Am. 7/3
Mr Male
lece
23/7
Sir D Watson Thes her own copy.
HONG KONG:
1.
15/3
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LONG-TERM PLANNING
RECEIVED ↓ REGIST...
18 AUG 1975
.:)
HKK 41 (13)!
وا
In his minute of 21 February to the Secretary of State about his visit to the Far East, Lord Goronwy-Roberts said à propos Hong Kong:
"So far it suits Peking to let things be. But we should consider in the Office whether it would be possible and productive to probe very tentatively the possibility of a long-term arrangement with them without ourselves precipitating a crisis. Otherwise uncertainty will grow as the period between now and 1997 diminishes."
The Secretary of State replied:
2.
"As regards para. 12, should we look at the future from the
point of view of what value Hong Kong has for us and in the light of that consider the long-term future?"
Lord Goronwy-Roberts has called a meeting today to discuss various aspects of Hong Kong, when this question will be further considered, including the exchange with the Secretary of State. Mr Galsworthy has minuted that Lord Goronwy-Roberts's preliminary view is that the value of Hong Kong to us is not so much one of positive advantage, but rather a question of avoiding the dangers and disadvantages which would follow either the economic decline of Hong Kong or a takeover by China.
3.
We thus have three propositions, which might be re-arranged as follows:
(a) to consider Hong Kong's value to us;
(b)
to consider how to avoid the dangers and disadvantages of a possible economic decline or a takeover by China; (c) to consider the possibility of a long-term arrangement
with Peking.
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