What indications might the proposed law have for the future of Hong Kong?
One of the reasons why Hong Kong has been such a success economically is because it has been a free society where people have been free to use their imaginations and free to follow their dreams. If you start to restrict that freedom then ultimately you will start to restrict the success of Hong Kong and its economic prosperity will start to diminish. And that will damage not just Hong Kong but of course it will ultimately damage the People s Republic because the People s Republic is going to rely on Hong Kong for a lot of its trading with the Western world. Q: What responsibilities do the British Government have in this matter? A: Because of our long-term relationship with Hong Kong, because it was us that negotiated the end of the treaty where Hong Kong was a British protectorate, we have great responsibility and, of course, many of the people in Hong Kong look to us for protection. So if they feel threatened by the proposed changes in legislation, it s to the British Government they
