XN000022-1994-05-06 — Page 7

5

FRIDAY, MAY 6, 1994

TRANSCRIPT OF THE GOVERNOR'S MEDIA SESSION

AFTER VISITING THE HK TECHNICAL COLLEGE

* * *

*

THE FOLLOWING IS THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEDIA SESSION BY THE THE RT HON CHRISTOPHER PATTEN, AFTER VISITING THE HONG KONG COLLEGE (TSING YF THIS (FRIDAY) AFTERNOON: -

GOVERNOR, TECHNICAL

QUESTION: MR PATTEN, WHAT'S YOUR REACTION TO LE PING'S STATEMENT TODAY THAT IT'LL BE DISASTROUS IF HONG KONG 19 TURNED INTO A POLITICAL CITY?

GOVERNOR: OBVIOUSLY, DIRECTOR LU PING'S SPEECH WAS VERY CAREFULLY THOUGHT ABOUT AND CAREFULLY WRITTEN. I'VE ONLY HAD A CHANCE OF LOOKING AT IT VERY QUICKLY IN BETWEEN GOING ROUND THIS TECHNICAL COLLEGE AND I THINK IT DESERVES RATHER MORE CAREFUL STUDY. THERE'S PLAINLY A LOT IN THE SPEECH WITH WHICH WE ALL AGREE. LU PING TALKS ABOUT THE VERY IMPORTANT ECONOMIC ROLE WHICH HONG KONG CAN PLAY AND WHICH WE ALL WANT TO SEE HONG KONG PLAY IN THE CONTINUING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA. J THINK THAT SOME PEOPLE WILL BE A LITTLE SURPRISED BY THE RENARKS ABOUT POLITICS. AFTER ALL, HONG KONG ISN'T JUST AN EXAMPLE OF CAPITALISM AT WORK. THERE ARE ALSO FREEDOMS AND) VALUES IN THE INSTITUTIONS OF AN OPEN SOCIETY WHICH HAVE HELPED TO CREATE OUR PROSPERITY HERE IN HONG KONG. AND CHINA ITSELF HAS RECOGNISED THIS.

CHINA ITSELF HAS SIGNED UP IN THE JOINT DECLARATION AND IN THE BASIC LAW TO A PROCESS OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT IN HONG KONG WHICH RECOGNISES THE MODEST BUT GROWING ASPIRATIONS OF THE PEOPLE

OF THE COMMUNITY, OF YOUNG PEOPLE LIKE THE ONES I HAVE MET TODAY. SO, I THINK THAT THERE WILL BE SOME QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUT THAT BUT OVERALL, I HOPE THAT PEOPLE WILL SEE IT AS A POSITIVE STATEMENT ABOUT HONG KONG'S FUTURE. AND I HOPE THAT IF THERE ARE DISAGREEMENTS ABOUT ISSUES 1.IKE POLITICS OR SOME ELEMENTS OF POLITICS, WE CAN TALK CALMLY AND RATIONALLY TO ONE ANOTHER AND PERHAPS PUT THEM ON ONE SIDE WHILE WE GFT ON WITH THE LIVELIHOOD ISSUES WHICH DIRECTOR LU PING PUT SO MUCH EMPHASIS ON IN HIS SPEECH, AND I THINK ON THAT, PEOPLE WILL BE HOPING THAT THE SPEECH IS FOLLOWED BY PRACTICAL ACTIONS AND PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF PROGRESS IN CO-OPERATION.

QUESTION: BUT DO YOU SEE THAT KIND OF REMARKS AS SNUB TOWARDS THE POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF HONG KONG?

A

KIND OF

GOVERNOR: I DON'T THINK THAT I WANT TO USE THAT SORT OF LANGUAGE. I'VE SAID BEFORE THAT I DON'T THINK YOU CAN TREAT HONG KONG AS JUST AN ECONOMIC LABORATORY. IT'S A LIVING, THRIVING COMMUNITY WITH ALI. SORTS OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS, MODEST ONES, MODERATE ONES. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A COMMUNITY WHICH IS THE EIGHTH LARGEST TRADING COMMUNITY IN THE WORLD. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND IMPRESSIVE COMMUNITIES ANYWHERE AND WE ARE ALSO TALKING ABOUT CHINA'S AGREEMENT TO THE STEADY, NOT TOO RAPID. BUT THE STEADY POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF HONG KONG. SO, I THINK PEOPLE WILL WANT TO REMEMBER THAT WHEN THEY READ DIRECTOR LU PING'S WORDS. AND I AM SURE THAT WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM HIM AND OTHER CHINESE OFFICIALS HOW THEY INTERPRET THE THINGS THAT THEY'VE AGREED TO IN THE JOINT DECLARATION ABOUT HONG KONG'S VALUES AND HONG KONG'S FREEDOMS. ALL THE THINGS WHICH THE YOUNG AND INTELLIGENT STUDENTS I WAS TALKING TO TODAY WOULD TAKE COMPLETELY FOR GRANTED.

/QUESTION: