XN000022-1995-10-19 — Page 18

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The.Hong Kong Government is unashamedly pro-business. You don't have to take it from me. Look at the business magazines. We are pro-business because we believe that economic success is the basis for the good life in Hong Kong. The quality of life for the entire community would collapse without thriving industries and firms. And I believe personally that the best economic policy is to get yourself a good business community and then make sure the government stays out of their way.

I noticed that Donald Tsang, whom I mentioned earlier, in speaking to the General Chamber of Commerce a week or two ago, invoked on that occasion not a film title, but invoked that great thinker Mae West in explaining his economic philosophy. His economic philosophy and mine are one and the same, so I too feel able to call on Ms West for support. She offered us a philosophy for policy making and indeed, for life in general when she advised a friend "Keep cool and collect". Can't think what she had in mind. We should keep cool and we'll go on collecting the rewards of sustained and sustainable growth in the freest economy in the world.

Hong Kong has had more than its share of excitements over the years. We've lived on the threshold of turbulent events. We've seen panics and euphoria, markets falling like stones, and markets soaring like rockets. Fortunately, most people including the Government - have kept cool, have kept their nerve. And the results you all see around you. To borrow the old phrase, "No one has made any money betting against Hong Kong".

I guess we can expect one or two more excitements in the years ahead. I mentioned Singapore earlier. Let's be honest among friends, since we can talk so discretely today. What's the main difference between us and them? It's not policy. It's not the Senior Minister or the Governor. It's not the proportion of GDP spent on this or that. What's the main difference between us and Singapore? You know perfectly well. It's 1997.

What we need is the assurance that 1997 isn't going to change anything fundamentally.

Am I going to change anything fundamentally before 1997? Of course not. Do people think about leaving Hong Kong, do they think about even domiciling in Singapore, because of their pre-1997 worries? You know the answer to that.