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I want to say at this meeting today, Mr. Chairman, that the
British Government has a special responsibility towards Hong Kong. The
Conservative Government are determined to do all they can to fulfill
that responsibility, to defend the interests of Hong Kong and to pursue
the well-being of Hong Kong people. And I think that the fact that Lord
Carrington has already visited Hong Kong and I am here with you today
within the first four-and-a-half months of the new Government is an
indication of our interest. I have the chance of seeing something of
Hong Kong rather less than I would have had if I hadn't paid a rather
unexpected visit to Taipei, but I want to say how impressed I have been
by what I have seen. Hong Kong does not stand still and the changes since
I was last here in 1973 have been truly remarkable. But it is quite clear
that there is one thing that does not change and that is your determination,
your ingenuity, you inventiveness and your capacity for hard work. And all
these things are obviously as great as ever.
I want to say Mr. Chairman, a brief word about the economic
policies of the new British Government. We regard it as our top priority
to do what we can to make the British economy more flexible, more energetic,
more dynamic, more athletic. We want to create again an economy in Britain
which is capable of change and growth. We have therefore to change some
attitudes on the part of many people in Britain and we are going to approach
our task in three ways: First we must curb inflation. We propose to do this by two methods by restoring collective bargaining to the firm
where responsibility ought to be and at the same time maintaining strict monetary and financial policies because we regard these methods as the
best way of controlling inflation. We propose to make some changes in the
laws regarding industrial relations so as to redress the imbalance which exists
at the present time between the trade unions and employers so that the
free collective bargaining which we want to see restored can take place
in fairer conditions. And thirdly we intend to promote enterprise, to
increase the rewards for success. We intend to rely more on private
enterprise and less on public activity. If we are going to do this, we
must reduce the burden of taxation which, as many of you know in Britain has been unreasonably heavy. We must therefore reduce public spending
and we are setting about this at the moment and our plans for the next
few years will appear that in a short time we already have some success
in embarking on these policies. We have managed already to cut direct
taxation, and particularly, we have cut it on the higher incomes where
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