9
House.
Successive Secretary of States have formed the opinion that, if they
were to advise the Queen that a death sentence should be carried out in Hong
Kong, they would not be able to secure majority support in Parliament for such
advice. It would be unrealistic of us to expect them to take this risk, how-
ever strong our feelings may be.
"By virtue of our striking success as traders, we have become, in
some respects a serious competitor to British manufacturers, both within` Britain
and abroad. It would required a remarkable degree of detachment for Britain to
refrain from taking the measures which she believes necessary to protect herself,
even if these measures are inimical to our interests. We have, in a sense,
become the victims of our own achievements.
"The recent negotiations on a new defence costs agreement afford
another example of a clash of interests. This was resolved, after months of
tough negoitation, in a manner which, while it did not fully satisfy either
party, could fairly be described as a reasonable compromise in the circumstances.
One important feature of those negotiations was the way in which they were
conducted; not like a bitter wrangle between enemies, but like a hard but.
good humoured argument within the frmi_y.
"I have spoken of the degree to which we are upset by criticism from
Britain. By contrast, you may be surprised to learn how wounded many British
visitors are by har things which are said of Britain here. Certainly,
Britain is no longer a world power. Her economy may be in trouble and her
society disturbed. But the British are a proud and clever people and take
no more kindly to criticism than we do.
"It is, therefore, important, if we want our point of view to be
understood, for us to show the British some of the wisdom, tolerance and
detachment which we demand from them, Indeed, I have reason to believe that
some of our most bitter and persistent critics first become hostile because of
what to them seemed to be unreasonable and prejudiced criticism of Britain by
people whom they met in Hong Kong. It would be well for us to remember that
when meeting politicians, journalists or influential Britons, we are all, to
some extent ambassadors for Hong Kong.
/ADVANTAGES.
"