TNAG-2596-FCO40-3784-Appointment-of-Chris-Patten-as-new-Governor-of-Hong-Kong--Ap-1992 — Page 78

I for my part pledge to devote every ounce of my

energies to representing the interests of the people of

Hong Kong. I will stand up for Hong Kong courteously and

firmly.

-

I said just now that we must turn 'one country, two systems', from aspiration to reality. What are the

hallmarks of our system?

Free speech. Free markets. Freedom to go about one's

business without constant interference from the State.

The bedrock of our way of life is a legal framework

that guarantees equality before the law to all. An

independent judiciary in which the citizen can have

confidence. A rule of law that governs all of our dealings, personal and financial.

And a government in which the people participate at all

levels, a government supported by one of the finest public

services in the business.

Flourishing in this environment, we also have here in

Hong Kong perhaps the finest example in the post-war world

of the open market economy; open in two senses:

open to all the many talents of those who work in it; and open to the world with which it trades with such

spectacular success.

So much for the present. But what of the future? would like, if you will allow me, to make 5 brief points

this afternoon.

I

First, we can best secure the future of our

institutions by the effectiveness and vigour with which they

operate. [In the next few years, we can ill afford the

luxury of sterile debate about abstractions or perpetual

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Serious