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- 9.
(1) the attitude of the Overseas Chinese who provide the
dynamism, which is Hong Kong:
(2) the constitutional position.
The Overseas Chinese operate, and have close links, throughout the
whole of the Far East outside the Bamboo Curtain, and their drive to
expand and diversify in any one territory is greatly dependent on
freedom from control, particularly over foreign exchange operations
Innovations, such as the issue of local paper and the institution of
lender of last resort facilities, would no doubt be acceptable, but
the local community would probably look askance at any controls as
such although the repercussions of the stock exchange speculation
might have tempered their attitude. On the other hand, the Chinese
who matter, i.e. those in the Executive and Legislative Councils together with the lobbyists (both Chinese and British) are probably
amongst those who were astute in playing the market and emerged with
several more millions to add to their existing fortunes. The Overseas
Chinese are primarily interested in the furtherance of their
wealth.
outside Hong Kong.
If they thought that controls would seriously affect that
aim there is little doubt that they would employ part of their capital
If this were to happen on a substantial scale the
further progress of the economy would be retarded with repercussions
in terms of employment, wages and, consequently, of internal
possibly also external
carefully.
and
Ma
politics. Thus, one needs to tread
As to the constitutional position, Hong Kong is a Crown
Colony under the direct rule of H.M.G. and, in theory, the Governor
has only limited powers. In practice, however, H.M.G. seldom, if
ever, interfere in internal matters. This being so, the Executive
Council, although performing only an advisory function, has considerable