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these contradictions bulk large, it is my submission that they are ephemeral and irrelevant to the main stream of the relationship. The latter is highly productive and successful and has greatly redounded to the credit and profit of the UK in this part of the world.
Conclusion
20.
As I said at the beginning of this despatch, the main beneficiaries of Hong Kong are the Chinese population of the Colony - not just the 'taipans' but the man in the street. China for her part derives benefits from Hong Kong sufficiently great to override political pressures to recover the leased and ceded territories. Since Chou En-lai remarked to you last November that the preservation of Hong Kong as a free port was in the interests of Britain and China, I doubt if the Colony is any embarrassment to Sino/British relations. Finally, the advantages Hong Kong offers the United Kingdom are great, and could be even greater.
I am sending a copy of this despatch to HM Ambassador at Peking.
21.
I have the honour to be,
sir,
Your most obedient, humble servant,
山
Mr. Mash
GOVERNOR
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