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Following is the transcript of the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, at a question and answer session after a Plenary Session today (Saturday) at the World Economic Forum.
Question (Cliff Bale, RTHK): The Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew predicted that it might take Hong Kong and other NIEs, as he put it, two to three years to recover. Is that the time frame you have in mind? Do you agree with this analysis?
Chief Executive: Well I don't want to be specific at this time except to say that I think in 1998 we have reached the bottom. We are now going sideways. We would hope that the recovery would come as soon as possible. Our government really is doing all it can. What is now important is to make sure the external environment develops more favourably and then we can hope for recovery earlier. So much still depends on the external environment.
Question (Cliff Bale, RTHK): Do you think a two to three year time frame though is likely?
Chief Executive: Cliff, I don't want to be pinned down specifically on a time frame. So if the external environment is very favourable it may even come somewhat sooner.
Question(Sheel Kohli, SCMP): You mentioned in the Congress Centre [Plenary Session] just now that you weren't keen on perhaps receiving prescriptions from other countries. That was my understanding, you weren't keen on following other people's advice that closely. That it was a unique situation that each country had to develop on their own, to recover on their own. I was wondering if you could just expand on that, if I've got the sense of that right. Am I wrong?
Chief Executive: Yes, you got it wrong.
Question(Sheel Kohli, SCMP): You weren't talking about how everybody needs to do it on their own?
Chief Executive: No, this was in a discussion on what are Asian values. And I was saying that in fact people all around the world have a certain set of basic values. Whether you are Chinese, you are American, you are European, whatever the nationality is. For instance we all value family. We all know the importance of education. We all know that we should respect our elders. And they are very core values that we all share. What I was trying to say is that different countries with different cultures and different history, different stages of development may have different priorities and different emphasis, depending where you are. And from that point of view it is important that each one find its own way forward.
Question (Sheel Kohli, SCMP): And does this fit in with your 'back to basics' idea you were talking about?
Chief Executive: No this has got nothing to do with this. Back to the basics I was referring to was really sound fiscal policies, you know this particular area.
Question: (Sheel Kohli, SCMP): Education, accountability ..
Chief Executive: What I said was for economies to recover there are some fundamentals we must observe. Good corporate governance, transparencies, prudent financial management, good banking supervision and regulations, education. Some of the fundamentals we must really continue to look at very seriously. Some of them we are very good at already, others we need to further enhance. And these are the fundamentals for a strong economy.
Question(Cliff Bale, RTHK): Could I return to the question I asked you yesterday on the Court of Final Appeal ruling and ask you very, very specifically do you think it reflects badly on the legal advice that the government was getting on the interpretation of the Basic Law?
Chief Executive: I don't think so at all. As I said to you yesterday, that, our common law system is like this. Our case was being put forward and the Court of Final Appeal has made a decision. And we respect that decision.
Question(Cliff Bale, RTHK): But does it not stand the government's interpretation of the Basic Law on this matter on its head?
Chief Executive: Cliff, I think you have to look at . . . and you have been brought up by the common law. You have to understand this is the legal process - that two sides present a case, one side will win, the other side will lose. And that's the way it's going to work.
Question(Cliff Bale, RTHK): And how concerned are you by the practical implications of this ruling? In other words having to let in many more children from the Mainland and the effect this will have on the social services, schools in Hong Kong.
Chief Executive: The implications of that particular decision are being evaluated in Hong Kong. Obviously I am away from Hong Kong so I am not aware of the details but I am sure they are being actively evaluated. And we need to be concerned about whatever additional children might come in suddenly, the impact on education, on schools. On the other hand, we have to be sure that everybody continues to exercise restraint because coming across illegally probably is not a good thing to do, it's not a safe thing to do. [Mr Tung used a Cantonese expression 'tau do' to explain what he meant by 'illegaly'].
Question(Sheel Kohli, SCMP): On the issue of the land sale freeze. There is growing pressure amongst some of the big property developers and some of the small ones as well to see that lifted. I was wondering whether you could give us any indication as to which way you might be going on that?
Chief Executive: No, sorry, I can't give you any indication but as I said, when the announcement was made to freeze land sales for nine months up to the end of March, I did say that during the first quarter would be making an announcement as to what we were going to do. And we shall make that announcement at the appropriate time, in the first quarter of this year.
Question: (Sheel Kohli, SCMP): Before March?
Chief Executive: It will not be too long.
Question(Sheel Kohli, SCMP): This month, before the Budget?
Chief Executive: It will not be too long.
Question(Yau Shing-mu, Economic Times): How do you round up your trip here and what sort of impression do you have after talking to so many leaders of the world?
Chief Executive: It's cold.
Question(Yau Shing-mu, Economic Times): The reception was cold! (laughter).
Chief Executive: No, no the weather is cold. The snow made the surrounding very beautiful don't you think so? It is really a very beautiful place Davos.
I think I had a very interesting and productive trip to Davos with my colleagues and with many prominent persons from the business community from Hong Kong. And when I say useful it is in many different ways. I have been able to, through many meetings with those who are here from different parts of the world, Europe, America involved in business, in the academic world, in news media as well as government officials, been able to explain to them the impact of the financial turmoil on Hong Kong. What we have done in the short-term and what our long-term visions are for Hong Kong. And I must say that the reception was a good one. I think the visit has been helpful for all our friends overseas to understand what we have done, and what our long-term visions are. And I would say that almost without exception everybody is very supportive of all the measures we have taken, short-term and long-term. I also was able to take this opportunity to have some bilateral discussions with various people and they were very, very interesting and very, very important. With the American government officials I laid particular emphasis on the importance of Hong Kong's active participation in the designing of the new financial architecture for the world. And there were also discussions about the Asian financial turmoil, how much Japan can help because Japan is a very important part of that process. So I thought all in all it was a very useful trip.
Question(Yau Shing-mu, Economic Times): In what way has it helped to shape the future policy for Hong Kong?
Chief Executive: Well, before we came we have already a very clear vision and I think that this has been very much endorsed by our friends overseas.
End/Saturday, January 30, 1999
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Chief Executive's transcript of a question and answer session in Davos (Chinese part)