港督彭定康告別演講辭

港督彭定康在添馬艦的告別演辭
對全香港來說，今天是值得慶賀而不是叫人傷感的日子。然而某些人也許多少有點感觸。任何惜別的埸合，都難免引起離愁別緒。容我稍後再細說。

歷史不單是一連串的年月日。歷史不僅是我們記憶所及的日子，還有那些日子前後發生的事情。要說香港的成功故事，得從今夜之前的年月說起，也必定會說到光輝美好的未來歲月。

香港的故事，當然並不限於英國管治下的一段歷史，儘管今夜正標誌著這段一百五十年歷史的終結。

這段歷史，是由上一世紀的一些事件揭開序幕。對於那些往事，在百年後的今天來看，當然沒有人會試圖為之解說。可是，我們該注意到，今天香港大多數人之所以在這裡生活，是由於本世紀發生了一些事件，而對於這些事件，相信今天也沒有多少人會加以辯護。這一切都提醒我們，有些時候，我們應認清過去，這樣便能夠拋開過去，走向未來。

今天我們要慶祝的，是本港市民憑著沖天的幹勁和無比的毅力，辛勤創業，為本港歷史寫下了光輝的一頁。他們當中，絕大部份是中國人，最初來到這裡時，一無所有，只是一群平凡的人，但是他們努力不懈，終能克服種種困難，取得了非凡的成就。

英國在香港的管治即將終結。我相信我們可以總結說，英國對香港的貢獻，是在這裡建立了一個完善的架構，使香港人能夠力爭上游，創造美好天地。這個架構包括法治精神、廉潔開明的政府、自由社會的價值觀、已具雛型的代議政制和民主社會制度。香港是一個華人社會，一個典型的華人社會，而又帶有英國特色。從來沒有一個屬地，在脫離殖民管治時，能夠像香港這般繁榮昌盛，這般具備文明社會應有的結構和特質，既有各行各業的專才、不同的宗教、眾多的報章雜誌、蓬勃的慈善事業，還有正直忠誠、此志不渝地為市民和社會謀福利的公務員。

我深信，只要香港人堅守他們一向珍視的價值觀，香港的前途必定越來越光明。香港的價值觀正面積極，放諸四海而皆準。這些價值觀也是亞洲以至其他地區未來的價值觀。在明日的世界裏，一個歡迎快樂、民生富足、充滿信心和安定繁榮的社會，必定像今日的香港一樣，是一個能夠恰當地把政治自由和經濟自由加以融合的社會。

今天晚上，我們以及遠在他方觀看這個盛典的英國國民，都向香港特別行政區行政長官和他領導的優秀班子，致以深摯祝福，祝願他們順利展開新工作。董建華先生和他的夫人，必定全心全力、竭誠為香港服務。全港市民以及海外人仕，都衷心希望他們面對未來挑戰時，能夠有卓越的表現和成就。

我剛才提到，對一些人來說，今晚的慶典難免夾雜了絲絲愁緒。

臨別依依，我和我的家人，以及其他即將告別香江的人，心中都帶著離別的傷感。我是第二十八任總督，也是最後一任總督。跟歷任總督和他們的家人一樣，內子、女兒和我，定會把香港的一點一滴銘記心中。大家待我們一向是那樣親切、友善，這份溫情暖意，我們難以忘懷。過去五年，能夠與你們共同生活在這片美好我的家園，並且能夠為你們的將來盡一點力，實在是我畢生莫大榮幸。如今，會由香港人管治，那是你們得到的承諾，也是一個不容改變的進程。一九九七年六月三十日

Governor's Speech at Farewell Ceremon
For Hong Kong as a whole, today is cause for celebration not sorrow. But here and there, perhaps there will be a touch of personal sadness as is true of any departure, a point to which I shall return.

History is not just a matter of dates. What makes history is what comes before and what comes after the dates that we all remember. The story of this great city is about the years before this night, and the years of success that will surely follow it.

Of course, Hong Kong's story is not solely that of the century and a half of British responsibility, though it is the conclusion of that chapter that we mark tonight.

This chapter began with events that, from today's vantage point, at the end of the following century, none of us here would wish or seek to condone. But we might note that most of those who live in Hong Kong now do so because of events in our own century which would today have few defenders. All that is a reminder that sometimes we should remember the past the better to forget it.

What we celebrate this evening is the restless energy, the hard work, the audacity of the men and women who have written Hong Kong's success story. Mostly Chinese men and Chinese women. They were only ordinary in the sense that most of them came here with nothing. They are extraordinary in what they have achieved against the odds.

As British administration ends, we are, I believe, entitled to say that our own nation's contribution here was to provide the scaffolding that enabled the people of Hong Kong to ascend. The rule of law. Clean and light -- handed government. The values of a free society. The beginnings of representative government and democratic accountability. This is a Chinese city, with British characteristic. No dependent territory has been left more prosperous, none with such a rich texture and fabric of civil society, professions, churches, newspapers, charities, civil servants of the highest probity and the most steadfast commitment to the public good.

I have no doubt that, with people here holding on to these values which they cherish, Hong Kong's star will continue to climb. Hong Kong's values are decent values. They are universal values. They are the values of the future in Asia as elsewhere, a future in which the happiest and the richest communities, and the most confident and the most stable too, will be those that best combine political liberty and economic freedom as we do here today.

All of us her tonight, and I am sure all my fellow countrymen and women watching those events from afar, wish the Chief Executive of the Special Administrative Region and his excellent team the very best of luck as they embark on their journey. C H Tung and his wife, Betty, will serve Hong Kong with dedication, strength and enthusiasm. Everyone here, and people outside Hong Kong as well, will be willing them to succeed in the challenging years that lie ahead.

I said that tonight's celebration will be tinged for some with sadness.

So it will be for my family and myself and for others who like us will soon depart from this shore. I am the 28th governor. The last governor. Like all the other governors and their families, my wife, my children and myself will take Hong Kong home in our hearts. You have been kind to us. You have made us welcome. It has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life to share your home for five years, and to have some responsibility for your future. Now Hong Kong people are to run Hong Kong. That is the promise. And that is the unshakeable destiny.

June 30, 1997