XN000022-1994-09-18 — Page 3

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1994

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TRANSCRIPT OF GOVERNOR'S MEDIA SESSION

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FOLLOWING IS A TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEDIA SESSION BY THE GOVERNOR, RT HON CHRISTOPHER PATTEN, AFTER HIS VISIT TO THE DISTRICT BOARD ELECTION PRESS CENTRE THIS (SUNDAY) AFTERNOON : -

GOVERNOR: I THINK WHAT STRIKES ME MOST ABOUT TODAY IS HOW NORMAL AND STRAIGHT-FORWARD IT ALL IS. A SOPHISTICATED COMMUNITY LIKE HONG KONG,

IT SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISING TO SEE SO MANY PEOPLE TURNING OUT TO PUT THEIR OWN STAMP ON THE WAY THEIR NEIGHBOURHOOD CONDUCTS ITS AFFAIRS. AND THAT'S INDEED WHAT WE'RE SEEING. BY 5.30 PM, ALMOST AS MANY PEOPLE HAD TURNED OUT TO VOTE AS IN THE ENTIRE DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS LAST TIME. AT 5.30 PM, THE FIGURE OF TURNOUT WAS ABOUT 60 PERCENT HIGHER, PERHAPS IT WAS MORE THAN 60 PERCENT HIGHER THAN IN ABSOLUTE TERMS LAST TIME. SO, I VERY MUCH HOPE THAT WE'LL SEE A FAR BIGGER POLL THAN WE DID LAST TIME. AND 1 THINK THAT WILL DEMONSTRATE THAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR DISTRICT BOARDS AND I THINK IT WILL BE A GOOD SIGN FOR NEXT YEAR, FOR THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS AND FOR THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

ELECTIONS.

QUESTION: SIR, IF THERE IS GOING TO BE A GOOD TURNOUT RATE, CAN YOU JUSTIFY THAT CHINA SHOULDN'T DISMANTLE THE THREE-TIER COUNCILS AFTER 19977

GOVERNOR: THAT IS A MATTER FOR CHINESE OFFICIALS TO EXPLAIN AWAY. I WANT TO CONCENTRATE TODAY ON THE GOOD NEWS OF PEOPLE IN HONG KONG VERY CALMLY TURNING OUT. SO FAR, 150 000 MORE THAN THE SIMILAR TIME IN THE LAST DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS TO DETERMINE THEIR LOCAL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE.

QUESTION: GOVERNOR, WHY'RE YOU PLAYING WITH FIGURES. YOU FOCUS ON THE TOTAL NUMBER

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GOVERNOR: THE TEST OF WHETHER IT WAS A SUCCESSFUL ELECTION IS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO TURN OUT TO VOTE. WE WERE VERY SUCCESSFUL THIS YEAR IN OUR VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE SO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE REGISTERED TO VOTE, JUST LIKE THE CANDIDATES, IS FAR HIGHER. THEREFORE, IN ORDER TO GET ABOUT THE SAME PERCENTAGE TURNOUT, YOU NEED ΤΟ GET A FAR LARGER NUMBER OF PEOPLE VOTING AND THAT IS WHAT IS HAPPENING. YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. SOME OF YOU WHO'VE BEEN COMPLAINING THE LAST FEW WEEKS THAT THE REGISTRATION FIGURES WERE THEMSELVES INFLATED BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE SHOULDN'T BE ON THE LIST WERE ON THE LIST. WELL, IN THAT CASE, IT MAKES THE FIGURES THAT WE ARE SEEING TODAY EVEN MORE REMARKABLE. OF COURSE, ANYONE WHO BELIEVES IN DEMOCRACY, WHO BELIEVES IN PEOPLE BEING INVOLVED IN DETERMINING THEIR

OWN

COMMUNITIES WANT TO SEE AS MANY PEOPLE VOTE AS POSSIBLE. BUT IF YOU ASKED ME THIS MORNING, WHETHER I'D BE HAPPY BUT THIS TIME 150,000 MORE PEOPLE HAVE VOTED, I'D HAVE SAID YES, THANK YOU.

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