XN000022-1995-10-11 — Page 19

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Governor: I think that it's flying unnecessarily high for me to go into details about the sort of support we would offer a Chief Executive (Designate) so many months before there is one. I would want to talk about this, both to Chinese officials in the next few months and above all, since we're talking about the person who will succeed me as the Head of the Administration here in Hong Kong, above all I'd like to talk to the Chief Executive her or himself about it. But some of the options are obvious. They're all the things that you would expect us to talk about, we'll have to talk about, like staff, like cars, like office facilities but I don't want to do that prematurely and I don't want to do it in detail in public. I'd like to do it with the Chief Executive (Designate) when she or he is appointed.

Last question.

Question: (Cable News) You have said that you suggest to use the supplementary labour importation scheme to replace the old general labour importation scheme but because the last batch of labour imported in '94, they still have a two year contract in Hong Kong and also you have said that there would be no change to the ACP labour importation system and do you think that the new importation system can make the unemployment situation in Hong Kong better or is it just a play with figures?

Governor: No, we wouldn't have put it forward if we didn't think it would improve the situation and as for people who've signed contracts under the existing scheme, we can't simply rip up their contracts, that would be illegal and I don't think anybody expects us to do it. What we're talking about is no more contracts, no more people coming in under the scheme and the scheme withering on the vine, the scheme dying off over the next year or so. But, I mean I think the approach we've put forward is a sensible and balanced one. It would be, I think, crazy to have a sort of slash and burn approach to labour market issues in Hong Kong. I think that what we've done is sensible and responsible and I very much hope it will get the support of the community.

Thank all

you

very

much indeed.

End/Wednesday, October 11, 1995