XN000022-1994-10-05 — Page 49

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1994

HONOURABLE, SENSIBLE CO-OPERATION WITH CHINA

EVERYTHING THAT IS HONOURABLE AND SENSIBLE WILL BE DONE TO CO- OPERATE WITH CHINA FOR THE REMAINING 1,000 DAYS OF BRITISH RULE IN HONG KONG, THE GOVERNOR, THE RT HON CHRISTOPHER PATTEN, TOLD THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY (WEDNESDAY).

CONCLUDING HIS ANNUAL ADDRESS, HE SAID CO-OPERATION, HOWEVER, WAS NOT A ONE-WAY STREET; NOR WAS SINCERITY TO BE JUDGED BY WHETHER ONE PARTY ALWAYS AGREED WITH THE OTHER.

"THAT IS NOT WHAT THE REAL WORLD IS LIKE. CO-OPERATION MUST MEAN EXACTLY WHAT IT SAYS, WORKING TOGETHER: IN THIS CASE, WORKING TOGETHER IN HONG KONG'S INTERESTS, PUTTING BEHIND US PAST DIFFERENCES AND FOCUSING, INSTEAD, ON HOW TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE FOR THE MEN AND WOMEN OF HONG KONG," HE SAID.

MR PATTEN SAID HE HAD HEARD CHINESE OFFICIALS SAY THAT ENSURING THE PROSPERITY AND FUTURE WELL-BEING OF HONG KONG WAS FOR THEM A TREMENDOUS AND HISTORIC TASK. HE FULLY UNDERSTANDS THEIR COMMITMENT, NOT LEAST FOR REASONS OF HISTORY AND PATRIOTISM, TO THE SUCCESS OF THAT TASK.

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"WHATEVER OUR DISAGREEMENTS, WHATEVER OUR DIFFERENCES PERCEPTION AND BACKGROUND, WHATEVER THE MISUNDERSTANDINGS AND THE MISTRUST, I URGE THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE, TOO, ARE SIMILARLY COMMITTED, HE SAID.

MR PATTEN SAID HE HAD TRIED TO PROVIDE A CANDID ASSESSMENT NOT ONLY OF SUCCESSES BUT ALSO OF THE SERIOUS PROBLEMS WHICH WOULD RESULT FROM NOT COMPLETING THE JOINT LIAISON GROUP'S AGENDA BY 1997 AND FROM FAILING TO PRESS ON WITH THE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES THAT WOULD MEET THE NEEDS OF HONG KONG BEYOND 1997.

"IT WILL BE IN NO ONE'S INTERESTS IF THESE PROBLEMS ARE NOT RESOLVED, NOT IN BRITAIN'S, NOT IN HONG KONG'S, NOT, IF I MAY SAY So, IN CHINA'S.'

HE

SAID: "WE ARE NOT ARROGANT ABOUT HONG KONG'S ROLE IN CHINA OR THE REGION. NO ONE SHOULD IMAGINE THAT HONG KONG IS INDISPENSABLE то THE WELL-BEING OF A VAST NATION LIKE CHINA. NOR IS HONG KONG INDISPENSABLE TO CHINA'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, DESPITE THE IMPORTANT PART PLAYED BY HONG KONG TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN THE MODERNISATION PROCESS.

"BUT WE CANNOT FORGET THAT THIS REMARKABLE TERRITORY, WITH A DYNAMIC POPULATION OF ONLY SIX MILLION, DOES REPRESENT ABOUT A QUARTER OF CHINA'S GDP.

"GIVEN THE CHANCE, HONG KONG HAS A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER 1997. IT IS, I AM SURE, THE EARNEST HOPE THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG THAT THEY BE ALLOWED ΤΟ MAKE THAT CONTRIBUTION.

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