TNAG-0414-FCO40-460-Review-of-narcotics-problem-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 111

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American sponsored narcotics control programmes in Thailand and Laos. In these the Americans are motivated primarily by their own self-interest not unnaturally, but from Hong Kong's point of view the well publicised American narcotics problem and the measures the Americans are taking to combat it both at home and overseas, have created an international climate as favourable as it has ever been to attack the sources of supply at root in the producing countries thereby promising at last some prospects of real progress as time goes by towards sub- stantially reducing the opium and its derivatives available for the illicit traffic to the Colony. It should not be thought that heroin abuse is simply an American problem which in the United States is politically and emotionally charged and concerning which that country has tended to go overboard, - an American problem to be solved by the Americans alone, British Hong Kong has a heroin problem every bit as bad as the United States and is vitally interested in doing everything possible to rid itself of this blight. To this end international cooperation and action is essential.

Diplomatic Approaches

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29.

It is understood that since the Second World War the British Government has not made any pproach to the Governments of Burma and Thailand in the context of Hong Kong to express its concern at the massive export of opium and its derivatives from these countries. It is suggested that this should be done and that the position in Laos should not be allowed to go unremarked. That Hong Kong is a major narcotics importer is common knowledge, particularly in the Fa East. If the British Government continues to play the illicit drug traffic in this region in a very low key and perpetuates a passive posture towards it, an impression can only be created abroad and locally that either it regards opium and heroin abuse in Hong Kong as traditional to the Chinese and not a matter for concern, or worse that powerful influences in the Hong Kong Government have a vested interest in the narcotics trade and do not wish to stop it despite public utterances to the contrary, or a combination of both. Having regard to the involvement of government officials in high places in the illicit traffic which is commonly believed to exist in the producing and exporting countries, this assumption is quite likely to be made. way it is desirable to state to the Burmese and Thai Governments the serious view the British Government takes of the situation and to impress upon them, Burma in particular, the need to take early and progressive steps both internally and in cooperation with the United Nations and other countries, to bring the growing of opium and the illicit export of the drug and its derivatives under control. And the same applies to Laos even though its position as an exporter appears to be minimal at the present time. That country is an opium producer and the illicit traffic uses its territory. The enormous difficulties facing these three States of course are fully appreciated and have been outlined earlier in this paper; it may well be that any representations made to them, particularly to the Burmese, will be fruitless.

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