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HONG KONG: REPRESENTATIONS BY THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE LABOUR PARTY
GENERAL NOTE BY THE HEAD OF HONG KONG & INDIAN OCEAN DEPARTMENT
1.
Members of the National Executive Committee seem to have
the problems of Hong Kong somewhat out of focus. It is natural to be concerned about a situation in which there is no prospect of elections to the Legislative Council. But this is not of our choosing. As the Brief on Constitutional Development makes clear, it is a situation forced upon us by China and by the existence of differing political allegiances in the Colony.
2.
As long as China is heavily dependent upon Hong Kong as a source of foreign exchange and as long as pragmatic policies rule in Peking, the Chinese are unlikely to seek to reincorporate Hong Kong into the mainland. Our current belief is that such a move is not to be expected for a long time to come. But meanwhile the Chinese are not prepared to allow any constitutional development in Hong Kong which could be held to represent an evolving status for the Colony in the direction of independence. This is well understood by the local population; and no more than a handful of local people, mainly British, advocate an electoral system for LegCo.
3.
It is furthermore misleading to maintain that Hong Kong is run by, and in the interests of, the trading community. It is the Governor who is ultimately responsible for the administration of Ilong Kong and while he necessarily acts in consultation with the Executive and Legislative Councils, his policies are regularly reviewed by Ministers here who have approved the direction he has taken. It is of course true that Hong Kong lives by trade, exporting annually an estimated 80% of its GNP. It is thus on trade that the whole community depends and there has traditionally been very little unemployment, bearing in mind the massive inflow of refugees (about 3.7 million) over the past quarter century. The community has prospered and wage rates are now the second highest in Asia (after Japan). This has been achieved by heavy investment in industry encouraged by a system of
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