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currently trying to sell Hong Kong £500 million worth of
underground railway, against strong Japanese competition.
4. In this situation we should be positive in our approach
to requests from Hong Kong, unless to meet them would do us
measurable harm.
5. Of the three requests put forward by Mr. Y. K. Pao,
and generally supported by the Hong Kong Government, Michael
Heseltine proposes to discuss with the Hong Kong Government
the delegation of safety controls, to encourage Hong Kong to
use the powers that they already have to modify manning
requirements, and to refuse the transfer of the shipping
register. The first five points in paragraph 6 of that paper
relate primarily to the separate issue of manning, not to
registration.
6. I understand that the transfer of the register, as such,
would not confer on the Hong Kong authorities any significant
new powers relating to manning, operating or construction
standards. These are covered by the relevant domestic legislation
and international conventions which would apply to Hong Kong then
as now. Shipping affairs in Hong Kong are controlled by a good
Marine Department under a colonial Government. The Governor
has assured us that there is no question of standards being
allowed to slip, and of course we have the power through him
to control both the legislation and any regulations made under
it. I am therefore not convinced that British interests would
suffer if the register were transferred to Hong Kong, in
addition to the concession on manning proposed by Michael
Heseltine.
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17.