港督彭定康最近回伦敦述职之前举行记者招待会。会上，记者问他对人民入境事务处前处长梁铭彦的廉正操守有没有信心，问他觉得梁铭彦是不是一位出色的处长。港督回答这两个问题都很技巧，也很简明。原话是这样说的：

Question： Speaking of confidence， do you have full confidence in the integrity of Laurence Leung before his retirement； do you continue to have full confidence in his professional integrity； and was the Hong Kong Government in any way warned about him by any foreign government？

Governor： I don't want to say any more than the Secretary for the Civil Service has said in the Legislative Council and that he has said in response to questions elsewhere. The former Director of Immigration left public service for personal reasons. We have an excellent Director of Immigration in his place and I have full confidence in the integrity of our immigration system， our system of issuing visas and policing checks at our frontiers.

Question： Would you say that he was an excellent Director？

Governor： I would say that he worked for many years for the Hong Kong Government and I don't want to add to anything else that has been said about his departure from the public service.

记者的第一个问题分三部分：一、对梁铭彦退休前的廉正操守有没有充分的信心；二、现在对梁铭彦的专业操守还有没有信心；三、有没有任何外国政府警告过香港政府要提防他。港督的回应也分三部分：一、公务员事务司在立法局以及其他地方回应过这些问题，我不想多说；二、人民入境事务处前处长因私人理由离职；三、我们有了一位出色的处长接替他的职位，我对我们的出入境制度、签证制度以及边防巡逻等的廉正操守信心十足。记者只提到外国政府警告港府，没有提到入境制度、签证制度、边防巡逻。记者的第二个问题只问港督认不认为梁铭彦是一位出色的处长。港督只说他在香港政府里工作好多年；关於他的离职，过去已经说过了，港督不愿意再多说。

港督谈到他希望香港政府各部门的廉正操守都不容置疑。港督说，他跟外国政府谈九七后香港市民免签证的时候，他要的是自己能满怀信心指出我们的制度行得通，我们的制度既廉且正。他的措词是：“I want to be able to say with complete confidence that...”。他说，几天前他跟意大利外长谈这个问题的时候，他可以用最大的信心指出我们的制度既廉且正。他的措辞是：“I was able to speak to him with maximum confidence in the integrity of our system”。

语言文字原来就充满微妙的玄机。文字媒体往往只是转述一席话的内容大意，无形中丢掉了许许多多的话里玄机。再说，怎么样的问话引出怎么样的回应，常常正是故事中的故事。