XN000022-1996-03-27 — Page 3

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Question: It seems like it's what they're doing. They're toying with....

Governor: I've answered your question very extensively and even if you put it in another way, you won't get a different answer. Okay, anything else? Thank you very much indeed.

End

Transcript of the Governor's media session after airport visit

Following is the transcript of the media session by the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, after visiting the Airport Command of the Customs and Excise Department this (Wednesday) afternoon:

Governor: As you know, since our Drugs Summit last March, I've undertaken a series of visits to see projects which are involved in preventive education, in the care and rehabilitation of drug abusers and to see our efforts to enforce the law and to prevent drugs coming into Hong Kong or indeed to prevent the traffic of drugs through Hong Kong. Our Customs and Excise Department has an absolutely key role of course in our fight against drugs and I've been interested to see some of their work today. They have to operate in one of the busiest airports in the world with of course the prospect of operating on an even larger scale when the new airport at Chek Lap Kok opens. And I'm pleased to see the efficient and comprehensive way in which they're doing their job. As you know, we're holding another drug summit in May, on the 23rd of May, when we will be reviewing the progress that we've made over the last year. And I'm sure we'll be looking at the possibility of new projects which can be funded from our beat drugs fund of $350 million which was agreed by the Legislative Council earlier this month. I'd just like to mention one other thing, not because it makes us complacent, but because it shows that we are having some effect in our campaign. Yesterday ACAN released the latest figures on drug abusers and they showed that in the last quarter of last year, the figures particularly for young drug abusers had fallen quite sharply on the figures of a year before. Now many communities at the moment are seeing the figures moving in the other direction. So that is reasonably good news for Hong Kong, but I repeat, it is not news that should make us complacent. We had been seeing in previous years the figures edge steadily upwards. I hope that we've made a turn round in that situation but we're going to continue battling our way right across the board with the Customs and Excise as part of the cutting edge of our operation so we can keep the figures going down and I hope more dramatically down. But we will be reviewing all that on the 23rd of May at the next Drugs Summit.