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(6) joint management of that part of the water supply system which would run beyond the Colony's new boundary:
(c) joint control and management of any installations that may have been constructed or were in course of construction in the New Territories, e.g. the projected airfield and facilities for the construction in the New Territories of any further installations which may be required by the Government of Hong Kong:
(a) the recognition of the existing rights of the individuals who have settled in the territories, unless of course this would be a normal condition and need not be specifically stated.
I sent this revised paper over to the Foreign Office and had some discussion of it with them. In the meantime, however, the international aspect had changed somewhat as the result of the apparent reversal of United States policy towards China. The deterioration in the economic and financial position of China itself was also, in the Foreign Office view, another factor to be taken into account. They felt that in view of these developments, the possibility of our being confronted suddenly with a demand for the return of Hong Kong to China had considerably decreased, and that in these circumstances, there was no justification for proceeding with the consideration of this particular problem at present, when there were so many other important and urgent problems to engage Ministers' attention.
We naturally took the line that it was still very important, from our point of view, that this
matter