U.S. and Hong Kong (1985-1997)

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
September 11, 1997

PRESS BRIEFING BY MIKE MCCURRY

The Briefing Room

1:33 P.M. EDT

[ ...Intervening Text... ]

Q: On the meeting on Hong Kong tomorrow that the President is going to have, what can you tell us? What is the purpose of this?

MCCURRY: I think the President wants to hear a status report on the transformation since the turnover. There will be a variety of issues that are both regional, security oriented, economic oriented, largely trade oriented, but first and foremost, how are things going in Hong Kong since the handover.

Q: Bad.

Q: But what's your assessment? How are things going since the handover?

MCCURRY: We have largely positive assessment that's been provided. There have been concerns that we have expressed through the State Department and elsewhere about the status of institutions of political life on Hong Kong and the way in which the rights and especially the individual human rights of citizens in Hong Kong will be protected. But I'd leave it to the State Department which has at some length addressed that, I think, last week, to comment further.

Q: I'm sorry, what meeting is he talking about?

MCCURRY: Tung Chee-hwa who is here. The President meets him -- what time tomorrow? At 10:00 o'clock.

Q: Thank you.

[ ...Intervening Text... ]

Q: Did you say that the transformation of Hong Kong has been positive? But there are human rights questions --

MCCURRY: No, I said that the reports we've received of how things are going have been mixed, but they have been generally positive. There have certainly been the troubles that have been encountered so far and ones that I've acknowledged and the ones that we've addressed at the State Department already.

Q: Well, what about the press freedoms?

MCCURRY: We are very concerned about that and have so said so and expressed that sentiment and I think will have some opportunities to do so in the coming day.

[ ...Intervening Text... ]

END

2:00 P.M. EDT