XN000022-1994-09-26 — Page 4

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1994

TRANSCRIPT OF GOVERNOR'S MEDIA SESSION

FOLLOWING IS THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEDIA SESSION BY THE GOVERNOR, THE RT HON CHRISTOPHER PATTEN, AFTER OFFICIATING AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE WORLD PRESIDENTS' ORGANISATION TODAY (MONDAY);

GOVERNOR: I'VE JUST BEEN DELIVERING A SPEECH TO THE WORLD PRESIDENTS' ORGANISATION WHICH WE'LL RELEASE SO THAT YOU'LL HAVE A TEXT. MY MESSAGES HAVE BEEN QUITE A SIMPLE ONE. THIS IS THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INITIALING OF THE JOINT DECLARATION, A HISTORIC EVENT IN HONG KONG AND, I THINK, FOR CHINA AND BRITAIN AS WELL. IT IS A TREATY WHICH COVERS HONG KONG FOR 63 YEARS FROM ITS SIGNATURE TO 50 YEARS AFTER 1997 AND I THINK IF WE LOOK BACK ON THE FIRST TEN YEARS WHATEVER THE DIFFICULTIES, WE HAVE SUCCEEDED IN ENSURING THAT HONG KONG HAS MORE CONFIDENCE, MORE PROSPERITY, MORE STABILITY. OUR ECONOMY IS PRETTY WELL DOUBLE IN THE LAST TEN YEARS. WE'VE SEEN HUGE ADVANCES IN SOCIAL PROVISION AND EDUCATION, AND HOUSING AND SO ON. BUT, THERE ARE DIFFICULTIES AND PROBLEMS. NOBODY SHOULD BE PARTICULARLY SURPRISED BY THAT, WHAT WE'VE GOT TO DO IS TO TRY TO SOLVE THEM IN AS CO-OPERATIVE THE WAY AS POSSIBLE. WE WON'T BE ABLE TO AGREE ALL THE TIME. BUT WE'VE GOT TO AGREE AS MUCH OF THE TIME AS WE CAN. I THINK THAT IS THE MESSAGE WHICH FOREIGN MINISTER, DOUGLAS HURD, WILL BE TAKING TO NEW YORK THIS WEEK. WE ARE VERY MUCH HOPING THAT THE PROGRESS THROUGH JOINT LIAISON GROUP AND, IN ANOTHER WAY, WE'RE TACKLING SOME OF PRACTICAL PROBLEMS THAT HONG KONG HAS TO FACE. THE PROGRESS CAN NUCH MORE RAPID, WE DO HAVE SOME DIFFICULTIES TO OVERCOME BUT I AM SURE THAT IN THE RIGHT SPIRIT, WE'LL BE ABLE TO TAKE THEM ON AND WIN AS HONG KONG AS ONE ON VIRTUALLY EVERY OTHER FRONT IN THE LAST DECADE.

QUESTION: GOVERNOR, DESPITE WHAT YOU SAID AND DESPITE WHAT THE JOINT DECLARATION SAYS, BRITAIN AND CHINA DID GO BACK SEPARATE

WAYS, YOU KNOW, BUILDING THEIR STOVES FOR HONG KONG. DOES THAT MEAN THAT THE JOINT DECLARATION IS MERELY A DOCUMENT WHICH EXISTS IN NAME ONLY AND WILL YOU INCLUDE SOMETHING IN YOUR POLICY SPEECH TO IMPROVE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES?

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GOVERNOR: I THINK YOU'D BETTER WAIT FOR MY POLICY SPEECH AND I DON'T THINK YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED. OBVIOUSLY, I WILL WANT TO TALK ABOUT CO-OPERATION TO SECURE A BETTER FUTURE. I DON'T THINK THAT BRITAIN HAS BEEN BUILDING ANOTHER STOVE HERE IN HONG KONG. HONG KONG'S BEEN BUILDING A STOVE, A VERY, VERY SUCCESSFUL ONE ON WHICH WE HAD SOME EXTREMELY GOOD MEALS AND WE'LL GO ON HAVING SOME VERY GOOD MEALS. I RECOGNISE THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO REACH AGREEMENT, ALAS, ON ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR 1994/95 BUT WE HAD THE FIRST OF OUR ELECTIONS JUST OVER A WEEK AGO, THE DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS. THEY WENT VERY SUCCESSFULLY, AN EXAMPLE OF HOW HONG KONG CAN DO THIS MATTER COMPETENTLY AND DECENTLY AND REASONABLY. BUT, I HOPE WE CAN NOW PUT THE ARGUMENT ABOUT ELECTORAL MATTERS ON ONE SIDE AND GET ON WITH EVERYTHING ELSE BECAUSE THERE'S AWFUL LOT ELSE ON WHICH WE NEED TO co- OPERATE. IT'S IN THE INTEREST OF THE FUTURE SAR GOVERNMENT THAT WE DO SO. THERE IS NO POINT IN MAKING ITS JOB MORE DIFFICULTY. I THINK THAT IT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY IN THE NEXT THOUSAND DAYS TO ENSURE THAT THE SAR GOVERNMENT CAN GET OFF TO AS GOOD A START AS POSSIBLE WITH SOUND FINANCES, WITH A GOOD INFRASTRUCTURE, WITH ALL THE INGREDIENTS FOR CONTINUING ECONOMIC SUCCESS. IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT HONG KONG'S ACHIEVED IN THE LAST TEN YEARS, HOW CAN YOU BELIEVE SOME OF THE PRETTY STRANGE CRITICISMS THAT ARE MADE ABOUT OUR INTENTION FOR THE FUTURE. SO, WE'LL GO ON DOING AS GOOD A JOB AS WE CAN.

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