MUN
SECRET
7. Meanwhile, I think that we should also explore with him the possibility of tightening up penal sanctions other than the death penalty, to help him cope with the very real problem of rising crime, particularly violent crime, in Hong Kong, and marginally at least, to blunt the edge of the popular demand for the death penalty.
8.
Other subjects which the Governor may wish to raise with you are Hong Kong and the EEC, and the current Defence Review. Your statement on 4 June has been very well received in Hong Kong and I am sure that we should keep up the pressure for improvements to the Community's arrangements for Hong Kong, particularly the Generalised Preference Scheme.
9.
The Defence Review will be difficult. There is pressure in Whitehall for all troops to be removed from the non-NATO area. But whether we like it or not, we remain responsible for the internal security of Hong Kong. The Governor believes, and I agree, that the military must make a professional judgment of the size of garrison that is now needed to back up the police. Only when that is established should we discuss the scope of reductions in the garrison. Thereafter we can discuss with the Hong Kong Government the possibility of their meeting a greater proportion of the cost. The Governor believes that, provided the problem is approached in this way, he could get the Hong Kong Government to do this, but that if they were simply told that they could have what they paid for, he would encounter stubborn resistance. This might also result in a garrison smaller than would be sufficient to discharge the res- ponsibilities which remain on HMG. A too small garrison would produce instability both internally and vis-à-vis the Chinese Government. They know that the garrison is no threat to them, but they regard our willingness to maintain internal stability in Hong Kong as a touchstone of our readiness to stay there.
Coroner
стиль
HILK10/9
24 June 1974
SECRET
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