XN000022-1995-10-11 — Page 14

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Question: (Daily Telegraph) Governor, you say that you will extend the hand of co- operation to the Chief Executive (Designate) and to the Preparatory Committee. Will the hand also be outstretched to members of the provisional legislature who will presumably be nominated before 1997?

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Governor: There is no requirement for a provisional legislature because there is an extremely good one which I have been addressing this afternoon. And just in case anybody hadn't got the point in the previous 150 times I've answered the question, there will be nothing done by this Administration or by the British Government which will in any way undermine the authority and credibility of the Legislative Council which is the best possible reflection of the aspirations and ambitions of the people of Hong Kong.

Question: (The Times) This is a two-part question. Is there any particular message in your speech for Sir Percy Cradock? And in that regard, sorry, if you remember who he is. And in that regard you may remember that he said that one of the things that

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could do with your dwindling powers was to veto the work, as he said, of Martin Lee and his men. Now it's been at least 40, if not 50 years, since a Governor in fact exercised a veto here and I was wondering what the veto was doing in your speech?

Governor: Well, first of all, I'm glad that Sir Percy has noticed that I've been trying to lose weight. He's about the only person of whom I've heard who seems to think that that is happening but perhaps that is a reflection of the fact that he's been off the scene in Hong Kong for so many years.

Life's too short and full of too many agreeable and important things for me to spend my entire time reflecting on the obiter dictum of a very retired diplomat. I'm sure that, this shows how I believe in the benign nature of everybody's motivation, I'm sure that he was trying to be helpful as ever but frankly I don't think that his advice on handling the democratic process is one based on much experience, either in the United Kingdom or here.

Question: (follow-up) In that case, it's the second part that I'm interested in. Because practically nobody in this room except maybe me can remember so far back that a Governor ever used the veto, why did you decide to put it into your speech? It's practically, it's really a kind of dodo with this Government.