XN000022-1994-10-06 — Page 26

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1994

WE'VE MADE A NUMBER OF PROPOSALS TO CHINESE OFFICIALS ABOUT WAYS IN WHICH THE WORK OF THE JLG CAN BE SPEEDED UP. WE'VE SUGGESTED MORE MEETINGS. WE'VE SUGGESTED MORE MEETINGS OF

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EXPERTS, AND I'VE SAID AS WELL THAT ONE POSSIBILITY IT'S ONLY A POSSIBILITY, IT'S NOT PUT FORWARD AS AN IRON PROPOSAL, BUT IT IS THE SORT OF THINGS WE COULD DISCUSS. IF IT WOULD BE EASIER TO MAKE PROGRESS BY PUTTING SOME OF THE WORK THAT IS FORMALLY DONE IN THE JLG FOR DISCUSSION INTO INFORMAL GROUPS ASSOCIATED WITH THE JLG AND IF CHINESE OFFICIALS WOULD LIKE SOME OF THEIR ADVISERS IN HONG KONG, FOR EXAMPLE THE MEMBERS OF THE PWC, TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, THEN THAT IS SOMETHING WE WOULD BE VERY HAPPY ΤΟ DISCUSS AND IT MIGHT BE A WAY OF PUTTING MORE VITALITY INTO THE JOINT LIAISON GROUP PROCESS.

OF COURSE AT THE END OF THE DAY WHATEVER MACHINERY YOU SET UP, WHATEVER STRUCTURES YOU CREATE, WHAT WILL ACTUALLY DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THERE IS THE PROGRESS THAT WE NEED IN THE JOINT LIAISON GROUP, IS THE WILL ON BOTH SIDES. I HOPE THAT WE HAVE THE WILL TO DO ALL THAT IS NECESSARY. A POINT I MAKE AGAIN AND AGAIN IS THAT IF WE DON'T GET THROUGH ALL THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN THE JOINT LIAISON GROUP, IT WON'T BE THE 28TH AND LAST GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG WHO SUFFERS -EXCEPT THAT HE WON'T HAVE LOOKED AS COMPETENT AS HE WOULD HAVE LIKED. IT WON'T BE THE OUTGOING SOVEREIGN, THE DEPARTING SOVEREIGN WHO SUFFERS, IT WILL BE THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG AND IN A SENSE IT

WILL BE CHINA BECAUSE HONG KONG WON'T BE AS SUCCESSFUL A CONTRIBUTOR то CHINA'S ECONOMIC MIRACLE AS EVERYBODY IN HONG KONG WOULD LIKE IT TO BE. SO IT IS IN ALL OUR INTERESTS, IT IS IN OUR JOINT

YEARS IN INTERESTS, TO MAKE A GREATER SUCCESS OF THE NEXT FEW

THE JLG.

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WITH THE BEST WILL IN THE WORLD WE'VE ONLY GOT NINE MEETINGS OF THE JOINT LIAISON GROUP LEFT, UNLESS WE INCREASE THE NUMBER EACH YEAR. SO THERE IS AN AWFUL LOT OF WORK TO DO IN A RATHER LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME. WE CAN'T ALLOW ISSUES IN HONG KONG SIMPLY TO ATROPHY, WE HAVE TO GO ON GOVERNING AS BEST WE CAN BUT I HOPE WE CAN DO SO THROUGH THE CO-OPERATIVE FRAMEWORK OF THE JOINT LIAISON GROUP. AS SOON AS THINGS HAVE GOT INITIALS

AS SOON AS THEY'VE GOT NAMES LIKE "JOINT LIAISON GROUP" IT ALL SOUNDS RATHER DULL AND DISTANCED FROM REAL LIFE, BUT THE IMPACT OF THE DECISIONS THE JLG IS MAKING, THE IMPACT ON PEOPLE'S DAILY LIVES, IS AND WILL BE REALLY CONSIDERABLE. SO I DO HOPE THAT WE CAN REGARD THE END OF THE ARGUMENT OVER ELECTORAL ISSUES. I HOPE WE CAN NOW REGARD THIS AUTUMN AND WINTER AS A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY. IF CHINESE OFFICIALS HAVE PROPOSALS WHICH THEY WANT ΤΟ PUT FORWARD FOR SPEEDING UP THE DEBATE ABOUT THESE MATTERS WE WILL BE DELIGHTED TO HEAR THEM. IF ANYBODY ELSE IN THE COMMUNITY HAS IDEAS IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE MAKE AS MUCH PROGRESS AS POSSIBLE AS RAPIDLY AS POSSIBLE. IT'S IN YOUR INTEREST AND IF WE WANT ΤΟ GIVE PEOPLE REASSURANCE ABOUT THE FUTURE THEN THERE IS NO BETTER WAY WE COULD DO IT THAN BY COMING BACK FROM JLG MEETINGS WITH A FEW SUCCESSES UNDER OUR BELT,

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I DON'T KNOW IF YOU SAW MUCH OF THE WORLD CUP, I DARE SAY YOU SAW A BIT MORE THAN I DID, BUT ALL OF US GET PRETTY BORED WITH THOSE GOAL-LESS DRAWS AND I FEAR THAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG MUST BE STARTING TO THINK THAT MEETINGS OF THE JLG ARE LIKE ONE OF THOSE GAMES AND THEY ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING US SCORING A FEW GOALS.

THERE WAS