CONFIDENTIAL
Resentment at What is regar- ded as inter- ference by Britain in
local affairs
Clash of
Interests in the field of International
relationship which should subsist between a Colony and
the responsible power.
8.
At the same time, the Colony's remarkable record of
economic expansion and material progress in the last decade,
achieved with the minimum of outside aid, has induced a
feeling of confidence among those who play a prominent
part in public affairs that, but for the complication of
China, Hong Kong would be capable of standing on its own
feet and, more than any territory which has been granted
constitutional advance, of sustaining self-governing status.
The unofficial members of Legislative Council, supported
by public opinion as expressed in the non-communist press,
are therefore inclined to argue that Britain should not
interfere in local affairs. There is a strong attitude
in the Colony that Hong Kong knows best what is good for
it and particularly for its rather unique economy.
9. There has been a clear emergence of a alash of interests
in the field of international textile policy between
Textile Policy Hong Kong as a major exporter of textiles and the UK as a
major importer and domestic producer: this has led Hong Kong
to press for the maximum possible freedom in the conduct
of the Colony's commercial relations and proposals
providing for a delegation of authority are now under
consideration. To the extent that Hong Kong "trades up"
(i.e. produces goods of higher quality and value) so the Colony will more and more become a competitor of the United Kingdom both in the UK domestic market and also in overseas markets, particularly in textiles.
CONTI DENTI AL