of discretion, indeed secrecy, which many people comment upon. It was great hesitation and great personal anxiety that I decided
to do this.
It was preceded by a good deal of private consultation, I can tell you. On hearing of the Governor's speech of October 1992 I had a special interview with the Prime Minister and expressed my great concern about what was going to happen if we
went on down this road... I subsequently wrote to him at considerable length. When I discovered that I was not making
much impression and that things were moving on, I warned the
authorities that I would have to go public in the sense that I
could not pretend to a questioner that my views were other than
they were. I then, as you know, wrote to The Times and gave a TV interview on the subject.
It seems to me in a situation like this, Chairman, that the
duty of people who know a little about the subject and feel that the wrong course is being followed is to speak up. There is an alternative view that we should all watch in respectful silence
while the Governor takes Hong Kong over the edge. I myself do
not adhere to that view. We are here to do our best for Hong Kong, because that is our prime responsibility, not to look after
British face or interests but to look after Hong Kong. I hope
that here, in our discussions, we shall be concerned simply with
an objective consideration of what is the best course for Hong
Kong in the present crisis.
Mr David Harris: We have great respect for your knowledge of the subject but also your integrity in approaching in the way you have. Are you saying therefore that China should have a complete veto over any further moves to introduce a very
modest measure of democracy in Hong Kong, because that is what
you appear to be saying?
Sir Percy Cradock: I say that, in the interests of
Hong Kong, it is better to have a settlement with China on the
best terms you can get, rather than to have the defiance with great damage to Hong Kong. I put it to you that, of those two
courses, the less damaging though not very attractive, is to
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