REPORTER: COULD YOU GIVE US SOME DETAILS OF YOUR TALKS IN PEKING
AS TO THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG 7.
LPS: YES, I SPENT FOUR DAYS IN CHINA AND HAD A SERIES OF DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CHINESE MINISTERS, AND IN PARTICULAR THE VICE-PREMIER, JI PENGFEI, AND WITH THE PREMIER, ZHAO ZIYANG,
AND WITH BOTH OF THEM WE DISCUSSED THE QUESTION OF THE FUTURE OF HONG
KONG. NOW, IT WAS VERY CLEAR TO ME THAT THEY ARE ADDRESSING THEIR MINDS TO THIS PROBLEM, THAT THEY RECOGNISE THAT IT IS NOT POSSIBLE SIMPLY, IN A WAY, FOR EVERYBODY TO DO NOTHING, AND THEY GAVE ME TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY WILL BE STUDYING THE LINE
THEY SHOULD TAKE. AND THEY PARTICULARLY SAID THAT WHEN THEY
DO THIS STUDY THEY WILL TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE PARTICULAR POSITION OF HONG KONG, THAT IS TO SAY ITS FREE PORT, AND ITS CENTRE OF BUSINESS AND COMMERCE AND TRADE WHICH THEY REGARD AS VERY IMPORTANT. AND THEY WILL BE STUDYING THESE MATTERS, THEY WILL BE DISCUSSING IT AMONG THEMSELVES AND WITH PEOPLE IN HONG KONG
AND WITH GOVERNMENT. NOW THAT, I THINK, IS A GOOD THING TO LEARN, TO KNOW, BECAUSE WE TOO, ALL OF US DO HAVE TO CONSIDER WHAT SHOULD BE DONE FOR THE FUTURE.
REPORTER: DID THEY GIVE ANY CONCRETE ASSURANCES ABOUT HONG KONG ?.
LPS: NO THEY DIDN'T, BECAUSE AS I SAID THEY DON'T HAVE, THIS IS MY ASSESSMENT ANYWAY, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, THEY DON'T HAVE A DECIDED POSITION ON HONG KONG. WHAT THEY ARE NOW GOING TO DO IS TO STUDY IT. I CAN'T TELL YOU PRECISELY WHEN, BUT THEY RECOGNISE IT NEEDS STUDYING BUT THEY WEREN'T, DECLARING ANY POSITION OR GIVING ANY ASSURANCES BEYOND THE FACT, AS I SAY, THAT THE PARTICULAR ATTRIBUTES OF HONG KONG WERE GOING TO BE TAKEN VERY MUCH INTO ACCOUNT.
REPORTER: DID THEY GIVE ANY INDICATION AS TO WHAT KIND OF LINE
THEY MIGHT TAKE ?.
LPS: NO, THEY DIDN'T. BECAUSE I DON'T BELIVE THAT THEY HAVE DECIDED THE LINE THAT THEY MIGHT TAKE. BUT, AS I SAY, THEY RECOGNISE HONG KONG, THE VALUE OF HONG KONG AND THE PROSPERITY OF HONG KONG, AND THEY DID IN FACT SAY THAT THE PROSPERITY OF HONG KONG MUST NOT BE DAMAGED AND THEY WOULDN'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING TO DO THAT.
REPORTER: WHY DID YOU NOT ASK FOR CONCRETE PROPOSALS AND
A CLEARER ASSESSMENT FROM CHINA ON THE WAY THEY SEE HONG KONG'S
FUTURE ?.
LPS: BECAUSE I DIDN'T BELEIVE THEY WERE READY TO GIVE THEM. AND I WAS QUITE RIGHT, THEY WEREN'T.
/REPORTER:
DO
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