CONFIDENTIAL
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
HKK 13/6
DIPLOMATIC REPORT No. 519/73
FCO (Secret) WHI (Secret) Distribution
HONG KONG 11 October, 1973
WHO BENEFITS FROM HONG KONG ?
The Governor of Hong Kong to the
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
SUMMARY
The local population are the principal beneficiaries of the trans- formation of Hong Kong. (Paragraphs 1–3.)
2. China also derives obvious benefits from Hong Kong, particularly in the financial and economic spheres. (Paragraphs 4-5.)
3. Hong Kong also acts as a political and commercial clearing- house for China. (Paragraphs 6-7.)
4. Hong Kong is a “prestigious " asset to the UK in its dealings with China. (Paragraphs 9–10.)
5. Hong Kong offers the UK substantial “invisible "advantages and provides a base, of which they could make more use, for British exporters to exploit opportunities throughout the Pacific region. The Governor welcomes the efforts of Her Majesty's Govern- ment and British exporters to recapture the ground lost in Hong Kong itself. (Paragraphs 11–15.)
6. Hong Kong's considerable sterling reserves are evidently regarded as of value to Her Majesty's Government. (Paragraph 16.)
7. The spin-off from Hong Kong's commercial and financial activity outweighs the occasional political and constitutional problems the Colony may cause the UK. (Paragraphs 17-20.)
(Confidential)
Sir,
Government House,
Hong Kong,
11 October, 1973.
In my Annual Review for 1972* I said that Hong Kong had blossomed from a singularly successful little colony into one of the great cities of the world. In this present despatch I should like to consider who has benefited, and in what ways, from this transformation. While the advantages Hong Kong offers to its own population and to China are apparent, those accruing to the UK and its trading partners are less so, but they are none the less substantial.
The local population
2. Although a great deal needs to be done here, and quickly, the most important beneficiaries of this blossoming have nevertheless been the people of Hong Kong themselves. A majority of its adult population are in Hong Kong
* DR 176.
CONFIDENTIAL
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