TNAG-0243-FCO40-279-Conduct-of-Hong-Kong-commercial-relations-1973 — Page 13

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possibility of permitting the Hong Kong authorities

to look after their own affairs. We cannot, of

course, alter the basic constitutional position.

That is fully accepted and understood by all

responsible opinion in the Colony. This is fortunate

because in any delegation of authority we have no

alternative but to include some such phrase as the

Governor's "It follows from the constitutional

position that HMG cannot abrogate final responsibility

for the Hong Kong Government's external relations"

(paragraph 3(3) of his telegram No. 525 of 10 August).

Moreover we intend to make it quite clear that the

Hong Kong Government will be required to keep HMG

informed about prospective and current negotiations of

any kind with other countries.

It seems to us that the realities of the

situation, described so well by Melville, leave us

with a choice of only two courses (i) to continue

(with all the difficulties of which we are only too

well aware) to attempt to restrain Hong Kong from

taking action which the responsible and constitutional]

authorities in the Colony consider to be in the best

interests of Hong Kong, or (ii) to recognise that

Hong Kong's interests are not always the same as

those of the United Kingdom, to show other countries

that we acknowledge this fact, and to intervene only when, in our judgment, the UK interests involved are

of overriding importance. We would urge, therefore,

that Melville's ideas be carefully considered. We

suggest that, subject to the views of the Hong Kong

/ Government

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