الم
CONFIDENTIAL
ne
senior ranks had to be
its
at a faster pace than hither to achieved;
a steering group of senior government officials was charged with
recommending to the Governor how this objective was best to be attained without jeopardising either the Force's efficiency or
Initial consideration was given to the possibility of
introducing a limited compensation scheme on lines similar to
schemes introduced in to former British dependent territories at the
time of constitutional
enable pensionable
morale.
change, which among other things, would
overseas officers who were either required to
make way for local officers,
retire, or superseded for promotion
to be compensated for loss of career.
IV.
STATE OF THE ECONOMY
27.
The Sino-British Joint Declaration on the question of Hong
Kong removed much of the shadow of uncertainty which had hung over
the Hong Kong economy in 1983 and most of 1984. But the economy
hence vulnerable to external forces
remained dependent on trade
outside Hong Kong's control.
and
28.
The
After a year of strong export-led
the growth,
Hong Kong
economy
showed signs of slowing down in 1985, in line with many
other economies. For 1985 as a whole the estimated growth rate of Hong Kong's GDP was 41/2% to 5%, compared with 9.4% for 1984.
future performance of domestic exports added an extra element of uncertainty to this forecast. Exports were increasingly affected by the growing threat of protectionism in Hong Kong's export markets.
29.
The performance of the Hong Kong economy as a whole over the
period of review was characterised by a fall in domestic exports,
counterbalanced by a substantial growth in
substantial growth in re-exports, a low rate of
unemployment, and a a low rate of inflation.
traditional
export markets,
30.
The fall in domestic exports was largely due to weak demand in
Hong Kong's
the notably
United States
and the EEC. Hong Kong's domestic exports and re-exports to China, however, continued to show substantial growth. In addition to being
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