XN000022-1994-07-01 — Page 7

FRIDAY, JULY 1, 1994

QUESTION: ADMITTED

HE

WHETHER

MR GOODLAD IN THE INTERVIEW WITH OUR PAPER WEEKS AGO, THAT CHINA FACTOR IS THE CRUCIAL ONE IN CONSIDERING TO SET UP A HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION?

IS

GOVERNOR: I DON'T THINK HE WOULD HAVE SAID ANY SUCH THING. 1 THINK HE WOULD HAVE SAID THAT THE CRUCIAL ISSUE ALWAYS IN ALL THESE MATTERS WHAT'S IN THE BEST INTEREST OF HONG KONG. ANY MORE?

THREE

YEARS, SEEMS THAT

QUESTION: WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE DOING IN THE NEXT GOVERNOR, GIVEN YOU HAVE SUCH TREMENDOUS SUCCESS NOW. IT YOU HAVE ACHIEVED MOST OF WHAT YOU CAME TO HONG KONG TO DO, AREN'T YOU GOING TO GET BORED NOW?

GOVERNOR: YOU MEAN, TAKE UP GOLF, IMPROVE MY BACK SWING.

QUESTION: CUP?

I

THE HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION, WHO DO YOU SUPPORT IN

WORLD

TO AND

SHORTLY PRODUCE

I

A

THE

ONE.

GOVERNOR: I'LL COME TO THAT IMPORTANT ISSUE IN A MOMENT. I'LL TELL YOU TO WHO I'LL SUPPORT IN THE WIMBLEDON AS WELL. THERE IS A HUGE AMOUNT DO OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THE TRANSITION

SOVEREIGNTY IS AS SMOOTH AS POSSIBLE, AND IN ORDER TO CHINESE ENSURE THAT HONG KONG CONTINUES TO GROW AND THRIVE AS A COMMUNITY. I THINK I WOULD DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THREE DIFFERENT JOBS THAT I'VE GOT BIG SOCIAL TO DO AS GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG. FIRST OF ALL, THERE IS A

ECONOMIC AND

AGENDA WHICH WE'VE GOT TO WORK THROUGH. 1 SET OUT MY PROPOSALS

PROGRESS ON THAT, FIRST OF ALL, IN 1992. WE'VE BEEN MAKING ON A NUMBER OF FRONTS, BUT THERE ARE OTHERS WHERE WE STILL HAVEN'T ACHIEVED WHAT I WOULD HAVE LIKE. FOR EXAMPLE, I PUT PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON OUR CARE FOR THE ELDERLY AND WE'LL BE ANNOUNCING OUR PROPOSALS ON PENSIONS, AND ON A PENSION SCHEME. THEY WILL LIVELY DISCUSSIONS IN THE COMMUNITY AND THEY ARE LIVELY DISCUSSION, HOPE SUCCESFULLY DISCUSSIONS WITH CHINA. I THINK WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING IS A VERY, VERY GOOD BARGAIN FOR HONG KONG, A PRUDENT BARGAIN, DECENT DEAL FOR THE ELDERLY BUT THAT WILL BE A VERY BIG ISSUE FOR COMMUNITY INDEED AND THERE ARE OTHERS LIKE IT. IT'S NOT THE ONLY SECONDLY, I'LL HAVE THE JOB IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS OF DOING EVERYTHING I CAN TO BUILD AS GOOD A RELATIONSHIP AS POSSIBLE BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA. AND THERE ARE ISSUES LIKE THE TRANSITION FOR THE CIVIL

WHICH ARE PARTICULARLY SERVICE

IMPORTANT. THIRDLY,

I AND EMPHASIZE THIS IS ALSO IMPORTANT, THEY ARE PERHAPS MORE INTANGIBLE JOB, I'M ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED THAT ONE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT WE FACE IN THE COMUNITY IS THE GAP THAT IS OPENED UP BETWEEN THE LEADERS OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND PRO-DEMOCRACY POLITICIANS. I THINK THAT I'VE GOT

AN

IMPORTANT JOB TO DO IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS IN ENCOURAGING MORE EVERYONE

BECOMES TO RECOGNISE, FIRST OF ALL, THAT AS HONG KONG DEMOCRATIC, IT CAN ALSO BE RESPONSIBLE IN THE DECISION THAT THE

TAKES ; GOVERNMENT

IS AND SECOND, AND ALSO IMPORTANT, THAT THERE

NO CONTRADICTION BETWEEN HAVING A MORE OPEN WAY OF GOVERNMENT AND HAVING A SUCCESSFUL ECONOMY. THE WORLD, AND INDEED ASIA, IS FULL OF EXAMPLES OF EXECUTIVES WHICH ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO ELECTED LEGISLATURES, WHICH ARE ALSO EXTREMELY GOOD ECONOMIES. SO I'VE GOT A JOB TO DO,

IN I THINK, RECONCILING SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES THAT HAVE ARISEN BETWEEN LEADERS OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND LEADERS OF OUR POLITICAL PARTIES. I WOULD LIKE BECKER TO WIN AT WIMBLEDON. I WOULD LIKE AN OUTSIDER TO WIN THE WORLD CUP BUT WHAT I REALLY MEAN IS I'D LIKE BRAZIL TO WIN. LAST QUESTION.

/QUESTION: