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legal as opposed to a moral obligation, and whether
H.M.G. will in any case be in a position to fulfil
any such obligations, are not examined in this note.
An announcement relating to H.M.G's financial
responsibility for expatriate pensions in dependent
territories would ventilate public discussion of
2.
the nature of our obligations towards Hong Kong
pensioners. We would therefore have to ensure
that our policy was defensible in the Hong Kong
context and as non-committal as might be. We must
avoid,
3.
(a)
(b)
having to distinguish the case of
Hong Kong from that of other Colonies
any
for some reason, whether explicitly
publicly
stated or implied, which could lead to
A
the loss of the political confidence
in the Colony, which is so vital;
giving hostages to fortune against the
event of a Chinese take-over.
Any announcement of the new policy which
included overt reference to dependent territories
would cause problems for us of varying magnitude
according to the scope and immediacy of the
announcement.
For example,
(a)
an announcement that we will consider
the claims of dependent territories
when the time of independence comes in each case,would be innocuous and
non-committal. It would of course
generate considerable interest in Hong Kong
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