G.F. 326
CONFIDENTIAL #3
3
1
the right of abode had been lost;
it was puzzling that the Secretary of State
had come all the way from UK just to tell
Hong Kong people something which had already
been clearly expressed by the UK Government
earlier; thus the visit was pointless and
meaningless;
the
visit was merely a window-dressing
exercise;
the visit was counter-productive in that
it further damaged Hong Kong's confidence
and also aroused anti-British sentiments;
the
seven-point plan put forward by Sir
Geoffrey was useless in solving the
confidence problem because it offered nothing
but castle in the air;
there were mixed reactions to Mr. Lee
Wing-tat's
luncheon;
protest at
the Governor's
better-educated respondents said
he was too agreessive and impolite but the
grassroots admired him for the "bravery";
and
a minority view was that the right of abode
might not be good for
for Hong Kong because
it would encourage people to confront China
more frequently and thus ruin the chance
of peaceful co-existence.
CONFIDENTIAL # 3