President Lee Teng-hui this morning reiterated that the ROC government is very much concerned about the future development of Hong Kong after its status change on July 1 and hopes Hongkong will be able to maintain its free system so as to sustain its progress and prosperity. It is hoped that the world nations including the United States will continue to show concern to and render support for Hong Kong's stability and growth, he added.
The President made the remarks while meeting with a visiting delegation of the Washington D.C.-based Heritage Foundation led by Dr. David R. Brown, chairman of the Foundation.
President Lee also told his guests that the ROC is currently making every effort to consolidate democracy in this country while step by step putting into practice the consensus reached at the National Development Conference held last December in order to promote the long-term development of the country.
Since this year marks the 25 anniversary of the Heritage Foundation, President Lee extended his congratulations to all the members of the delegation and expressed his appreciation to the Foundation for its assistance to the ROC over the past decades.
Other members of the delegation include Dr. Edwin J. Feulner, Jr. (president of the foundation), Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and his wife the Hon. Elaine Chao (distinguished fellow of the Foundation), the Hon. Edwin Meese, III (the Foundation's Ronald Reagan distinguished fellow in public policy, and Amb. Frank Shakespeare (board member of the Foundation). They were accompanied by ROC Vice Foreign Minister Chen Chien-jen to the Office of the President for the meeting. Also present were Dr. Ding Mou-shih, secretary-general of the ROC National Security Council, and Mr. Stephen S.F. Chen, deputy secretary-general to the President.