HONG KONG
5 4
PALL
521/5
GOVERN
MALL LO
Marc
W.S. Carter, Esq, C.V.0., A Ru
Commonwealth Office,
Church House
Great Smith Street,
London, S.A.1.
Dear Mr. Carter,
Comment of the day
CM 8/3/67
Mr Bowden and
THE
Hongkong
MIE visit by the Com- monwealth Secretary, Mr Bowden, gave
the new "Minister in charge of Hongkong" an oppor- tunity to see something of the big developments that have been going on here.
Of course, two and a half days could give him only a fleeting impression but when one minister is given such wide respon- sibilities brief visits are
bound to be the order of Further to my letters o
I am enclosing a final cutting fr language press on Mr. Bowden's re This is a leading article, which Mail" on March 8th.
RB/SG
LART
(56
Yours si
Romai
Ronald
Principal Infoi
TELEPHONE WHITEHALL 7951
CAB
$
98
the day. Suffice it to say lish that Mr Bowden saw
something of the consider- lony. able diversity of effort DA here and heard a few of our more worrying prob- lems from Executive and Legislative Councillors, particularly our concern over Hongkong's trade with Britain in the event of her joining the Com- mon Market.
Mr Bowden's comments on
IT
radio and television last night offered little solace but until Britain makes up her mind to apply for admission and until it is known what terms Hong- kong is likely to be offer- ed, little can be done. It would be carrying opti- mism a little too far to believe, however, that Britain will put Hong- kong's welfare before her own. The risk that we may be left to look after ourselves is a real one, however sympathetic the British Government may feel.
T is a matter of disap- pointment that Mr Bow- den could not meet more people during his visit. The Urban Councillors were the most notable omission and it is hard to believe that an hour could not have been squeezed in somewhere, all the more so since local government is going to be a subject of considerable discussion in the next few years and one which will no doubt re- quire the final blessing of the Home government. The Unofficials rould therefore have welcomed an opportunity to express their views not only on this question but on many other subjects of general interest.
There is of course plenty of time for the local govern- ment subject to be thrashed out since the Governor, Sir David Trench, indicated in his Budget speech that it would be a "long, slow pro- cess. It is necessary to say nere, however, that it would be extremely regret- tame if Government were unable to carry the Urban Councillors with it on whatever proposal it adopts.
•
Political tranquillity, as Mr Bowden acknowledged, is a vital factor in Hong- kong's success and the decisions we finally take on local government must be primarily aimed at achieving this. It is to be hoped Mr Bowden's. visit convinces him that defence and economic aid are not the only posi- tive contributions British, policy is making to this part of the world and that enlightened administration is every bit as important to the lives of more than 314m people in Hongkong.
W.I