XN000022-1996-09-25 — Page 5

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Governor: I am sure that their response would be as sensible as mine has just been. I am sure that they will want people to avoid putting themselves in a dangerous position, I am sure they will want others to avoid putting those who are on these boats in a dangerous position. And if everybody continues to behave sensibly, we should be able to avoid any tragedy or any accidents which nobody should want to see.

Question: Mr Patten, what evidence makes you believe that Judge Caird's allegation is false?

Governor: You would denounce me if I was to pre-empt the decisions taken by a tribunal. In view of the public concern and in view of the supreme importance, particularly at a time like this, of confidence in the integrity of the Judiciary, I have taken the extremely unusual, almost unique step, of establishing a tribunal in response to the request by the Chief Justice. I am certainly not going to put myself in a position in which I appear to pre-empt that tribunal's work.

The tribunal has been set up in order to try to establish precisely what happened, in order to establish whether it is necessary to apply to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for the removal of a judge. In the course of its work I am sure that it will be able to underline all the reasons why the public should have confidence in our Judiciary. One or two things were said and written yesterday which I don't think make very much sense because we still haven't established the terms of reference of the tribunal. When we set out the terms of reference they will make perfectly clear that the tribunal is not limited in what it can look at and will come to fair decisions and judicious decisions on the basis of all the facts.

Question: Mr Patten, some political party said that there will be a great surprise when you are delivering your final Policy Speech, so what is the surprise?

Governor: I don't think that there will be any great surprises. I hope people will be pleased if I can set out very clearly what has been achieved in the last few years. I hope they will also be pleased if I set out why Hong Kong is successful and how Hong Kong can continue to be successful. I think people know me well enough now to know that I say in public what I do in private, and I say in public what the government in the future will do in public. So I am not the sort of person who on the whole surprises anybody. That is what perhaps surprises people most. Thank you very much indeed.

Question: What are you expecting from the Foreign Ministers' meeting.tomorrow?