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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" this (Sunday) morning:

I got home from Seattle last weekend reasonably pleased about how my trip to Canada and the United States had gone. I'd spoken to big and interested audiences everywhere. I'd met most of the leaders in both countries. In Canada, the government had made clear that they were prepared in principle to concede visa-free access for SAR passports holders, but they needed more reassurance from us about the returnability of any travellers who were breaking the rules, and from China they needed - we all do more information about right of abode. In America, President Clinton's Administration faced with considerable domestic criticism of China, whose standing according to the polls is lower today in the eyes of American people than it was in the aftermath of Tiananmen - members of the Administration told me that they greatly valued my help in pressing the case for unconditional renewal of China's MFN status on Capitol Hill.

Any reading of the Canadian and American press would have also told you that North American audiences regarded me as optimistic about Hong Kong after 1997 - "warily optimistic" in the "New York Times" headline phrases - but there was quite a bit of doubt about whether that optimism was justified by recent events.

The united front demonstrators who greeted me on my return had, however, another view of my visit, and that was reflected by some parts of the media which travel with them from time to time. As I accepted their petitions, recognising a number of familiar faces from other orchestrated "demos", I couldn't help wondering why they were shouting at me rather than having a good old rant down in Happy Valley. Consider, after all, what their main message was.

First, they accused me of "internationalising" Hong Kong. As I've said before, in the long history of nonsense this charge gets a chapter all to itself. Hong Kong is a great international city. It's future is a matter of huge interest.

International interest. That interest is going to grow, partly because all around the world people are going to regard the way Peking treats Hong Kong after 1997 as one of the acid tests of how China is going to behave internationally in the years ahead.

If you don't believe me on that, just listen to what some of China's most distinguished leaders themselves have said on exactly the same lines.

Second, those professional demonstrators also charged me with bad-mouthing Hong Kong, of selling Hong Kong short. Nothing could be further from the truth.