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Monday, February 14, 1972
should be here and more particularly as now, of course the Secretary of State
in England has three jobs rolled into one. So I hope, your Excellency as you
say that my visit will give tangible proof of our continuing concern for your
welfare and your prosperity.
"There is great interest in Britain in your affairs and in your prospects.
There is a group of Members of Parliament who are constantly alert on your
behalf and I, and my colleagues, have to answer questions of a steady stream
of letters on the affairs of Hong Kong. These are mostly about social and
industrial problems. Also about the growth of your industry and the competition
which it offers. Do not imagine that the general trend of these questions is
towards greater protection.
That is not so. It is, however, a recognition of the
fact that Hong Kong is a manufacturing country in its own right. They are in
recognition of the fact that Hong Kong as well as, for example, Lancashire at
home, must be given a fair deal. And as a member of Her Majesty's Government,
I have, of course, responsibility to people at home but also a responsibility to
the people of this island. And it is of the nature of that responsibility and
the weight of it that I shall have an opportunity to learn more today while I'm
here.
Mutual And Instant Awareness
"For all the mutual and instant awareness of each other's problems in
this modern world there are bound to be times when one or the other of us feels
that we have not been treated with the consideration we deserve. We must both
make therefore constant efforts to avoid these occasions and when they arise to
end them through amicable contact and discussion and what is more contact and
discussion taken in time.
/"We pay
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