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STAFF IN CONFIDENCE
(4) At flag D is a letter from the Hong Kong Association to the
Secretary of State to the same effect.
7. There is now a quite widespread campaign in the non-Communist Chinese language press in Hong Kong for Sir David's term to be extended. As the letters referred to in (3) and (4) above indicate,
this reflects a widely held view in the Colony, very notably among
the Chinese population the letter from the three Unofficials is
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specific about this and refers in particular to the Kai Fong Associations: when he was here for the recent financial talks Mr. Cowperthwaite told us that petitions addressed to the Secretary of State from Kai Fongs and other Chinese Associations are now flowing into the Secretariat in Hong Kong, they are being translated, and will all have to be forwarded to us! This is in fact the process that is always adopted by unofficial opinion in Hong Kong when their Governor is a popular figure it happened with both the last Governors, Sir Alexander Grantham who had a second term of five years, and Sir Robert Black who had one year's
extension.
8. I have no doubt as to the strength, genuineness and representative nature of the calls for Sir David's term to be extended. He is a well-liked, well-trusted and widely popular figure in the Colony, especially amongst the Chinese. He is known to be a man of clear liberal views, and has used his influence in the direction of modernisation and liberalisation in the Colony. For large numbers of the Chinese, too, he has come to be regarded as a symbol of resistance to Communist oppression. It is of extreme importance to our position in Hong Kong that we should do nothing which might erode public confidence in the Colony; and in view of the real trust which the Chinese inhabitants in particular repose in Sir David I consider that an extension of his term of office would be most welcome to public opinion in Hong Kong, and a reassurance to them of the continuing stearastness of our policy
there.
Recommendation
9. I therefore have no hesitation in recommending that we should extend Sir David's term for a year in the first instance, i.e. up to April 1970, subject to a further medical examination when he comes on leave in the autumn.
10. Normally the Prime Minister's approval is not needed for an extension of a Governor's term of office all that is necessary is to consult The Queen, in the first instance informally. But in view of the Prime Minister's expressed interest in this particular governorship, I think the Commonwealth Secretary would probably
wish