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(c)
(d)
(e)
factor giving substance to the UK's good relations with
China (at present, though not always in the past);
as a help in our relations with the United States
(mainly because of the intelligence aspects of (e) below);
as a communications, intelligence and air services centre.
7.
A decision by HMG unilaterally to withdraw from Hong Kong
or failure to agree with the PRC on arrangements which would
be satisfactory to the inhabitants of Hong Kong would be likely to
create very serious problems for HMG, in particular:
(a) the extreme difficulty and expense of governing the
territory during an interim period of rapid decline;
(b)
(c)
the abandonment of five million people after 140 years
of responsibility and HMG's repeated statements of commit-
ment;
demands for admission to the UK by a large number
(possibly several hundred thousand) of the 2.6 million
future British Dependent Territories' Citizens (BDTCs);
(d) residual liability for pensions and compensation for some
(e)
(f)
public servants of the territory;
consequences of the collapse of Hong Kong as a major
financial centre, and the loss of British and other
Western investment, including e.g. US, FRG, Australian
and Japanese;
possible difficulties in relations with the PRC, which
would oppose British withdrawal at a time not of China's
choosing.
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/The