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3.
(a) Para. 61. Australia is mentioned as a country which might
possibly be consulted in advence about the refugee problem which a British withdrawal from Hong Kong would create, but is omitted (I imagine accidentally) from the list of countries who might absorb refugees. As the least heavily populated country in the area, her attitude to the absorption of refugees surely merits a sentence.
There is one substantial omission in this paper which troubles me, namely the omission of almost any referenos to the internal (and especially. social) policies which should be pursued in Hong Kong pending steps taken by either the Chinese or ourselves towards a change of ownership. The only such reference is in paragraph 50, which describes this question as a "tough practical and indeed moral problem" and states that "further study will be necessary in Hong Kong." With respect, I suggest that this question is of such key importance to the success or failure of the proposals set out in this paper that it requires further (and urgent) study in London as well as Hong Kong. In particular, I suggest that it would be worthwhile to consider whether even greater expenditure and effort than at present on education end other social services in Hong Kong would not greatly help to reduce the "toughness" of the problem.
4.
In saying this I do not wish to slight the very considerable achievements of the Hong Kong Government, particularly in such fields as housing and health, or the proportion of Government expenditure which is directed towards social services I believe that education and housing alone account for more than 25 per cent of such expenditure. It is nevertheless true that
GRA
(a) the Hong Kong Government's income and expenditure per head of
population is very much less than Britain's (HM Government now spends more than £200 annually per head of population in Britain. while the Hong Kong Government spends less than £35 per head figures not reliable);
(b) one reason for this is the low level of taxation in Hong Kong;
(c) universal free primary education is not expected to be available
in Hong Kong before 1971, and no date has yet been made public for a similar development in secondary education.
5. The communists in Hong Kong have since the end of the campaign of violence been concentrating much of their effort on education. They have applied to open a great many new schools I think the number is 15 or mors.
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