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SUMMARY OF INTERIM REPORT BY OFFICIALS
(ORD.(67)61)
This report has been produced by a working party, under the chairmanship of the Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet, on which all the Departments represented on the Ministerial Committee with the addition of the Department of Economic Affairs were representod. In view, however,
of the sensitive nature of the subject, knowledge of this paper and of the fact that it has been under preparation has been limited to a fairly
small circle.
The report considers the prospecte for withdrawal from Hong Kong if it wero suddenly forced upon us. In accordance with the Defence and Oversea Policy Committee's conclusion, officials will be later putting forverd a report on our policy towarda Hong Kong in the long-term, against the background that we cannot rely on remaining in the Colony on present
terms until the lease of the New Territories lapses in 1997.
The object of the present report is to deal with the possibility that the situation will deteriorate suddenly. This could happen either through the local situation getting out of control, or because the Chinese
Government decided to intervene and turn us out. This latter possibility
is not considered likely.
The report concludes that in the event of a deteriorating situation, we could not organise an orderly withdrawal, since this would require Chinese soquiescence which we could not expect in the circumstances. We should then be faced with either an emergency evacuation or the need to make concessiona to the Communists similar to those which the Fortuguese have had to make in
Macao, What this would involve is covered in the annex to the pepar, and
the report concludes that a Macao-type situation would be quite unacceptable.
An emergency evacuation would, however, present formidable probleza in view of the numbers of people we would be responsible for evacuating. Nevertheless, we must plan to rescue all we can, and officials therefore propose that a small plarming group should be established in the Commonweel th Office to prepare a plan urgently. Absolute secrecy is essential and this precludes consultation with the Hong Kong Government, except perhaps undor cover of a visit by one or two members of the planning group to the Colony, where they would talk only to the Acting Governor and the Commander British
ForcoB.
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