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t would be impossible to revive the Hong Kong economy, should it collapse. We believe that the announcement of your plan would have the effect that what has been built up over years would be destroyed as the inevitable consequence of a single act. We are therefore in the position that we agree with the objective of maintaining prosperity but we do not agree with the means for achieving it. Indeed, we believe that that plan would
lead to the collapse of Hong Kong as a financial centre.
I should also add that there would be very considerable financial hardship for many people, and deep alarm among some sections of the population. Many would seek to leave, and some of the skills and expertise which have made Hong Kong what it is today would no longer be there. A collapse of Hong Kong
would be to the discredit of both Britain and China. It would have repercussions throughout the Far East and South East Asian region, as well as wider international implications. We feel that our two Governments would be cast in a very bad light if we had failed to reach a workable agreement that would maintain the prosperity of Hong Kong.
I realise that some of these points may be unwelcome.
But I must be candid.
The most important point of all is that we should honour a moral obligation to the people of Hong Kong which British Governments have sustained for more than a century. We have
long had a flourishing system. Many people went to Hong Kong, putting their faith in British administration. That gives us a moral obligation which we must honour.
Confidence in Hong Kong, and thus its continued prosperity; depend on British administration.
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