TNAG-0320-FCO40-356-Petitions-from-Rural-Consultative-Council-for-the-New-Territ-1971 — Page 27

will R

"Sympathetic consideration" in Whitehall gobbledygook normally is taken to mean that a favourable answer is on the way. I have no doubt that in Hong Kong where the Civil Service is even more prone to gobbledygook than we are in Whitehall it carries the same weight, and on this basis it is probable that the thought would be reflected perhaps more clearly in translation into Cantonese or Hakka.

2.

There is another consideration which makes these requests for special membership difficult. It is that if Hong Kong is to preserve in the eyes of Peking its Colonial aspect and not begin a transformation into a "Third China" we can only put fresh elements on Legislative Council by displacing some of the present members or by increasing the number of Official Members to balance the newcomers. There are enough officials who could be more profitably employed in their offices sitting in Legislative Council at the

moment.

3.

I therefore strongly support the views expressed in the

minutes above.

18 February 1971

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(L. Monson)