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+OVER ONE THIRD OF HK'S EXPORTS GO TO THE UNITED STATES. IT FOLLOWS THAT EVEN MINOR ADJUSTMENTS IN US TRADE POLICIES CAN HAVE MAJOR IMPLICATIONS FOR HONG KONG. THE COMPLEXITY OF THE WASHINGTON SCENE IS SUCH THAT ONLY CONTINUING AND INFORMED OBSERVATION ON THE SPOT CAN ENSURE THAT WE BECOME AWARE OF DEVELOPMENTS IN TIME TO ADJUST TO THEM OR SEEK TO INFLUENCE THEM,+ MR TSAO EXPLAINED.
GENEVA WAS CHOSEN IN 1967 FOR THE LOCATION OF HONG KONG'S THIRD DIPLOMATIC POST BECAUSE IT CONTAINED THE HEADQUARTERS OF MANY INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS, NOTABLY FOR HONG KONG THOSE CONCERNED WITH TRADE - THE MAIN ONE BEING THE GATT.
THE HONG KONG OFFICE IN GENEVA NOW HAS TWO COUNSELLORS AND A SECOND SECRETARY. THEY REPRESENT HK'S INTERESTS IN MANY IMPORTANT FORMAL AND INFORMAL DEBATES AND NEGOTIATIONS.
+BY FOCUSSING OUR EFFORTS THERE ON THOSE ISSUES WHERE WE HAVE DEVELOPED SOME EXPERTISE, AND BY CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH DELEGATIONS FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WITH WHOM WE SHARE COMMON
INTERESTS, I THINK WE CAN, WITH ALL DUE MODESTY, CLAIM TODAY TO EXERCISE A DEGREE OF INFLUENCE ON WORLD TRADE POLICIES GREATER THAN ONE MIGHT EXPECT FROM OUR SIZE AND STATUS,+ SAID MR TSAO
THE LONDON OFFICE WAS, FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REASONS, NOT A DIPLOMATIC POST. ORIGINALLY SET UP IN 1955 AS A BRANCH OFFICE OF THE THEN COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT, IT HAD GROWN TO ITS PRESENT ESTABLISHMENT OF ABOUT 90 PEOPLE UNDER A COMMISSIONER WHOSE FUNCTIONS EXTENDED WELL BEYOND TRADE RELATIONS.
+ IN THAT OFFICE THERE ARE TWO MEMBERS OF THE TRADE, INDUSTRY AND CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT WHO ARE CHARGED WITH LOOKING AFTER HONG KONG'S COMMERCIAL POLICY INTERESTS VIS-A-VIS THE UNITED KINGDOM. THIS ARRANGEMENT IS JUSTIFIED BY THE SPECIAL METROPOLITAN RELATIONSHIP, DESPITE THE UNITED KINGDOM'S MEMBERSHIP OF THE EEC,+ HE ADDED.
IN ADDITION TO HONG KONG'S MINI-DIPLOMATIC SERVICE, WHICH IS MODEST IN SCOPE AND ENTIRELY COMMERCIALLY RATHER THAN POLITICALLY ORIENTED, HONG KONG IS ALSO REPRESENTED OVERSEAS BY THE HONG KONG TOUR IST ASSOCIATION AND TRADE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL.
THE FORMER'S ACTIVITIES ARE GEARED TO ENCOURAGING BUSINESS GROUPS TO HOLD CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS IN HONG KONG, AN AREA WHERE THEY ARE HAVING ENCOURAGING RESULTS, SAID MR TSAO. THE TDC HAD 18 OFFICES ACROSS THE WORLD. THE IR NETWORK, WHICH IS DIRECTED AT THE PROMOTION OF TWO-WAY TRADE, HAS ALSO A GREAT POTENTIAL FOR CREATING A FAVOURABLE IMAGE OF HONG KONG AND CULTIVATING INFLUENTIAL CONTACTS WITH LEVELS IN MANY ORGANISATIONS IN MANY COUNTRIES.
+ IN THE PAST HONG KONG HAS, INEVITABLY PERHAPS, BEEN ESSENTIALLY IN THE BUSINESS OF REACTING TO SITUATIONS AS THEY AROSE. THIS WILL ALWAYS BE THE CASE, BUT THE CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES OF WORLD TRADE WILL, IN MY VIEW, REQUIRE US TO PUT MORE EFFORT INTO IDENTIFYING LIKELY FUTURE THREATS TO HONG KONG'S TRADE AND PROSPERITY SEEKING TO INFLUENCE THEM BEFORE THEY MATERIAL ISE- AND TACKLING THEM PROMPTLY AND FORCEFULLY WHEN THEY HAPPEN. FOR THAT WE WILL NEED TO EXAMINE AND UP-DATE OUR REPRESENTATIONS OVERSEAS, MR TSAO CONCLUDED.
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