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at least so far as the Hong Kong paper is concerned,
so that you can fully consider the draft.
2.
The thrust of the planning paper, on the PUS's instructions, is to dissuade the Secretary of State from raising the internal administration of Hong Kong with the Chinese Government during his visit to Peking in May. I need not rehearse the arguments against this: they are covered in your
despatch of 12 February which is very much in line
with thinking here. The FUS and the Superintending y
Under-Secretaries, however, believe that an essential element or a policy of postponing discussions with the Chinese until the mid-1980s is the evolution of internal policy in Hong Kong which makes the present anomalous situation more defensible in Parliament and in political circles generally. They are disinclined to believe that the present flurry over the Fabian pamphlet is a temporary phenomenon. As by for the largest remaining colonial territory, Hong Kong is a matter of progressively increasing Parliamentary interest and they believe that successful defence of the Secretary of State's constitutional responsibilities to Parliament requires a forward look at the direction which those policies should take up to the 1980s.
Anared
-
many
I have, of course, pointed out that the implication he a more interventionist policy from London than has
been the case in the past; and mede much of the pointed out the
difficulties any Governor would have in imposing
REPRESENTING OPINION
policies which do not command the assent of UMELCO granting by Ky queerison.
The Superintending Under-Secretaries argue that these
Superintending-Secretaries would be good points if UMELCO were properly representative, or indeed selected from a wide social background; but not otherwise.
3.
The thrust of the draft planning paper (which I hope to send you by bag on Friday) is thus that externally nothing could or should be done until the mid-1980s; and that there should be a forward plan for institutional development in Hong Kong (consistent, of course, with the China dimension and based largely
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/on the plans
ky
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