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this position and that he would really prefer sailing under
"The Hong Kong flag". There is, of course, no Hong Kong
flag. Hong Kong is a port. of British registry: ships
registered there are British ships and fly the United King-
dom flog. Registration of ships as British involves certain
obligations in relation to safety standards and manning
requirements. It is believed that one of the reasons Mr Pao
particularly wants to settle this issue and register more of
his chips in Hong Kong is that it would enable the vessels
to sail to Chine. This they cannot do if registered under
the Liberian or Panamanain flags.
!. It would be possible in the long term to create a
seperate Hong Kong register through UK legislation and local
statute, although no convincing evidence has yet been pro-
duced of the benefits this would bring to either Hong Kong.
or the UK. Mr Pao's proposal seems to involve two separate
issues; first the question what qualifications as regards
nationality and principal place of business would be imposed
upon shipowners and such questions as what flag the ships
would fly, and secondly, and more important, what safety
standards as regards ship construction, equipment and manning,
would be applied. In the event of a separate Hong Kong regi-
ster being created, obligations consequent upon registration
would still have to comply with the international convention
on the safety of life at sea (SOIAS).
The UK conscientious] /
interprets the SOLAS requirements and in some cases requires
higher standards than those laid down in the Convention: it
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/would