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HONG KONG TELEGRAM NO. 884 TO COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
3.
4. IN ALL THE ABOVE I AM REFERRING TO MAJOR CONCESSIONS AND THEIR
EFFECT IN HONG KONG. SMALL CONCESSIONS, IF NOT TOO DAMAGING TO
PUBLIC CONFIDENCE AND TO OUR POSITION, GENERALLY, CAN SOMETIMES
HELP TO MUTE THE STRIDENCY OF THE COMMUNISTS BY CUTTING THE GROUND
FROM UNDER THEM. SUCH CONCESSIONS CAN ALWAYS BE CAUTIOUSLY
ATTEMPTED TO TEST REACTIONS AND TO MATCH EITHER CONCESSIONS
ON THEIR PART OR TOUGHER ACTION BY US IN SOME OTHER SPHERE, WHEN
SUCH ACTION IS NECESSARY. THE SEARCH FOR SUITABLE MINOR CONCESSIONS
HAS CONTINUOUSLY ENGAGED OUR ATTENTIONS: IT IS HOWEVER AN AD HOC
BUSINESS, IN WHICH DAY-TO-DAY CHANGES OF SITUATION PLAY A CONSIDERABLE
PART. THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY CAN BE COMPREHENSIVELY PLANNED IS
LIMITED.
5. BUT MINOR CONCESSIONS, WHILE THEY HAVE THEIR PLACE HERE ARE
UNDENIABLY UNLIKELY TO RESULT IN ANY SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT IN
SINO-BRITISH RELATIONS GENERALLY. IN ANY CASE, THE SCOPE FOR REAL
IMPROVEMENT SEEMS SMALL, WHATEVER WE DO. AS MENTIONED IN
PARAGRAPH 1CD), WE ARE UNALTERABLY OPPOSED ON SEVERAL BASIC ISSUES:
AND INDEED THE CHINESE MAY WELL NOT CARE VERY MUCH WHAT THEIR
GENERAL RELATIONS WITH THE U.K. ARE.
6. WOULD MAJOR CONCESSIONS HERE IN HONG KONG, THEN, HAVE THIS LAST
EFFECT? PERHAPS: IF WE VIRTUALLY SURRENDERED OUR AUTHORITY
UNCONDITIONALLY. I DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING MUCH LESS WOULD DO: NOR
DO I THINK THAT EVEN THIS WOULD BE ANY QUARANTEE OF PROPER BEHAVIOUR
IN THE FUTURE. HAVING SQUEEZED US THROUGH THE MISSION AND BRITISH
SUBJECTS SUCCESSFULLY ONCE, THEY WOULD ALWAYS BE TEMPTED TO TRY
AGAIN FOR ANY NEW PURPOSE THAT SUITED THEM. 1 THEREFORE BELIEVE OUR
BEST HOPE LIES IN TRYING TO FIND MEANS OF PERSUADING THEM THAT, IN
THE LONG RUN, IT IS NOT ADVANTAGEOUS TO CONTINUE TO HAVE LIKE YANQOU: AND THAT NOT UNTIL THIS LESSON HAS BEEN LEARNT WILL THERE BE
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