XN000022-1996-05-11 — Page 4

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Question: Governor Patten, would you ... to expand a bit on the comments you made to 'Newsweek' recently about this feeling that you feel that the people of Hong Kong have been somehow betrayed by the sort of business tycoons?

Governor: Well, you won't find many of those words in what I actually said in 'Newsweek', so I suggest you read what I said in 'Newsweek' which is quite detailed and quite comprehensive and I don't think I want to add to it.

Except to say this. If members of the Preparatory Committee, whether businessmen or not, are going in the next few weeks to make it clear that they actually think, on reflection, that it is important that the Preparatory Committee should talk to pro-democracy supporters in Hong Kong; if they say in the next few weeks that they actually think it would be wrong for the Preparatory Committee to propose gutting the Bill of Rights; if they say they think it would be essential that anybody should be able to stand for the Legislative Council to be elected to it; then obviously we will all be absolutely delighted.

Question: Mr Patten, a couple of things. First of all your reaction to what has been happening at Whitehead over the past two days. And secondly, your reaction to the defeat of the Private Members' Bill which would have granted passports to war-wives and widows.

Governor: Well, can I deal with those two questions, which are important ones, and then go out and meet our friends outside.

First of all on Whitehead. I want to make two points absolutely clear. First of all, the whole community commends and salutes the bravery and courage of the Correctional Services Department officers and the Police officers who have been dealing with this incident, and who have had to deal with similar incidents in the past. They do an exceptionally difficult job extremely well and with considerable restraint, and they have all of my support just as the Chief Secretary set out her support this week, and just as they have the support of the community.

Secondly, nobody, under any circumstances, should condone violence or the sort of things that we have seen at Whitehead this week. There is only one end to this business and that is the return, as soon as possible, of Vietnamese migrants to Vietnam; the return to their own country which is now starting to do better economically. There is no case whatsoever for them staying here.

We have been stepping up our measures to return the Vietnamese migrants; we have increased the pace of the Orderly Repatriation Programme and there will be 600 returning under that programme this month, and we intend to continue to push the programme through until we have achieved our objective And nothing whatsoever, particularly the sort of outrageous behaviour we have seen this week, will stop us.