1994年香港總督彭定康農曆新年賀辭
The new year holiday is an important time for all of us. It is a time to pause and to catch a breath before we plunge into another year.
The new year is one of those all too rare opportunities to stand back from our careers, from school, college or university work or from the demands, and they are substantial, of running a home. A time to put every day concerns in perspective. A time to think about the things that matter most in life – the health, the welfare and the happiness of our family and of our friends.
The start of a new year is above all a time for families. From the many friends Lavender, Alice and I have made since coming to live in this community, I know that the family spirit is nowhere stronger than in Hong Kong. People come together to renew ties and to draw strength from each other and from the traditions and values which are the bedrock of Hong Kong's economic and social success.
The past year has been a year of steady, solid achievement for Hong Kong. The economy has expanded by about 5.5%, the 19th successive year of economic growth. And behind the dry statistics of economic success of the realities of rising living standards and greater opportunities for the whole community. Family incomes have risen. And our services to the community have also been improved as economic progress has made additional resources available to the government.
Let me give you a few examples of what this means in practice. During the past year we have been able to:
- Build an additional 66,000 new homes for families on the housing waiting list;
- We’ve been able to commission an additional 3,350 beds in our hospitals and infirmaries; and
- We have recruited an additional 4,000 teachers to work in our primary and secondary schools.
These are just a few of the ways in which we are improving our services to the public. These are real achievements. They contribute directly to the quality of life of Hong Kong's families. No wonder one of the world's most important business magazines recently voted Hong Kong one of the best places in the world, not just to do business but to live and bring up a family.
In Hong Kong, we believe very firmly that the quality of life can and should go on getting better for everyone. The community insists that problems should be faced squarely and overcome through enterprise and hard work. Hong Kong has a faith in progress and an optimism about the future which many other communities have quite simply lost.
This optimism, this confidence go beyond economic well-being. They have an impact on every aspect of our way of life. I think the best example in the past year of this determination to bring about improvements has been in the field of law and order, an issue which I know is high on everyone's list of priorities.
I know of no other major cities in the world in which the crime figures are falling in the law and order situation improving. I think the explanation for this remarkable achievement, because this is what is happening in Hong Kong, life in the community's respect for traditional values, its emphasis on the family and the proper education of its children. We rightly attach a high value to making our city safe in our society law-abiding. We rely heavily on our excellent police force to do so. But we all of us have a personal contribution to make to ensure that Hong Kong will remain one of the world's safest and most law-abiding cities.
Hong Kong is a very special place. Those of you who have lived here all your lives know this better than I do. It is a good place to work and a good place to raise a family. We are working hard to ensure that Hong Kong's special qualities are preserved. That our way of life is secured for the future.
As parents we spend a good deal of our time thinking about how to secure the best possible future for our children. We worry about the education and their prospects for finding worthwhile and rewarding careers. We can be proud of the way in which Hong Kong is able to offer its young rewarding careers, in fact a wider choice of career is the most cities in the world's advanced economies can offer.
Hong Kong office is young people a bright future because we are at the centre of the astonishing economic transformation of Asia. I am confident Hong Kong will remain one of the world's great trading and service centres not only in the year of the Dog but well into the next century.
Many of you will be listening to me from the warmth of family gatherings. Lavender, Kate, Laura, Alice and I wish all of you a successful, a prosperous and above all a very happy new year.
Kung Hei Fat Choy.
春節假期對我們每個人來說，都是重要的日子。我們正好藉此佳節稍事休息，舒展一下，然後才全心全意投入新一年的工作。
農曆年假給予在職人士、莘莘學子和家庭主婦一個難能可貴的機會，讓他們把一切工作、學習和必須打理的家務暫時拋諸腦後，讓他們回顧過去，展望將來，以及想一想我們生命中至為重要的事情，包括家人和朋友的健康、幸福和快樂。
新年伊始，是家家戶戶共敘天倫的美好時刻。我和內子以及小女雅思自來港至今，結識了不少朋友。我從他們那裏知道，香港人濃厚的家庭觀念，是沒有其他地方的人可以比擬的。藉此佳節，大家聚首一堂，互相問好，加深聯繫，彼此勉勵，發揮傳統和價值觀的力量。這些傳統和價值觀，正是本港的經濟和社會難以取得驕人成績的基石。
香港在過去一年裏取得穩定和實質的成就。年內，本港的經濟增長了大約百分之五點五，是達致經濟增長的連續第十九個年頭。在各項顯示本港經濟成就的枯燥乏味統計數字背後，本港市民的生活水平實際上是不斷提高，整個社會則獲得更多的機會，家庭入息亦有所增加。另外，隨着經濟進步，政府可以動用額外的資源，去改善為市民提供的服務。讓我舉出數個例子，說明實際的情況。去年，我們已經：
- 為輪候公共房屋的家庭增建六萬六千個住宅單位；
- 我們已經在醫院和療養院增至三千三百五十張病床；
- 我們已增聘四千名小學和中學教師。
這些只是我們改善公共服務的數項工作。這些實際成果，直接提高了本港家庭的生活質素，難怪一份國際上相當權威的商業雜誌，最近把香港選為世界上最好的地方之一，不僅是做生意的好地方，也是安居立戶的好地方。
在香港，我們堅信每個人的生活質素，是可以為應該不斷改善的。香港人處事，一向堅持要正視問題，主張以積極進取和勤奮努力的精神來排除萬難。香港人抱着力求上進的信念和對未來樂觀的態度，而這些特質，使很多其他地區的人都已經失去的。
這種樂觀的態度和信念，不只令我們在經濟上不斷進步，而且還影響着我們的生活方式的每方面。過去一年，顯示本港堅決改善生活質素的最佳例子，就是在治安方面。而我知道，治安是每位香港市民都極為關注的問題。
據我所知，全球再沒有其他大城市可以像香港一樣，罪案數字下降，治安有所改善。事實已經證明，香港取得這樣驕人的成就，是因為市民重視傳統價值觀，注重家庭觀念，以及悉心教導子女。我們致力令到香港成為太平的城市，市民奉公守法，是十分正確的。我們有賴優秀的警隊，為本港維護法紀，但我們每個人也有本身的責任，確保香港繼續是世界上最太平而市民又最奉公守法的城市之一。
香港是個非常特別的地方。土生土長的香港市民，必定比我更體會這點。香港是個安居立戶的好地方。所以，我們正致力確保香港的特質得以保存，市民的生活方式可以延續下去。
身為父母，我們花很多時間為子女計劃最美好的前途。我們擔心子女的教育問題，以及日後能否找到有意義、有合理回報的工作，香港可以為年輕一代提供理想的就業機會，而且比世界先進國家大多數城市所提供的選擇更多，這一點足以令我們引以為傲。
由於香港是令人刮目相看的亞洲經濟轉型的樞紐，因此令我們的青年人，有一片光明的前景。我深信香港在狗年會繼續保持世界上主要貿易和服務中心之一的地位，並會延續之下一世紀。
你們很多人都是在閤家歡聚、樂也融融的氣氛下收看這個特備節目。我和內子，以及小女潔思、麗思和雅思，謹祝大家新年進步、萬事如意、新春大吉。
恭喜發財。
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