XN000022-1996-07-15 — Page 2

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Transcript of Governor's media session

Following is the transcript of the media session by the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, on his return from London at the airport this (Monday) morning:

Governor: Good morning. I've had a very full and interesting visit to Brussels and London. While I was in Brussels, I had meetings with the President of the Commission, Mr Santer, the two Vice-Presidents and two of the Commissioners Senor Monti and Madam Gradin. The main purposes of my meetings in Brussels was first of all to discuss the extremely close economic and trading relationship between Europe and Hong Kong. And secondly, to take forward discussions on visa-free access for SAR passport holders. The situation is complicated in Europe. Both by the differences between the so-called Shenghen countries and the other members of the European Union, and by the fact that some European Union States give us present visa-free access to BDTC passport holders and presumably would do the same for BNO passport holders but have not given any indications about their positions on SAR passport holders. And other European Union countries don't give visa-free access to anyone from Hong Kong. What we are pressing for obviously in the first place is to secure as generous treatment of SAR passport holders as exists for BDTC passport holders and if we can accomplish that it would be an advance but we'll obviously go for more than that in due course. It's a question principally for individual member states, a point which the Chief Secretary and the Financial Secretary have made in the past and which I made again. So we've got quite a bit of lobbying in the capitals of the member states as well as in Brussels as such and we'll be doing as much as we can over the coming months in Europe as well as elsewhere in the world. It was gratifying a few months ago to secure agreement in principle at least from the Canadians to visa- free access for SAR passport holders. We've had good responses elsewhere for example in Singapore. But there is still a long way to go, and I have to say that there is quite a hill for us to climb in Europe.

In London I had a meetings with the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and officials. I made a speech, I also had a useful meeting with the Prince of Wales. And the subjects of our meetings were to consider the state of play on the JLG agenda between the last meeting and the next one and generally to review the situation here in Hong Kong, not least our continuing economic strength. But we are obviously looking to our agenda for the last year before the handover next summer so that we can achieve as much as possible as we move towards what we hope will be a successful transition. Okay.

Question: Governor, what is your comment on a report saying that the Prime Minister and you are already agreed that the Chief secretary and some other two or three Secretaries will quit their posts temporarily during next year to help the Chief Executive Designate to set up the SAR Government?

Governor: I don't know of any basis for that report.