•
9.
The Governor attaches considerable importance to retaining a
helicopter capability because of the nature of the terrain and the
vulnerability of the road system both in the country side and in
the city.
Nevertheless, some saving in support costs would be
possible. Costs 7
Works Services
10.
A saving of £0.5 million could be made in works services at
present running at about [£
Meeting the Cost
11.
million a year.
The Governor considers that it would be impossible in practice
to get the Hong Kong Government to meet the whole cost of the
minimum forces necessary, and that it would be politically
dangerous for him to put such a proposition to the Executive Council.
He points out that the large and necessary programmes of social
betterment which he has introduced will place the budget in
substantial deficit even after further tax: increases and recourse to
borrowing. He also emphasises that any indication that the
United Kingdom was not prepared to pay part of the costs of
maintaining internal security in Hong Kong would lead to the
assumption there, and in China, that we were losing interest in
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