TNAG-0393-FCO40-439-Diplomatic-reports-from-Sir-Murray-MacLehose--Governor-of-Ho-1974 — Page 35

EULLIDE

кей

12

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London S.W.1

17 April 1973

His Excellency Sir Murray MacLehose

KCMG MBE

Governor HONG KONG

Sir

1.

I have the honour to refer to your despatch of the 1st

of January 1973 containing your Report on Hong Kong for the

previous year. I fully agree with the general lines of policy

set out in that despatch, and I commend the vigour with which

you personally and your staff are, despite the difficulties,

carrying out your plans for the development of Hong Kong.

2.

I also agree that the conjunction of continued prosperity

in Hong Kong with the present period of better relations with

the Chinese Government makes this the right moment to push

forward the development of Hong Kong as a place where the mainly

Chinese population will wish to live and work; and that the

Hong Kong Government must be a Government in a hurry if the

necessary development is to be completed within a reasonable

time scale.

!

3. You write of the problems of trade and finance and of the

degree to which relations with Britain are adversely affected

by these and other difficulties. I accept that these problems,

though relatively few, are important, and can lead to a sense

/of

SECRET ECLIPSE