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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Dear Phr. Page
London SW1A 2AH
9 February 1990
[HID 340/4
#FCEIVED IN
11 APR 1990
DESK OFFICE:
INDEX
PA
Thank you for your letter of 27 December expressing your concerns on the prospect of emigration from Hong Kong.
Our last major responsibility of empire is to secure the best possible future for Hong Kong. We have a clear duty to maintain good government and prosperity in Hong Kong up to 1997 and, we hope, beyond. This is a matter of honour for Britain.
It is also in our interest to keep Hong Kong prosperous. Many jobs in this country depend upon it. Britain's total trade with the territory amounts to over £4 billion a year. Our investments there exceed £2 billion and may indeed be considerably more than that if equity investment, banking interests and so on are included. About 1,000 British companies operate in Hong Kong. So there is no contradiction between the interests of the British people and those of The Queen's subjects in Hong Kong. A collapse in Hong Kong would be a bad blow to us all.
Our scheme is designed to encourage people to stay in Hong Kong, not to come to Britain. Talented and enterprising people are leaving Hong Kong in growing numbers. Countries like Canada and Australia which have selective immigration policies welcome the doctors, teachers, managers and engineers. This exodus of professional skill threatens both Hong Kong's prosperity and her good government during the last seven years of British rule.
James F Page Esq
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