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be able to pull the deal off. Peking would be very pleased at the gesture in voluntarily
renouncing sovereignty and it would help them in explain mg to explain to their followers that they have persuaded the British of the error of their past ways and are graciously employing them as their managers for so long as it suits China.
I am not advocating open, boisterous diplomacy. I am advocating the quiet, persistent plugging away of something which is vital for Hong Kong's future. Some security of tenure must be arranged within the next one or two years. If it is not we can start saying goodbye to Hong Kong and all it can do for us. And the Chinese would be left feeding an extra five million people without the Valuable foreign exchange they presently get from them.
Incidentally British businesses should be much more thrusting than they are in setting up new and joint enterprises in Hong Kong. They cannot indefinitely rely on a captive market secured for them by the good will of the British Hong Kong Government and by British businessmen. Eventually the cheapest and most efficient must win the day.
If you would like me to talk to you about all this I would gladly do so. But please believe me that the matter is urgent and must not be allowed to drift. There is nothing to fear from approaching the Chinese in the manner I have described. At the very worst Hong Kong would be no worse off than it is now.
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