(No. 70) 28. The main part of the confidential despatch deals
with the apathy and lack of enthusiasm for any constitutional change which has been shown by the public in Hong Kong. This is attributed on the one hand to a fear that any transference of power to a popularly elected body might lead to a strengthening the hold which Kuomintang agents are already gaining in the Colony and thus to a weakening or the British connection and on the other hand to a feeling that "collaboration" by individual Chinese with the British authorities might adversely prejudice them in the eyes of the Chinese authorities whose eventual control of the Colony is held in some quarters to be inevitable. It is regrettable that these considerations should have resulted in a lack of interest in or support of the proposals for constitutional reform but they do not provide a reason, I think, for lessening or deferring such reforms. Indeed they provide argument for the steady adherence to our prochimed purpose since
(a) if (as the Governor says) the people of
Hong Kong are to resist absorption by China and give open expression to their desire to remain under British rule, it is necessary that an active sense of citizenship should be fostered in them as soon as possible;
(b) the establishment of a new constitution which obviously implies the expected continuance of British rule will in itself be a declaration of our intention;
(c) the admittedly unrepresentative character
of the present constitution provides material for anti-British propaganda.
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Summary.
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The main des patch at (69) which contains the Governor's recommendations seems to me an extremely well balanced document. Ingenious arrangements are suggested for ensuring representation of communities which may not achieve representation by nomination or direct election and the device by which the Council itself would be established with a small, but reasonable, sphere of authority, and should then proceed in association with the Government by joint membership of a special Commission to make recommendations for the gradual transfer of additional functions and powers seems a particularly happy solution of the difficult problems arising from the transition to the new form of government. The feature of the recommendations most open to criticism is that only 50% of the total representation on the Council should be Chinese, but I think adequate reasons are given for accepting this position in present circumstances. No doubt in acknowledging the despatch some reference will be made to the desirability of achieving a more representative situation as the electorate shows itself conscious of its responsibilities. Criticism may also be directed to the proposal that the rural areas should not be included in the scope of the Council's responsibilities; with the resultant "duplication" of certain services. Indeed the functions as a whole proposed for the Council are not as far reaching as had been contemplated by the Colonial Office during the planning stage but it seems probable that they will provide the Council
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