4

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FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 1994

QUESTION: MR PATTEN, THERE ARE SPECULATIONS AND REPORTINGS SAYING THAT YOUR HEART IS NOT IN HONG KONG BUT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, AND YOU DO IT QUITE LOW KEY AND YOU ARE RESTRAINED TO TALK FURTHER ABOUT YOUR REFORM PROPOSAL?

KONG LUDICROUS THE SAME

1997,

THE

DAY

HONG I AM HOPING, GOD WILLING, TO BE THE GOVERNOR OF GOVERNOR:

JUNE UNTIL

30, 1997. ABOUT EVERY OTHER WEEK, SOME NEW STORIES COME OUT LIKE THAT ONE AND I'LL GIVE YOU EXACTLY REPLY. I'LL BE GIVING IT THE REPLY ON THE JUNE 29, BEFORE I DEPART ON 30TH. I AM COMMITTED TO DOING THE BEST POSSIBLE JOB HERE

MY IN HONG KONG. PART OF DOING THAT JOB INVOLVES ME AS INVOLVED PREDECESSORS IN RETURNING TO THE UK FOUR OR FIVE TIMES A YEAR FOR DISCUSSIONS

MAY WITH MINISTERS, TO MAKE SPEECHES. I AM GOING BACK IN

BECAUSE TO MAKE A SPEECH IN MANCHESTER ABOUT HONG KONG AND MANCHESTER MANCHESTER HAS ONE OF THE LARGEST HONG KONG CHINESE COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. SO, I'LL CONTINUE TO BEHAVE IN THAT WAY, I'LL CONTINUE TO WORK AS HARD AS I CAN FOR THE INTEREST AND LIVELIHOOD OF PEOPLE IN HONG KONG AND I'LL CONTINUE TO GIVE THE SORT OF QUESTIONS YOU'VE JUST GIVEN, THE SORT OF REPLY I'VE JUST GIVEN.

+

QUESTION: FREQUENT

BUT, IS

NOT

UNITED KINGDOM IS SO THAT YOU GIVE PEOPLE THAT IMPRESSION THAT YOUR HEART IS IN HONG KONG ?

THAT YOUR VISITS BACK TO

SAME

THE MY VISITS TO THE UK, AS YOU WELL KNOW, ARE ABOUT GOVERNOR: FREQUENCY AS THOSE OF MY PREDECESSORS. IF YOU SERIOUSLY THINK THAT IT'S NOT SENSIBLE TO GO BACK TO THE UK FOUR OR FIVE TIMES A YEAR FOR MEETINGS, THEN YOU DON'T KNOW THE NATURE OF OUR PRESENT POLITICAL RELATIONSHIPS.

MR QUESTION:

PATTEN, DO YOU FEEL THAT THE WHOLE THING CARRIES A SYMBOLIC MEANING THAT AS THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG, YOU ARE BEING NEGLECTED ESPECIALLY BY THE CHINESE OFFICIALS? IF THAT IS TRUE, THEN HOW CAN CO-OPERATION BETWEEN CHINA AND HONG KONG AND BRITAIN GO SMOOTHLY IN THESE THREE YEARS?

I

HONG THE

GOVERNOR: WE ARE PREPARED TO CO-OPERATE AND WORK SMOOTHLY AND I HOPE CHINESE

WE OFFICIALS ARE AS WELL. THAT'S OUR ASPIRATION. THAT'S WHAT LIKE TO SEE HAPPENING. I REPEAT WE WILL BE THE GOVERNMENT, WOULD WILL BE THE GOVERNOR UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF 1997, WORKING HARD FOR

MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT HONG KONG,

IN KONG,

ALLOCATING RESOURCES INTEREST OF HONG KONG. THAT'S WHAT WE WILL BE CONTINUING TO DO RIGHT WE WILL GET DOWN TO THE WIRE. AND I HOPE THAT BETWEEN NOW AND 1997,

FROM CHINESE OFFICIALS WHICH THE SORT OF CO-OPERATION

I THINK EVERYBODY WOULD LIKE TO SEE.

QUESTION: ARE YOU CONFIDENT THAT THERE'LL BE

CO-OPERATION OVER TO AVIATION ISSUES? IN YOUR SPEECH, YOU MENTIONED THAT.... ATTENTION COOPERATION WITH SOUTHERN CHINA, COULD YOU ELABORATE ON THAT, PLEASE?

OBVIOUSLY, THERE GOVERNOR:

PROBLEMS ARE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

AS A RESULT OF THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF

AND AIRPORTS

THE INCREASED FREQUENCY OF AIR SERVICES IN THE REGION, AND THOSE ARE THE SORT OF THE ISSUES THAT WE HAVE TO DISCUSS WITH CHINESE OFFICIALS SO THAT WE MANAGE THE SYSTEMS IN THIS REGION EFFICIENTLY AND SAFETY.

CAN

/QUESTION: