CONFIDENTIAL
2
slightly easier for these people to come to Britain, she felt that we were still not doing enough. The Governor said that he had no objection to the steps already being taken. But he would be concerned about the effect on confidence if this facility was greatly widened, as well as the effect on crown servants who would feel disadvantaged. As the metropolitan power, the United Kingdom had a particular obligation to encourage Hong Kong citizens to stay and prosper in their own territory. The Prime Minister indicated that she would wish to discuss the matter further with Ministerial colleagues.
The Prime Minister said that she also sympathised with the position of crown servants and thought that we should be more generous in offering them the possibility of acquiring British nationality. The contrast with the preferential treatment given by the Portuguese to the residents of Macao was very striking. The Governor said that he was concerned about being able to maintain efficient administration in Hong Kong up to 1997. He had some ideas for strengthening the assurances which had been given to crown servants. He would put these to the Foreign Secretary.
Democracy in Hong Kong
The Prime Minister wondered whether we should be moving more rapidly to establish representative government based on direct elections in Hong Kong. The impression was around that we were deferring too much to the Chinese Government's wishes
If there was fully representative government in Hong Kong in 1997, it would be much harder for the Chinese to dismantle or destroy it subsequently, without doing enormous damage to their standing and credibility and destroying any chance of regaining Taiwan.
The Governor explained the steps which were being taken to introduce direct elections. The fact was that Hong Kong opinion was deeply divided on this subject. The current pace of movement towards representative government was in tune with the wishes of the majority in Hong Kong. A confrontation with the Chinese Government on the issue would be very damaging indeed to confidence in Hong Kong.
Position of the Governor
The Governor said that his own authority would inevitably be eroded somewhat as 1997 drew closer and he would need a great deal of moral support from HMG, underlined by expressions of the Prime Minister's personal support. It was agreed that this should be reflected in what was said to the press after the meeting.
Vietnamese Boat People
The Governor said that he was greateful to the Prime Minister for confirming the UK offer to take 1,000 more Vietnamese boat people from Hong Kong over the next 2/3 years.
But a major problem would remain, and it would be important for the UK to be seen to give a lead in working towards an
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