TNAG-0525-FCO40-620-Visit-of-UK-Members-of-Parliament-(Defence-and-External-Affa-1975 — Page 13

The difficulty

It is actually

I am grateful for what you say. The agreement is not finally signed, sealed

and delivered. I hope you will keep your fingers crossed.

has been the point about foimess. It is a unique agreement. negotiating an arcement with a governor of a British colony, and that leads to a degree of schizophrenia because you are concerned with his position

and the colony, and you have to find a middle course between benging the

table and valking out and leaning over too far in sympathising with the

real problems they face. The Governor would argue with me and my tean, es

he did, that he has substantially increased the spending in Hong Kong on

welfare and rightly so at a time when Hong Kong has been undergoing

recession. It was put to ne in conversation by the unofficials: how

can you ask us to pay more for our defence when you acknowledge the

condition of those who live in poverty in Hong Kong is more extreme than

those who live in poverty in the United Kingdom? This was the aurard

position one was in, but I think in all the circumstances the agreement

ought to be a good one, but I do not want to under-estinete the extent to

which the Governor will not find it easy to make it acceptable in Hong Kong.

Since our visit there has been a good deal of British hostile comment about the extent to which we are asking them to pay more than they think they can

afford.

CHAIRMAN: We did not see the Governor. A. No, he was here.

HR KERSHAW: We have read in the papers since you went to Hong Kong that

further cuts in the defence forces may be asked for. In what you have said

this afternoon I have gained the impression that in these current negotiations

with Hong Kong you have not considered the fact that the Pritish Government

may come back again to the Hong Kong Goverment soon and say that we are

cutting beck further. A. One cannot predict the course of Government,

least of all the conduct of my colleagues, but I think I would be on safe

ground to say that having szemined this extremely closely, and put the

Ccamelson to the minimun consistent with the objecbives for which it chists,

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