At this point my official dealings with Peking
drew to an end. Though I did know it at the time, we were
also coming
coming to the end of a chapter in
Sino-British
relations, of which the governing principle had been the
need for steady cooperation over Hong Kong. We were about
to move into a new phase, where new personalities and
tactics, aided by the strains of accommodation,
impatience with Chinese
intransigence
the
and a greater
assertiveness on the part of Hong Kong, were all to erupt in
a
policy of effective,
confrontation.
if not
altogether
intended,
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