would nearly double
of this report.
The
the size
se policies
'have a
relevance to our recommended
aim of returning Hong Kong to China (if it is accepted by Ministers) but are not, in our view, of "key importance to
the success or failure of the
proposals set out in this paper." To the extent that
these policies are relevant
they will be the subject of a separate study (paragraph 50) or the report. The Governor has already prepared a first draft of this during his recent, leave,
in anticipation that it.
will be required.
The dilemma which we and
the Governor see is whether, t goxfullxsteanxaheadxwithxplans
xxxxngx during our remaining tenure in Hong Kong,
to go full steam ahead with
plans for raising standards of
living and social services (so widening the disparity that its people will face when they rejoin China) or deliberately
to keep down rising standards (and by so doing attempt to equate them with conditions in China). The former policy
would seem to add to the problems
we will face at the time of
handover; the latter (apart from its moral doubtfulness)
carries the risk that orderly
government in Hong Kong during the interim period may be made
even more difficult. The
answer probably lies somewhere
in between; but this is what
the study will be about. We first require a ministerial decision on the recommendations
/ made
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