3. As Johnston said in his letter, this business
raises a mixture of political and financial
problems of some difficulty. It cannot be denied
that there is a risk that public opinion in Hong
Kong will exert pressure for the diversion to
other purposes of the defence contribution, but
it remains our earnest intention and the Governor's
to avoid that unhappy result by playing this
along with some care.
During his visit to London
the Governor made it clear that for local
political reasons he would have to be able to
demonstrate to informed public opinion in the
Colony, and especially to the unofficial members
of Legislative Council and Finance Committee,
that something practical was being done by the
outside world, and particularly by H.M. Government,
to help Hong Kong in solving the problem of the Chinese refugees mentioned in Johnston's letter.
A debate on this subject is due to take place in
the United Nations General Assembly in the next
few weeks; some assistance might come out of that,
but it is not thought probable. The probably
would
unfavourable result of that debate will be
tolerated by the unofficials in Hong Kong if they
felt
feel that H.M. Government are doing something to
Hey Kong
ththey
Lelk
help; but, if they feel that they are getting no
help or consideration from either the U.K. or
would almost certainly
the United Nations, they are expected to become
critical and unmanageable. The most likely
then
consequences would/be that the Finance Committee,
*in which there is an unofficial majority, would
insist on recommending to the Legislative Council
that the current defence contribution of £1 M a year
should be diverted to squatter resettlement in
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/the
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