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of the Chinese population which have, or are entitled to, the status of
citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies.
these categories are -
British troops and families
British subjects and Commonwealth citizens of non-Chinese race and their families
Foreign nationals (other than Chinese)
and their families
Chinese possessing, or entitled to
claim, citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies
The numbers involved in
30,000
31,000
14,500 (of whom 4,600 are
United States citizens)
1.9 million approximately
Some of these last 1.9 million have been very elosely associated with our administration and are particularly vulnerable to Chinese communist retaliation. These might amount to something over 100,000 including
their dependants.
Material Assets
12. There are considerable British and foreign assets in the Colony. British investments are large (although no reliable figure is available). On the other hand, Hong Kong has sterling holdings of over £300 million which are held in the United Kingdom; the disposal of these in the event of our withdrawal would be a matter for our decision, and we shall cover
this problem in our wide-ranging study of future policy.
Courses of Action
13. Recently it has become necessary, because of the increased violence being used by the local communists, to take very firm steps to disrupt
the communist leadership in Hong Kong. This action has so far reduced
the scale of disturbances, but it could lead to stronger counter-measures.
This is a risk that we must take rather than allow the situation to get
out of control. Nevertheless with all the uncertainties in China and
Hong Kong we must consider what we could do if the situation suddenly deteriorated or Peking decided to intervent and push us out. This might
present us with one or more of the following choices
(a) to be prepared to accept a Macao-type situation;
(b) to seek to negotiate an orderly withdrawal;
(c)
to carry out an emergency evacuation.
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