TNAG-2449-FCO40-3565-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1992 — Page 30

1992-12-04 18:57 COMMS OFFICE (GOUT HOUSE)

852 526 0995 P.11

THE

HAVE BEEN MADE BEFORE THE LEGISLATION IS ACTUALLY DRAFTED

DRAFTING PROCESS HAS FINISHED. DO YOU HAVE A SITUATION WHERE YOU ARE

WILLING TO CONSIDER SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE TO ANY OF THE PRINCIPAL

PROPOSALS THAT YOU HAVE MADE AND I REALLY REFER TO THE TWO WHICH ARE

CAUSING THE GREATEST SINGLE CONCERN IN HONG KONG, AND IN CHINA ARE

YOU IN A SITUATION, WHERE THE GOVERNMENT IS WILLING TO DISCUSS WITH

THIS COUNCIL BEFORE LEGISLATION GOES FORWARD, IS DRAFTED, CHANGES

WHICH MIGHT BE MADE TO THE PRINCIPAL PROPOSALS?

GOVERNOR: THERE ARE TWO POINTS TO THAT QUESTION. FIRST OF ALL THE

HONOURABLE MEMBER IS, I THINK, ENTIRELY RIGHT IN SAYING THAT OF THE

SEVEN PROPOSALS THAT I PUT IN MY LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL SPEECH IN EARLY

OCTOBER, CONTROVERSY FOCUSES PRINCIPALLY ON TWO. AND I WOULD HAVE

THOUGHT THAT EVEN THOUGH THERE WOULD BE ARGUMENT IN THE COUNCIL ABOUT

SOME OF THE OTHERS, AS THERE HAS BEEN IN THE PAST, THAT THAT ARGUMENT

WOULD BE HOW CAN I PUT IT?

EASILY CONTAINED WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF

DECORUM.

AS FOR THE OTHER TWO PROPOSALS, I CAN ONLY REPEAT WHAT I'VE

SAID EARLIER, IF PROPOSALS COME FORWARD FROM THIS COUNCIL, OR IF

PROPOSALS COME FORWARD FROM ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE COMMUNITY, WHICH IN

MY JUDGMENT, AND IN THE COUNCIL'S, ARE MORE FAIR, ARE BETTER, ARE

BASED ON BETTER PREMISES THAN THE PROPOSALS THAT I'VE MADE, I REMAIN

OPEN-MINDED AND I REMAIN READY TO CONSIDER THEM. IF I HADN'T BEEN IN

THAT STATE OF MIND, WHEN I SPOKE TO THE COUNCIL ON THE 7TH OCTOBER I

WOULD HAVE ANNOUNCED THE DECISIONS THAT

PROPOSALS THAT I WAS PROPOSING.

WAS MAKING, NOT THE

SO I HOPE THAT WITHOUT COMPLICATING

MATTERS TOO MUCH, THE POSITION IS CLEAR TO THE HONOURABLE MEMBER AND

TO OTHER HONOURABLE MEMBERS.

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