前港督彭定康日前在瑞士 SIAF 發表演說，內容主要圍繞中國及香港，最後有位來自香港的女生問了一條很好的問題：
Lord Patten, thank you so much for this inspiring talk. It’s so good to see you again after 25 years. I was 11 years old when I witnessed the handover of Hong Kong. As you understand the issue so well from the perspective of a former governor, may I ask you for private honest advice for the people who have to remain in Hong Kong?
問題主要問他對於必需留在香港的港人有何建議。
彭定康首先分享他在倫敦 Richmond Park 遇見四位來自香港的牛津大學學生一事，他們當年在 Umbrella Revolution 期間，在牛津與當時高舉黃色雨傘的他合照。
其中一位女生突然哭起來，表示她很愛香港，問他畢業後應不應該回港。
We don’t know whether we should go home. We all love Hong Kong, but we don’t know what to do. Would it be alright if we went home?
頓時，彭定康炯炯眼眸泛起一絲愁緒，向現場人士表示被這個問題難倒。
You can ask people to behave more bravely than you’d ever been prepared to behave yourself.
You can talk to them about the fact that the ideas which they have will survive longer than the ideas which are being used to try to crush them.
他不知道如何回答這位女生。
I simply don’t know what I should say. I know what I would like to say, but I wouldn’t be honest if I was saying it’ll be alright…
What I do say to people who are still there is that they should take care, which doesn’t mean giving up their values, their vales as families or as individuals, or the values they think should determine the way in which their society runs.
They should hold onto what they believe in… but I think try to avoid what they believe in getting them thrown into prison. I mean some of the things that people are thrown into prison for in Hong Kong nowadays are completely manic.
簡單來說，他覺得香港人無需放棄原有的價值觀，但要注意會否因此而招致牢獄之災。
I hope it will all be alright.
I’m sure that the values that people have in Hong Kong will survive longer…
英國人好多時都口不對心，it will be alright 好多時不可依照字面意思理解，因為更可能是要表示 it will not be alright。
就是不 alright，所以才希望 alright，否則無需 I hope。
演說 SIAF event with Chris Patten - YouTube
香港女生發問 1:13:30