TNAG-0243-FCO40-279-Conduct-of-Hong-Kong-commercial-relations-1973 — Page 100

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Hong Kong Government could reach such arrangements expexxxixaxxlxyx

anxxenxxxxxxtxorx. xtxexxxtxixixxx, as they wished with the United States

and other Governments and (ii) we would not find ourselves

prejudiced in pursuing our own commercial policies by the

fact that we would be regarded as having sold our own pass

by authorising Hong Kong to reach such agreements. Although

·

we would hope that, as in the Cotton Textiles Committee,

arrangements could be worked out on the spot whereby the

expression of conflicting views could usually be avoided,

there would be occasions on which the representatives of Hong

Kong at international gatherings might wish to express views

conflicting with those of the representatives of the United

Kingdom. It is, however, widely known already that on the

particularly

issue of non-cotton textiles/Hong Kong favours different

solutions from the United Kingdom. What we are proposing would,

therefore, be explained on the grounds that it did no more

than reflect the realities of the situation and was indeed

the best way in which we could exercise our responsibilities

for Hong Kong in the interests of the Colony. Dependent as

Colony's we are on "voluntary service" for the manning of the/Executive

and Legislature, we cannot, except for the most cogent of

reasons, afford to face the damaged confidence which would

follow from our consistently forcing on Hong Kong policies which

CONFIDENTIAL