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imposing a British deal on the Colony will inevitably arise.
The final stages of negotiation on this project seem likely to
coincide in the early part of next year with the enactment of
our nationality legislation, if that is proceeded with, and
with the coming into force of the harmonised GPS scheme.
6.
All this is therefore inter-connecting and cumulative.
On each of these issues, taken separately, it is perhaps
difficult for the Governor to argue that there would be
disastrous consequences if HMG's interests rather than those
of Hong Kong appeared to prevail. But, as will be seen above,
on three major issues there is already at the back of our
minds the assumption that, because Hong Kong is constitutionally
a Crown Colony, we can proceed to legislate or use powers of
direction to secure those interests against local opinion:
and we are moving into a situation where cumulatively we could
find ourselves leaning heavily on Hong Kong in a way that
could have very serious repercussions on Anglo-Hong Kong
relations.
7.
The basic problem is that in dealing with Hong Kong
we are dealing with a numerically large and economically
prosperous territory which, but for historical and geographical
circumstances, would by now be independent, and acts accordingly.
It seems to me that in our relationships with Hong Kong we have
to give some degree of recognition to this de facto sense of
'independence" which means inter alia paying due regard to
unofficial opinion in the Executive and Legislative Council
even though the representatives are nominated and not elected
(for we have ourselves deliberately created these channels for
the expression of opinion in view of the impossibility of
normal constitutional progress). On the other hand, we cannot
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