XN000022-1995-11-04+05 — Page 7

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Governor's statement

The Governor of Hong Kong, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten made the following statement today (Sunday):

I was shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Mr Rabin was an outstanding statesman who gave a lifetime of service to the people of Israel. It was a cruel irony that he should have lost his life for his courageous efforts to bring peace to his country and its neighbours. On behalf of the people of Hong Kong, I offer my deepest sympathy and condolences to the government and people of Israel.

End/Sunday, November 5, 1995

The Governor's "Letter to Hong Kong"

Following is the full text of the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten's broadcast on RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong today (Sunday):

I got home last Sunday from just over a week away in Britain. It was a glorious day to return. Warm. Sunny. Not much humidity. And was I imagining it? - I didn't get a whiff of the not always so fragrant harbour when I got off the 'plane.

Anyway, Hong Kong looked beautiful, bustling and cheerful. All seemed fine with the world, which would have pleased all our well-wishers overseas. And there are a lot of them. When I said at the airport that, once again, I'd been struck by the interest in Britain about what's happening in Hong Kong, and struck too by all the support for us, I wasn't kidding. At conferences and dinners for businessmen, the halls were full, and the sympathies were generous. Anson Chan found exactly the same thing when she was in Japan the other day.

But I do sometimes ask myself whether ever-bigger audiences are necessarily a good sign. One reason why people come to hear us speak is that they want to be reassured by what we say. Reassured by our answers about Hong Kong's unique future. In many ways, I'd of course be happier if the crowds were smaller and the need for reassurance all the less.