利
Mr Male
PS/Lord Goronwy-Roberts
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HONG KONG
1.
Lord Goronwy-Roberts will be meeting the Foreign Affairs
Group of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday 12 May,
at 6 pm, to talk about Hong Kong.
2.
Lord Goronwy-Robertss Private Secretary has asked the
Department for speaking notes for a five minute introductory
talk and defensive notes on topics likely to be raised in
discussion. These are attached.
3. I would have submitted them earlier; but Lord Goronwy-
Roberts's Private Office told the Department yesterday
morning that the meeting had been postponed. They rang again
during the afternoon to say that the meeting is to take place
on 12 May after all and to ask if the speaking notes could reach them by 4.30 pm today.
9 May 1975
Mullally
PL O'Keeffe
Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department
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SPEAKING NOTES
1. When we last met I told you that I would be visiting
Hong Kong in January. Having now seen the Colony at first
hand, I am grateful for a further opportunity to discuss
Hong Kong's problems and how the Government there is tackling
them.
2.
Hong Kong is a place of vibrant activity and great beauty,
but it is suffering from many of the blemishes which affect
other cities world-wide. In addition there is a particular demographic problem. Population has increased sevenfold since
1945 and is now approaching 4 million. It has to be remembered
that the Chinese population have explicitly chosen to live
in Hong Kong; but the expansion has led to severe housing shortage, a squatter problem which (as I saw) has still not
been finally solved, and constant pressure on education and health services. Total immigration is over 36,000 a year,
the equivalent in UK terms of about 1 million new inhabitants
annually.
3. It is easy (and tempting) to look back and say that Hong Kong
Government should have pursued more ambitious social programmes in the 1960's. But it is questionable, if it had, whether Hong
Kong could have maintained an annual improvement in real wages averaging 5% during the decade. However, in 1972 the present Governor proposed a wide-ranging programme of social improvement
aiming to provide satisfactory living standards for all within
10 years.
4. The Governor is now squeezed between continuing commitment
to this social programme and the effects of Hong Kong's worst recession for 30 years. World economic problems in past 18
months have posed great difficulties for Hong Kong, which, having
no natural resources, is totally dependent on trade. The Government must raise new revenue to keep the social programme
going but must always keep in mind the risk of choking off the
external investment on which the Colony's economic prosperity
and particularly its employment prospects depend.
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5. I had a chance, during my visit, to see what the Government has already achieved in many fields eg in housing where 1.87 million people, 44% of the population, are now accommodated
in subsidized government housing. I also discussed future plans with the Governor and his officials, as well as with UMELCO, and explored several other important questions. Some of these illustrate the difficulties which necessarily exist between this country, with its tradition of preparing colonies for self-government and Hong Kong with its peculiar geographical and political situation and a Chinese population with ideas sometimes very much at variance with our own. I for my part was anxious to encourage the Hong Kong Government in its plans for social advancement while representatives of Chinese public opinion were equally anxious to impress on me the need for laissez-faire economic policies and more conservative social policies particularly regarding the prevention of crime and most notably the retention of capital punishment. Doubtless you will have questions on these points which I will be glad to answer.
6. Speaking generally, I was much impressed with the energy and determination with which Governor and his advisers are tackling the Colony's problems. I have, of course, reported on all this to Secretary of State; and we have both since had further discussions with Governor when he was in London in April. The economic prospects are still very uncertain; but Hong Kong is well placed to benefit from any return to economic prosperity elsewhere. I cannot close without a personal tribute to the Governor who is continuing to make the best of a very difficult job.