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were very concerned about the losses which Hong Kong had incurred
through the floating of the pound and the guarantee to the banks;
they amounted to nearly HK $1,000 million. Mr Royle pointed out
that, if Hong Kong had held US dollars rather than sterling
which was the only practical alternative their losses would
have been even worse. And at least they had had the benefit of
high interest rates in London.
CORRUPTION
·
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4. Mr Woo said that corruption was always present in Hong Kong.
it was a relic of the Japanese occupation. In the colony, a
licence had to be obtained for many activities, and anyone
concerned with issuing a licence was likely to look for a bribe.
Police corruption was the worst. For example, if a taxi driver
was charged for obstruction, he would rather pay a bribe to a
policeman than have to take a whole day off work to attend court.
It would be better if the Anti-Corruption Office could be made a
separate department, away from the police. Mr Royle said that he
had discussed all this with the Governor, who had some very good
new ideas. He thought his proposals should go a long way to meet
the problem. The case of Mr Godber was particularly difficult
for us because he had committed no crime under UK law. Mr Woo
said it was difficult for people in Hong Kong to understand why
Mr Godber could not be sent back. He had been after all a Crown
servant - could not some action be taken on that ground? Feeling
in Hong Kong was high, and there had been student demonstrations.
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/Mr Royle