JH1ACL
HKK 011/12
IN REGISTRY
24 JUL 1985
ང་if!
4710
Dr Wilson
Private Secretary
CONFIDENTIAL
FROM:
DATE:
POLITICAL FEEL IN HONG KONG
A C GALSWORTHY, HKD
23 July 1985
ce. PS/PUS
FILE
93
011/12
1.
for
In his minute of 19 June the Private Secretary asked
a reflective piece on the Hong Kong Government's touch
on political issues
preparation for the Governor's
in
weekend stay at Chevening.
Political awareness in Hong Kong
2.
While there had been a number of recent political
rows in Hong Kong, I believe the Secretary of State's anxiety arose chiefly from the controversy surrounding the LEGCO (Powers and Privileges) Bill. This was a subject on
which the Hong Kong Government completely miscalculated
public opinion. Part of the reason for this lay in the timing of the preparation of the Bill:
it was conceived and drafted well before the Hong Kong agreement was signed and in a very different atmosphere. The objections to it were mainly political and arose out of the agreement. The Bitl
not reconsidered an ew,
should have been, following the agreement.
was
3.
agree
all
the
time,
as it
More generally an increase in general political
awareness, and thus, since people cannot be expected to
inevitably some political
controversy, seems unavoidable, and even necessary in Hong Kong if, the territory is to develop the confidence to
its own affairs in the future. Hong Kong is a small place: arguments and personal animosities have always been magnified there beyond what would be normal in a less
concentrated environment. On top of this, the agreement
manage
has been a traumatic shock
the general population, who 2
CONFIDENTIAL
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