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CONFIDENTIAL
To cufri
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HEDE VED IN HET N
INDEX
Sir P Cradock.
2
PS/Mr Luce
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5 JUL 1984
ARB 23/28 2317
Minister (he, se.)
FROM:
DATE: 26 June 1984
RD CLIFT, HKD
CC: Sir W Harding
Mr Orr, FED
217
Mr Goulden, News Dept
Mr Walker, Research Dept
FUTURE OF HONG KONG: PUBLIC OPINION
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*
1. I submit Hong Kong tele 1685 giving an assessment of public
opinion in the territory and an account of the latest proposals from groups in Hong Kong on what an eventual agreement should contain.
2. We have commissioned these periodic reports from Hong Kong so
1
that we can keep an eye on how opinion has developed since the
Secretary of State $ statement on the talks on 20 April. We wish to
be able to argue that this monitoring of Hong Kong opinion
·
constitutes an initial phase in testing the acceptability of the
agreement to the people of Hong Kong; that Ministers have been kept
informed of the views of the people of Hong Kong; and that the
negotiators are taking them into account in the talks in Peking. It
will also enable us to enter the debate at a later stage, through
articles ΟΙ statements by Ministers and members of the Hong Kong
Government,
to influence it in constructive direction
3.
ons.
This report indicates that in general the mood in Hong Kong is
outwardly calm, and that the establishment of the working group has
encouraged confidence that the two sides will arrive at an early
lagreement. Beneath the surface however there are signs of unease
dhown both in opinion polls and in enquiries at the Australian Commission about immigration prospects. The public service and police remain generally quiet but there is increasing pressure for
undertakings on pensions.
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