about any meaningful democratic change in Hong-Kong. A recent statement by Lord Goronwy-Roberts on 16th January 1975 that an elected Legco would be "a good thing" was highly qualified and very modest indeed. Even this statement has drawn criticism from the business interests in Hong-Kong and has been further watered down by the Colonial government.
The 1964-70's governments position was expressed by Mrs. Hart, as Minister of State for Commonwealth Affairs, in Parliament on 26th, April 1967.
"We start from a recognition of the fact that Hong-Kong is quite different from any other of our colonies. As I said in a previous debate..." because of Hong-Kong's special position, it is not possible to think of normal self-government in terms of an elected Legislative Council. mean that we cannot envisage a considerable and meaningful extension of democracy at the local government level."
But this does not
The following Conservative Government also laid great stress on the Urban Council. The present British Government has also stated that British troops will not be withdrawn from Hong-Kong and in the December Defence Review, Roy Mason stated:
"We intend to keep our forces in Hong-Kong, although we propose to make some reductions in them and to seek from the Hong-Kong government a larger per- centage of their cost when the present cost-sharing agreement runs out in 1976." (3/12/1974).
The Government's present policy on Hong-Kong was expressed by Lord Roberts in Hong-Kong. Lord Roberts stated on 16th January 1975:
"Certainly the advance to elective self-government as far as we can see looking at you from London is a good thing. But more important than that is that the desire for it and its form and the speed with which it is implemented should spring genuinely from your community. There is no way in which a govern- ment can legitimately impose a system on another government and it is entirely for you, as a community, to evolve the speed and the nature of any change which you think desirable.
"Institutional development must be linked to all sorts of things.
We think the impetus, the pace of development, must arise from your own feelings of what on balance it is best to do and how quickly it should be done.'
"
Although Lord Roberts did not specify how the Hong-Kong 'community' would make known its views without elections, and added that Britain would never attempt to impose any changes on Hong-Kong prematurely, the Colonial government and business reacted quickly to any suggestion of curbing or altering their power.
On the day after Lord Roberts Press Conference, the Hong-Kong Government Information Services sent the following message to News Editors:
"We have been asked a number of questions concerning Lord Goronwy-Roberts' answer to a question at the press conference yesterday concerning wider represen- tation in the legislative council.
"In answer, the Minister said that it had been British policy to advance · all territories progressively in stages towards self-government and independence but that any move towards greater representative government must be a matter for Hong-Kong. He also emphasised that the British Government did not expect any- body to move simply because movement is a good thing and that constitutional development must be related to all manner of considerations, some very sensitive indeed.
"Commenting on this statement a government spokesman said the extension of any elected form of government, whether it be local or of a city character, must be approached with caution in view of the constitution of Hong-Kong and of our geographical and political position which, as the Minister suggested, is very sensitive indeed. But this does not mean that progress cannot be made in
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