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Follows is a transcript of a Q&A session by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, after his keynote speech in New York today (April 6, HK time):
Moderator : (John Holden, President, National Committee on US-China relations) : The questions fall into a number of categories and the largest number have to do with Taiwan, let me try to summarize them, I'll read a few. What was Hong Kong's view of the Taiwan's Presidential Election? What is your position on the possible conflict across the Straits? What reassurances can you give that China will not simply wait until after a decision on WTO before using force to solve the Taiwan issue? What role can Hong Kong play in bridging the gap across the strait, and you personally, given that your family has had business interests in Taiwan for a long time?
Mr Tung: Well, my responsibility is looking after Hong Kong and that will be my responsibility for a long time to come. But I have to tell you, as a Chinese, like all Chinese, we would like to see our country re-united and this is a strong wish of Chinese people everywhere. We would like to see the country re-united peacefully, this is also the wish, strong wish of Chinese people everywhere and I think it is important today that under the One China principle, all issues, I believe can be discussed and I think the Taiwan leadership should seize on the opportunity under one leadership, begin the dialogue.
What can I do in Hong Kong? I think the best in Hong Kong we can do is make 'One Country, Two Systems' successful, today, tomorrow, forever, hopefully, this will be helpful towards the eventual re-unification of the entire country. Thank you.
Q: The next set of questions have to do with economics. The first one is a note that McDonald's Hamburgers in Hong Kong are extremely cheap versus world standards, as much as 40 per cent, according to the recent 'Economist' [magazine] Big Mac Index. In light of this, do you think the US Dollar - Hong Kong peg has undervalued the Hong Kong dollar?
Mr Tung: Everywhere I go, I have been hit on the head by business friends, friends in the business community, that Hong Kong is too expensive. I'm delighted to know that our hamburger is so much cheaper than anywhere else. We have chosen the peg, the US Dollar-Hong Kong Dollar peg in 1983, it has served us very well for these 15-16 years. The option for currency management is simple. There are three options, one is that you let it float up and down, which is the option some countries have chosen; few have chosen to link the exchange rate, as we have done, to the US Dollar; and the third, is to introduce a degree of foreign exchange control, which many countries have. Now, in Hong Kong we are not going to introduce foreign exchange control, that is very, very clear and the option therefore is either you have a linked exchange rate, or you allow the currency to float. Now, both systems have their faults, neither of them are perfect, but we have had this system for the last 16 years or so, it's served us well so far with some minuses here and there, it served us well so far and we are going to continue to use this peg. We are not going to change that policy. And another thing I want to mention is this, that the linked exchange rate has been painful in the last two and a half years. It has accelerated the correction of the asset prices. Well, in a way it's a good thing that the asset prices corrected because we were too expensive anyway. So from any point of view, it has again served its purpose. So thank you very much, whoever wrote that question, I am going to ask my little grand-daughter to find out how cheap we are in Hong Kong.
Q: Three political parties in Hong Kong advocate a popularly elected
Legislature. When are you prepared to do that?
Mr Tung: The Basic Law has given us 10 years to develop a political system which suits Hong Kong, acceptable to the people of Hong Kong. Now, we have had 156 years of colonial rule and now we are in the third year since the return of Hong Kong. To have 10 years to develop a political structure which is suitable for Hong Kong, in my view, is entirely appropriate. And I think what is important is this, people equate democracy to one man, one vote. And one man, one vote is very important. But let me say this to you. What are the other essential elements of democracy? For one thing, it is about everyone is equal before the law, that there needs to be the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. And let me tell you this, in Hong Kong in this aspect, we are better than most of the countries or communities in Asia or we are comparable to anywhere in the world. I am very proud of that. And secondly, what is the essence of democracy? It is making the government accountable to the people and that is important. And in Hong Kong we have a very active legislature, they are sometimes a pain in the neck, they look at us, they criticize us. We have a very active press criticizing us every day, every day of the week for one thing or the other. And this government is transparent in the way we do things, we are accountable to the people, we know we are accountable to the people and these are the essence of democracy also. So while we develop our political structure, we will make sure some of the institutions that make democracy successful - because there are countries with one man one vote which does not work very well, we all know that - and we want to make sure the institutions that will make democracy work will be well protected as we move forward.
Q: Two questions on human rights. The first, why are human rights groups giving your government mixed reviews? And secondly, when you are in Washington in the next day or two, you will be speaking to Senators and Congressmen about PNTR, they are going to ask you about human rights in China, what will you say?
Mr Tung: There was a review carried out by a newspaper in the United Kingdom called 'The Observer', reviewing countries and communities, how good they are in human rights area and actually Hong Kong scored very high points. The highest was 190, Hong Kong scored 147. I'm sorry to say this, both UK and US is behind us. So, again, we are very proud of our human rights record and I would like to invite those critics to come to Hong Kong and see for yourself what we have got. It's something we are very proud of and our intention is to keep on upholding this because we know it is important to Hong Kong.
So far as China is concerned, I would have this to say: you know I have lived in this country for nine years. This is a wonderful country, this is a country where I brought up my three children. They had the fortune to go into some of the finest schools in the United States, they are now all back in Hong Kong and working away. This is a wonderful country and after the Second World War you extended generous hands and helped many countries to really help them to stand on their own feet and find their own way forward. And many people understand this and are very grateful that this has happened. I have great friends who are Americans who are fair, caring and wanting very much to share what they have with you, which is a wonderful culture. On the other hand, I think it is important to recognize on issues like human rights, China is a country which is developing very rapidly, it has different history, it has different culture and that, let's say if we talk about democracy, you know if you look at China's development today, the per capita GDP is US $750. It's low by developed country standard. The question one might like to ask is that when the United States had per capita of $750, what was the American system like?, What was American democracy like?, it was in the 1920s. If you think back in the 1920s, what was America like? My point is that each country must be, we must look at each country in its own, on its own. It has its priorities, it has its history, it has its priorities to move forward and it is at a different stage of economic development. So its one thing to be kind-hearted to wish everybody else to have the same as you do. It's another thing to have other people to help people to come along, eventually to achieve what you have. And I would tell my friends in Washington that that's the way I see it, that's the way I feel about it. And as someone who has lived in this country and understand this country's and the people of this country, I think a lot more than probably than most of the people, I understand where America is coming from. But you know other countries have to find their own way forward and that is the point and it is not a question whether China cares about human rights or not, of course China cares about human rights, everybody cares about human rights.
Moderator: We have run out of time, I'd like you all to join me in thanking C H Tung for joining us today.
End/Thursday, April 6, 2000
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