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5. I certainly doubt whether compulsory arbitration or recognition machinery would be acceptable to Executive Council in Hong Kong and I would have even more serious doubts about any attempt to impose advanced legislation of this kind upon the Hong Kong Government.
We are bound to move by stages in this delicate area, particularly against the background of our failure to solve our own industrial rélations problems. I think, however, that we would be justified in pressing Hong Kong to go ahead with the modest improvements deriving from my report and which are apparently acceptable in principle.
16 March 1973
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G Foggon