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way Members from both sides of the House would be able to monitor events in Hong Kong and present their findings. Meanwhile, the Foreign and Common- wealth Office should call upon the Hong Kong Government to collect and publish much fuller governmental, social and economic statistics than it does at present. It is noticeable that as the Hong Kong Annual Report has become glossier its content has become shallower. Essential as these steps will be in breaking down barriers of ignorance and apathy they will not, in themselves, be sufficient to bring about change.
It might, for example, be necessary to point out to the Hong Kong administra- tion in the strongest terms how difficult it is for the UK Government to resist calls, from both employers and trade unions, for additional limitations on Hong Kong imports into Britain, so long as social and labour conditions remain in their present state. Or it might be that a condition of any British troops remaining in the Colony should be a much greater com- mitment by the Hong Kong Government to social reforms.
internal changes
The power structure within the Colony itself must also be tackled. It has to be recognised, of course, that no funda- mental shift in wealth or power within Hong Kong can occur so long as it re- mains a Colony. That is why the metro- politan power, Britain, must take its re- sponsibilities toward the people of Hong Kong much more seriously than it has done in the past. But certain changes can be made.
The first point is that through the Gover- nor the British Government has a trojan horse inside the Hong Kong Govern- ment. The post of Governor is obviously a key one, and the power structure with- in the Colony cannot determine who he shall be. The present Governor, Sir Mur- ray MacLehose, is a considerable im- provement on some previous holders of that post and, since his arrival in 1971, he has shown, that he is personally com-
mitted to social reforms. Perhaps this is because he is not from the conventional colonial service mould. So long as there is a Governor in Hong Kong the British Government should take care to appoint strong and respected figures, well known in Whitehall and able to cut through tra- ditional pomposities. Sir Hugh Foot or Sir Edward Boyle, as they were in the 1960s, would have been invaluable in Hong Kong at that time.
Once appointed, the Governor needs support to combat those of his own de- partmental heads who are deeply conser- vative, and the phalanx of big business interests on the Legislative and Execu- tive Councils. A British Government and Parliament committed to reform will sup- ply important external pressure, but there is also a need for a more representative Legislative Council. A detailed plan can- not be put forward here, but the elements of change seem clear and were suggested some years ago by Rear (in Hopkins, op cit). First, there should be payment for service on both Councils so that proper time can be given to the responsibilities of office and working men and women enabled to serve. Secondly, the size of the Legislative Council should be expanded by giving seats to the heads of all major government departments. This, in turn, would permit a larger number of Un- official Members to be brought in so that a wider range of experience could be brought to bear on problems. The Gover- nor, however, would retain both his ori- ginal and a casting vote so that the offi- cial view would always prevail in the end. This would clear the way for the third innovation, which would be that all Un- official Members would be elected and not appointed. This would both ensure that some legislators at least were in touch with grass roots opinion, and that China could see there was no question of a self-governing "Third China." Finally, much greater time should be allowed for questions and debate in the legislature. The current one afternoon a fortnight is absurd. Following these changes on the Legislative Council there should be no difficulty in appointing Unofficial Mem- bers to the Executive Council from a wider background than at present. No
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