CONFIDENTIAL
HKK040 25
RECE VED IN HEL ISTE
-5 JUL 1984
LIKD
26/6/5
32
to Cufr
FROM:
R D CLIFT,
HKD
INDEX
DATE:
26 June 1984
ARS 23/128
2317
Sir P Cradobil
PS/Mr Luce
Minister (her sex.)
217
Cc:
Sir W Harding
Mr Orr, FED
Mr Goulden, News Dept
Mr Walker, Research Dept
FUTURE OF HONG KONG: PUBLIC OPINION
(31
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
that we can keep an eye on how opinion has developed since the
Secretary of State's 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.
will also enable us to enter the debate at a later stage, through
articles or statements by Ministers and members of the Hong Kong
Government, to influence it in constructive directions.
3.
It
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
agreement. 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.
CONFIDENTIAL
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