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(FC 1043/5)
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FOREIGN OFFICE,
S.W.1.
20 August, 1965.
Dear Bunny,
Unfortunately I shall not be on leave until September so I am able to thank you for your letter to Michael Morgan, FED 36/400/01 of 18 August, enclosing a letter from the Governor of Hong Kong dated 26 May about local government reorganisation.
2.
I am inclined to agree with the Governor when he says that the Chinese Government is unlikely to object to the proposals as put forward in any way which would make it difficult for the Hong Kong Government to carry them through. It is always hard to predict what Chinese reactions are going to be but I do not see that there is anything in the present suggestions which would particularly rile them unless they are bent on looking for a bone of contention. In that case there is always a good selection waiting to be dug up.
X
3. The Governor is surely right in saying that the thing to do is to proceed slowly and to make it clear from the outset that the functions of these new bodies are to be strictly limited to local government. An Urban Council already operates in Hong Kong and New Kowloon and new organisations to take account of the growing industrial centres in the New Territories are only logical. It is unlikely in my opinion/that the Chinese would see them as being the first step towards an independent Hong Kong•X
W.S. Carter, Esq., C.V.O., Colonial Office.
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eldre
(E. Bolland)
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