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(c)
it is not just the Governor who is extremely sensitive to
even the mildest suggestion that things might be done
differently (although he probably sets the tone). There
seems to be a general tendency on the part of all of those
associated with the formulation of government policy to
think that they know best what is good for Hong Kong;
and yet, paradoxically, there is a strong desire for
Britain to show more interest in the Colony.
Feelings
towards Britain in Hong Kong seem to be much the same as
feelings towards Britain in Nigeria.
5. After thinking over and piecing together the many views
expressed to me I have attempted to pick out the more important
things on which, in my view, the Hong Kong Government should
concentrate:
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(a) there is an urgent need to widen the scope of governmental
For example, I am not at all convinced that
activities.
enough is being done by way of vocational training to
enable the Colony to maintain the pace of its industrial
Again, although the demand for the adoption
development.
of Chinese as an official language should, in my view, be
accepted, more should be done to improve the standard of
English generally. Above all, much more should be done in
the field of social services;
(b) the money is there but the machinery of government is
cumbersome.
Everything I heard during my visit confirmed
the view I had come to earlier that the Colonial
Secretariat should be broken down and replaced by a system
of "Ministries" in charge of "Permanent Secretaries"
working closely with unofficial advisers;
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/ (c) ...
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