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Transcript of the Governor and Mr Jeremy Hanley's media session

Following is the transcript of the media session by the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, and the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hanley, after visiting the Sai Kung District this (Saturday) morning:

Governor: I am delighted that Mr Hanley is able to spend some time with us again in Hong Kong, and particularly pleased that he has been able to visit Sai Kung with me this morning to see the University of Science and Technology, and to see this estate and the work that is being done in Tseung Kwan O.

We have invested, I suppose, about 12 billion so far in this new town and there will be about twice that much still to invest. And as you know, we want to get on with building the railway extension which is a project which we are considering at the moment, and we also want to complete the work on the hospital which I announced a couple of years ago. Those are important facilities for the community and the sooner we can get on with them and finish them the better. I am very pleased to see this excellent centre for the elderly and to see so many cheerful senior citizens here.

Mr Hanley: And also to see how young they really look. And it is a fact that there is in that room a lot of sunshine on a very rainy day. And I thank the Governor very much indeed for bringing me here to Sai Kung, it is a remarkably inspirational place. These communities are so important to thousands of people and it is wonderful to see the way that the standards that have been set here are so high, and the way that the community is benefiting from the investment.

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And indeed, as the Governor said, I can see for myself the foundations for the new hospital which will be quite a tremendous resource, and the way in which the area has grown since I was here ten years ago in this particular spot ten years ago. 1 couldn't have recognised it. So thank you, Governor, for bringing me here- and seeing such happiness.

Question: Mr Hanley, some people in Hong Kong say that actually the British Government has given up its fight against the setting up of the Provisional Legislature. How far is this true?

Mr Hanley: It is not true at all, for the simple reason that I spent my meetings in Peking last week with all three people that I met - Vice Minister Wang, Lu Ping and Qian Qichen - and we expressed very strongly what our position is: that we believe that LegCo has been properly elected and should complete its usual term. And I look forward to further discussions on the subject between the Foreign Minister, Malcolm Rifkind, and Qian Qichen in New York on the 26th of this month.