CONFIDENTIAL
4.
In his
section on the future the Governor sets out
his thoughts on the likely areas of difficulty and on the
He argues that the
role of HMG in the coming 12 years.
future of Hong Kong cannot be assured by the agreement
alone. HMG will have to walk a tightrope between now and
1997, and it will sometimes be necessary to take decisions
that are unpopular with the Chinese. He says that there
is the possibility of a further crisis in confidence in
Hong Kong in the early 1990s. In this period the morale
of the police force and civil service will be of vital
importance. The Governor also emphasises the importance
to Hong K on g
of granting
greater autonomy
establishing a visibly more
Government in the territory.
representative
and of
form of
5.
I think it worth commenting on
six points:
(a) I would agree with the Governor's view that for
the Chinese during the negotiations reunification
was always more important than preservation of a
prosperous Hong Kong.
(b) We
should
underline
our
aim
now
that
satisfactory
terms of reference for the Joint
to use the Group
Liaison Group have been agreed,
constructively over the
next 12 years to educate
the Chinese and to ensure a smooth transition.
(c) I think it worth giving our view that while the
Unofficials certainly fought hard for what they perceived
to be the interests of Hong Kong, this
created considerable tension be tween
the negotiators.
The Governor's
at times
them and
handling of the
advice he received ensured that
there
was
never
an outright split. This was
an
admirable achievement.
CONFIDENTIAL