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this sum be provided without difficulty from
your Technical Assistance vote, with the
balance being made available later ?
7. When you mentioned that Hong Kong tends
to grumble about neglect, you touched on the
most important single factor responsible for
the souring of our relations with Hong Kong in
recent years. As you say,
we have not been
running an aid programme to the Colony for
several years.
a
Even when we did, it was by
no means/generous programme in comparison with
the size of our programmes to other dependent
territories. The Hong Kong complaint is in
China.
fact that in the post war years we left the
Colony to grapple alone, without significant
financial assistance, with the tremendous
problems posed by the influx of refugees from
At the same time we are seen in Hong
Kong as having dealt the Colony a series of
blows to its trade and finances: the restric-
tions on its exports of cotton textiles to this
country since 1959, the import surcharge (1964)
the increase in the defence contribution (1964)
the increase in the defence contribution (1966)-
we are now engaged in difficult negotiations
with a view to increasing the size of the
defence contribution still further, devaluation
(1967), the import deposit scheme (1968) and
the decision to impose a tariff on cotton tex-
tile imports from the Commonwealth (1969).
actions are seen as showing a lack of concern
for Hong Kong's interests and for her special
problems as indicating an indifference to the
special ties and relationship which should
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Our