XN000022-1995-04-25 — Page 5

Governor. If you can tell me what it is that is encouraging Chinese officials to drag their feet, I'll be able to answer your question. But it's very difficult to answer the question since I don't think anybody knows what the problem is.

Question: Do you mean that you won't take action before both sides reach agreement?

Governor: That's not what I said. What I said was that I very much hope that we'll be able to proceed on the agreed basis to implement the legislation. If we can't get agreement, our responsibility is absolutely clear.

Question: Just a follow-up question on the permanent residency. Well, what do you think if both sides - Britain and China - cannot reach an agreement on that issue?

Governor: I really think that you'll have to be quite careful when you talk about both sides. the problem isn't on the Hong Kong Government's side. The problem isn't on the British side. If there isn't an understanding, it won't be from want of trying on our part. That's why the Director of Immigration is in Peking this week and that's why he agreed to talk informally to the members of the PWC. We recognise because we are concerned about the interest of the people of Hong Kong. We want to put their minds at rest. We are concerned to get an understanding and agreement on these issues. It matters to Hong Kong's confidence. I would have thought that that was a shared interest for China, Hong Kong and Britain. One more question.

Question: There are many Western countries having surging addiction problems. Hong Kong's addict population has been relatively stable for 15 years except the younger than 21s. Do you believe Hong Kong has learned how to contain such a problem?

Governor: I think it would be dangerously complacent of us to say that. It is perfectly true that the statistics on drug abuse in Hong Kong are much lower than in many other communities and certainly much lower than in communities of comparable economic and social development. But I have been worried, others have been worried, including the Commissioner of Police, at the alarming increase in statistics in the last few years. And as you say quite rightly at the way that increase seems to have concentrated on young people, on the under 21s. That's why we've decided to launch a much bigger initiative to beat drugs. We are trying to deal with every aspect of the problem from preventive measures, from better education, to tougher policing and penalties at the other end, within the middle the difficult and back breaking work of rehabilitation for those who unfortunately have been abusers, who have been damaging their health and their lives.