want to see withdrawn. But we hope that, in time, a constructive dialogue with them can be resumed.
Background and History
4. The system of government in Hong Kong has evolved in a way which has reflected the territory's unique situation. In other British Dependent Territories our policy has been to promote the development of democracy as part of the preparations for eventual independence. For historical reasons, reinforced by
geography and economics, Hong Kong has not had the option of becoming an independent state. The attitude of Hong Kong people has reflected this reality. When relatively modest proposals for constitutional reform were made by the then Governor in the period following the Second World War, they met with virtually no public support in Hong Kong. The territory was then preoccupied with absorbing and accommodating very large numbers of migrants, mainly from China. Hong Kong's population rose
sharply from about 600,000 in August 1945 to some 2.2 million by
the middle of 1950.
5. The priority for a large proportion of these people was that Hong Kong should provide an environment in which they could settle and make a prosperous living, not the development of
representative government. It was not until the mid-1960s that constitutional change was again considered, but once more external events intervened. The Cultural Revolution in China,
which spilt over into Hong Kong, threatened the stability and even the existence of the territory. It revived in many people the fear that the introduction of party politics on western lines would polarise the community and reproduce in Hong Kong the rivalries that continued to exist between the Chinese
Communists and Nationalists. Local attitudes were also influenced by the knowledge that China would be opposed to the introduction of western-style elections. There was no wish to
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