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Governor: No proposal was made to me to convey to Mr Au and Mr Wong. But what President Ramos did say was that he understood my concern and Hong Kong's concern, that he would reflect that to the Justice Ministry and to the other parts of the Administration involved, and that he would come back to me and let me know the outcome. Of course I recognise that he has powers of pardon when the judicial process has been completed, and that is something that I think we touched on elsewhere in our conversation. But there wasn't, as has been hinted in some of the media, an explicit proposal made. And I don't think it would have been right in the circumstances. The President and I are not in the business of, as it were, haggling or negotiating about these men's fate. What we are talking about is the judicial process operating as rapidly as possible and not dragging on forever.

Question: Did he indicate when he will come back to you?

Governor: No, but he knows that I am very concerned about the issue. And I have written to him twice on it so far, once in November, once just before I came to Hong Kong. I don't want to either understate the importance of the issue or to overstate its importance in our bilateral relationship. I think the fact that I was able to discuss it forcefully, vigorously, but without it being in any way an acrimonious discussion, is an indication of the maturity of our relationship. And I suspect that what has some effect on opinion here, is that people in the Philippines know how much concern is aroused locally in the community when you consider the plight of your own citizens in other countries.

Question: Mr Patten, what were your discussions with the Security Council this morning?

Governor: I had a discussion with them both about the debate on Asian values and the place of the Philippines and Hong Kong in the context of that debate. I think that the remarks I made will be available on the record later on. They won't surprise you very much, since I've made them in the past and occasionally aroused a touch of controversy as a result. But they are less controversial in a free society.

Question: Governor, was there any concern expressed about China's ... and perhaps

...?

Governor: No.

Question: In your discussions with Cardinal Sin you said you spoke about the future. Did that include the future of religious freedoms in Hong Kong?