TNAG-2049-FCO40-2919-Visits-by-Lord-Caithness--Minister-of-State-for-Foreign-and--1990 — Page 40

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1990

MINIOTER OF STATE GIVES PRESS CONFERENCE

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THE

FOLLOWING IS THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE GIVEN AFTERNOON BY THE MINICTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS, LORD CAITHNESS:

THTA

GOOD AFTERNOON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO PAY A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY IN HONG KONG THAT HAS ME, MY WIFE AND MY PARTY SO WELCOME. IT HAS BEEN A VERY IMPRESSIVE FIRST VISIT TO HONG KONG AND WE HAVE DONE A LOT OF HARD WORK AND A LOT OF

DISCUSSION.

I THINK IF I COULD START BY, IN FACT, GOING BACK ΤΟ THE BEGINNING. I SAID WHEN I ARRIVED THAT I WOULD FIGHT FOR HONG KONG AND THIS VISIT HAS HELPED ME TO FOCUS ON WHAT THE KEY ISSUES ARE AND IF I SAY THAT THERE ARE THRDE THINGS THAT HAVE STRUCK ME IN THE SIX DAYS THAT I HAVE BEEN HERE. THE FIRST IS THE WIDE SPECTRUM OF PEOPLE I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TALK TO WHO HAVE PUT FORWARD THRIR CONCERNO, VORY REAL CONCERNS ABOUT THE FUTURE, ABOUT THEIR POSITIONS. HOW THEY SEE THINGS, WHAT THEIR CONCERNS ARE TODAY, TOMORROW AND IN THE LONG TERM.

THE SECOND THING IS HOW IMPRESSED I HAVE BEEN BY WHAT IS HAPPENING IN HONG KONG. I HAVE SEEN SUME OF THE RECENT

WORKS, THE CONTAINER TERMINAL, THE NEW UNIVERSITY THAT TS COING UD IN VERY OHORT ORDER. I THINK THAT THAT IS AN ENORMOUSLY ENCOURAGING SIGN AND A SIGN OF A PLACE THAT IS STILL LOOKING FORWARD, STILL LOOKING TO EDUCATE AND TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION AND THAT WAS VERY ENCOURAGING.

I THINK THE THIRD THING THAT STRUCK ME IS HOW MUCH THE HONG KONG PEOPLE ARE DOING FOR THEMSELVES. DOUGLAS HURD HAS SAID THAT HE WOULD LIKE HONG KONG TO GO FORWARD STABLY, POLITICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY SOUND WITH HONG KONG LOOKING AFTER MONG KONG FOR THEMSELVES AND I HAVE BEEN IMPRESSED BY WHAT I HAVE SEEN ON THOSE THREE FRONTS. SOME OF WHAT I HAVE HEARD HAS BEEN AT TOTAL VARIANCE WITH OTHER COMMENTS FROM OTHER PEOPLE. SO I HAVE HAD A WIDE RANGE OF HND DOON VORT HDLFTUL WHEN I GET BACK AND AM ABLE TO AROUT IT TALK.TO.THE SECRETORY OF

VIEWO AND

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BETTY LIU, TVD NEWS: MINISTER, WHAT EXACTLY WILL YOU FIGHT HONG KONG 3

FOR

THAT

LORD CAITHNESS: WHAT EXACTLY, IS TO PUT OVER THE MESSAGE HONG KONG IS A GOOD PLACE FOR THE FUTURE, THAT WE WILL CONTINUE ΤΟ WORK WITH THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT, THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT WILL OBVIOUSLY DO THINGS AS THEY HAVE DONE BEFORE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, THEY WILL GET OUPPORT FROM THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT, WE WILL FIGHT ON THE INTERNATIONAL, SCEME FOR HONG KONG AND FOR HONG KONG'S POSIILUN IN THE SAME WAY AS WE HAVE BEEN DOING BEFORE, BUT I WILL HAVE THE ADDED ADVANTAGE THAT WHEN I DO IT AT LEAST I WILL HAVE BEEN HERE FOR CIX DAYS AND I HOPE TO COME AGAIN IN THE NOT тоо DISTANCE FUTURE REINFORCE MY VIEWS.

ΤΟ

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