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In such cases, the ultimate responsibility will need to be exercised, and be seen to be exercised, by the Secretary of
State.
29. Practical arrangements of this kind will need to be
supplemented by other measures of a more general character. Inevitably, any denunciation of Hong Kong's present de facto autonomy will be resented in Hong Kong. This could, without corrective measures, lead to resentment significantly affecting the chances of success of the general strategy and indeed leading to a growth of the anti-British sentiment which could be
corrosive of the colonial link essential for Hong Kong's existence. It will be necessary to combat this by promoting a wide understanding locally of our overall policy for the Colony and by developing a greater awareness among Hong Kong Government officials of their role in that overall policy. It will also be necessary to counter general anti-British
sentiment by an active information policy. In Britain, there will equally be a need to reduce the risk of friction with the Executive and Legislative Councils caused by extraneous matters
where British interests conflict with those in Hong Kong. Recent difficulties over the Defence Costs Agreement and the EEC textile negotiations for instance, although inevitable, temporarily affected our relations and would have made the promotion of policies set out in this paper more difficult.
30. There is also a need to continue strongly to advocate Hong Kong's case here and to counter ill-informed criticism of conditions in the Colony. No policy will convince those critics who for idealistic or ideological motives, or indeed, out of resentment at Hong Kong's competitive power, seek to press HMG to enforce change in Hong Kong at a rate faster than the problem
allows. But obviously our ability to convince some responsible critics will depend upon the degree to which the reforms suggested in this paper are implemented.
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