ROBAEY
PS/Mr Eggar
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MEB olla.
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1295
15 JAN 1988
FROM:
CO Hum
DATE:
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HONG KONG: ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL ARTICLE
معه
Hong Kong Department
12 January 1988 PS/Lord Glenarthur
Mr McLaren
Mr Eggar has asked for comments on the attached Asian Wall
Street Journal article.
1.
On
B
A
2. The article is obviously inspired by Mr Martin Lee's letter of 8 December to the Prime Minister. It contains the same arguments and even echoes some of the phrasing of that letter, but the author adds his own cynical gloss on British motivation on Hong Kong. of his comment seems to us to be well over the top.
Much
3. The main thesis is that HMG have caved in to Chinese pressure against the development of representative government: as a result of this and other Chinese intervention people in Hong Kong have lost confidence and are emigrating in unprecedented numbers.
He
4. Lord Glenarthur's reply to Mr Lee's letter is designed to give reassurance on HMG's continuing commitment to Hong Kong. demonstrates that we are carrying out our responsibilities to the full in the current review of developments in representative
government.
5. We are well aware of emigration trends in Hong Kong: these have gone up substantially to about 37,000 in 1987, from about 22,000 in 1986. There are many reasons for this, including increased emigration opportunities in some leading recipient countries, particularly Canada and Australia. Concern about the future must be one factor in influencing people's decisions to emigrate, but it is
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