XN000022-1997-02-18 — Page 3

-

2 -

Question: I want to ask you about ... CH Tung and you having consensus that the Director of Monetary Affairs Authority should be chosen by him or he can just (be) appointed by the Financial Secretary?

Governor: I don't want to comment on individual appointments.

Question: One more please, I understand that ... what do you think who is the best candidate for the AG post?

J

Governor: Well, I understand why you ask the question because you are journalists and journalists like to ask interesting questions and to get answers that will get them headlines in newspapers. But you would be literally amazed if I answered the question. You would know that it would be wholly inappropriate for me to answer that question. We have obviously got very distinguished law officers at the moment who give me and give the Executive Council good advice. Hong Kong is full of good lawyers and I am sure Mr Tung will want to have a good lawyer running the Attorney's Chambers, or a Secretary of Justice, and will want to have a good lawyer to make sure that the advice he gets is as excellent as possible and that the rule of law is in good hands. But I really wouldn't be sensible to comment on the different names that have been speculated about in the newspapers.

One more question.

Question: Mr Patten, do you have any response about Mr Martin Lee being criticised by Mr Tung as saying things against the image of Hong Kong? What do you think about that?

Governor: Let me say this. Sometimes Mr Lee has said things that I disagreed with and sometimes I have said things that Mr Lee disagreed with. Sometimes Mr Tung has said things that I disagreed with, sometimes I have said things that Mr Tung has disagreed with. But I don't think when we express our various points of view we are damaging Hong Kong.

Look at the last few years. People all over the world have said all sorts of things about Hong Kong. People have said rude things about the Governor of Hong Kong in other countries. People have said rude things about the Governor of Hong Kong in Britain, in America. Some of those who would support Mr Tung have said critical things about me in the United States and in the United Kingdom. And what's happened in Hong Kong? Hong Kong has gone on prospering, it's continued stable, it's continued successful.