G&W -
After 1997, will there be any changes in the legal profession?
Mr. Arculli -
I don't think the legal system of Hong Kong will change because of 1997. After
all, the legal structure, Courts of Law and the law and order of Hong Kong have
been very well-established over the years but again, this will be our future
mini-constitution. I expect there may be some changes to the title "Queen's
Counsel" which will affect some barristers in Hong Kong.
G&W -
With the arrival of 1997, do you think Hong Kong people's way of life will be
very different?
Mr. Arculli -
I think with 1997, the majority of people in Hong Kong are not really sure what
the future holds for them. This is understandable because many people have come
to settle in Hong Kong from mainland China in the last couple of decades and
they are afraid of the Communist Party from their previous experiences. But we
must not forget in the last 15 years, China has also gone through many changes.
Even though many changes. Even though the Communist Party still rules China, I
don't think they want to change Hong Kong into a communist society......If that
is their intention, it should not be a problem for them since they succeeded to
convert the whole country to communism in 1949. Why do you think China declared
the "One Country - Two Systems" concept and set up the Joint
Declarations and Basic law with he British to calm us down? I think the leaders
in China accept that communism is coming to the end of a chapter. Just look at
the changes taken place with the Soviet Union and the Eastern European
countries. China has realised that if the standard of living for the people is
to continue to improve, they must put economic policies first. With a population
of 1.2 billion, it will nor be easy for them to adopt any new policies
overnight. China will not welcome democracy but I think once the people achieve
economic freedom, they will demand more. With regards to our future, I do
believe Hong Kong will play a special role after 1997. We are not leading China
but we are providing special services, say, the legal, accounting, banking and
design professions, just to name a few. We will be a great partner for China by
providing them with innovative ideas to explore their vast resources. I would
encourage those young men who are thinking of staying here after 1997 to set
their eyes further down the road and not just look at the present picture.
G&W -
Do you think after 1997 Hong Kong will be able to maintain its role as one of
the major financial centres of the world?
Mr. Arculli -
I think we can. Hong Kong has not achieved its reputation overnight. We had our
share of setbacks......Remember the disturbances in 1967 and the collapse of the
local stock market is 1987? Hong Kong has proven itself to be resilient time and
again. If you at our stick market today - it is an international market with
investors all over the world. If we have the faith to continue to uphold this
reputation, it will not be a problem for us to maintain Hong Kong's role as one
of the major financial centres of the world. On the other hand, if we allow
ourselves to be complacent and do not work hard to maintain our reputation, a
lot of South-East Asian countries would be fighting to take our place.
G&W -
Do you think other countries may look at us differently because we are under the
rule of China?
Mr. Arculli -
Some countries may want to look at us different simply because they do not want
us to succeed. But I think it is still up to the people of Hong Kong to earn the
confidence of others. We have to demonstrate how we can continue to run our
society; that our legal system still works and the way our government and the
Chinese government rule us.
G&W -
In the context of the 1997 handover, how do you think this younger generation of
Josephians and the Hong Kong people will face the 1997 problem?
Mr. Arculli -
I am a bit worried that the younger generation would be too preoccupied with
their own private matters and the 1997 handover is a very complicated issue
which may cause a lot of anxiety in our society. I would encourage the young
people of Hong Kong not to accept the views of local political parties or trust
what the media say but try to go out by themselves with a more open view and see
the what the actual situation is really like. Visit China and see the changes
yourself. Maybe you could talk to your friends or family and discuss your views.
G&W -
Do you think the 1997 problem will have any impact on the educational system in
Hong Kong?
Mr. Arculli -
The argument in the educational system is quite controversial. Even the experts
in this field have expressed different ideas on their own. My opinion is that it
depends on what you want Hong Kong's role to be in the future. If we want Hong
Kong to continue to be an international city, Hong Kong should continue to be
bilingual and not just concentrate on Chinese or Mandarin simply because we will
become part of China after 1997.
G&W -
Being a member of the Liberal Party, do you think your party's objective has
shifted in any way?
Mr. Arculli -
I don't think our objective has shifted but we have fine-tuned our strategy to
the changing environment. Our basic belief still holds though. You see our party
has not been the political scene for too long and sometimes it appears our party
is weaving between different opinions. Especially before 1995, some Legco
members from our party were appointed and some were elected - I was an appointed
member from 1988 to 1991, we had 15 members serving in Legco - 7 from functional
constituencies and 8 appointed. Before the September 95 election, there had been
rumours that we were afraid of failure but the truth is, we fielded 15
candidates and 10 were elected. So through the election process we have learned
a lot of lessons which should help with the development of our party. Another
thing is that we are all quite successful in our own profession as businessmen
or professionals, and we tend to think individually and have independent ideas
on our own. If you have 10 people all thinking that their own ideas are the
best, it is not easy to establish a stance acceptable to all party members. So
sometimes you will have members from our party expressing different opinions as
to whether the Chinese or British Government is right in taking a certain course
of action. Sometimes we criticise both sides and it is difficult for people to
gauge which side we are on. This is mainly the reason why outsiders tend to
think that we are not holding our beliefs as strongly as a united party should.
As a party we believe we are fighting for Hong Kong's prosperity and it would
have been a much simplier job if we just say democracy is our goal. We feel we
are the caring party and we serve our society by providing help to those ho are
not as fortunate as ourselves.
