XN000022-1995-01-07+08 — Page 3

Transcript of Governor's media session

The following is a transcript of the media session by the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, after taking the salute of a passing-out parade at the Police Training School this (Saturday) morning:-

Governor: I'll say a word on my way in, then you can all shoot off and enjoy the rest of the day. I've very much enjoyed visiting the Police Training School again. It's a great privilege to take part in the passing-out parade. We have, as I said in my speech, one of the best police forces in the world and I think you have seen for yourselves the calibre of those who are entering the Police is exceptionally high, women and men. We've been able in Hong Kong largely because of effective policing but also because of the social and economic stability in our community to achieve reductions in violent crime in the last few years. Obviously, there're no grounds at all for complacency and there are some problems which continue to give us cause for concern, particularly a subject which I have mentioned, before the incidence of drug abuse. But we can, I think, remain confident that we have one of the best crime fighting forces anywhere and I want to pay a particular tribute to all those involved in the training of our police here at the Training School.

Question: Yesterday Mr Eason said that property price will be lower a little bit, do you agree... to have their own property...?

Governor: I think it's extremely difficult to predict movements in property prices. They're affected by a number of factors and it's obviously, as I made clear last year, difficult, indeed dangerous, for governments to intervene too directly in the property market. The measures that we took last year were focussed on that part of the problem which, I think, governments can and should affect, that is the availability of accommodations and the supply of new homes. I think that much as people were worried about property prices soaring last year, in my experience and the experience of other communities, in North America, in Europe for example, something that worries people even more than property prices going up too fast is property prices falling too rapidly, specially when people's assets when their savings are very often tied out in their property. So, I think it's always a question of trying to ensure, in so far as you can, that you strike a reasonable balance. In Hong Kong, one of the enduring realities is going to be that there is, on the whole, a shortage of land and because of Hong Kong's past, present and continuing success, there'll always be a large demand for the short supply of land that actually exists, which will have an effect on prices. Short-term movements may sometimes mean a jump in prices or sometimes a fall. But I don't think that any government which should sensibly be pushed into taking measures which would be unwise in the long term by what happens in the short term.