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18. The Hong Kong Government has decided to go ahead with this
project with or without our assistance.
In the circumstances and
having regard to other claims on our funds it has been decided not
to press the issue with other departments at the present time but to
hold out to Hong Kong the possibility of assistance at a later stage
of the project. Mention of the project in this Ministerial
Committee may help if we decide to make such an approach.
19. We cannot afford to continue to convey the impression of
indifference to Hong Kong's predicament because one day it could be
construed as abandonment of our responsibilities, with catastrophic
effect on confidence within Hong Kong and on the confidence of the
outside world in Hong Kong's capacity to survive as a separate
entity. The Chinese Government itself must draw inferences for its
policies from our apparent indifference to Hong Kong's interests;
Communist propaganda feeds on evidence of unsympathetic treatment
of the Colony.
be irreversible;
A collapse of confidence could be sudden and would
we cannot therefore take chances and must maintain
a substantial safety margin when assessing the effects of our actions
in the Colony.
Hong Kong Department 5 May, 1970
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