TNAG-0741-FCO40-945-Relations-between-China-and-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 161

4

RESTRICTED

militarily by the fact that Hongkong (as a non-blockaded British colony) would be of the greatest strategic importance in case of an armed conflict between China and the

Soviet Union.

All Chinese statements of the past have amounted to saying that British rule in Hongkong should only be terminated by the use of political

means, i.e. by peaceful negotiation. On the other hand, British rule in Hongkong would be allowed to go on in relative stability as long as the British authorities rospected two con-

ditions:

*རྗ

prevention of Soviet infiltration,

restriction of Taiwan's activities.

It is pointed out with special emphasis that Hongkong's future would not be decided by its citizens. Since Hongkong was Chinese territory, its future lay in the hands of 800 million Chinese including their fellow-countrymen in Hongkong and Macao. Just as the inhabitants of Manchester could not organize a State of Manchester, it was inconceivable that certain people in Hongkong could set up a state of their own.

II.

Assessment

4. Hardly ever in the past have there been such a large

number of Chinese indications on the future of Hongkong within such a short time. The general tenor of all these statements is that the status quo in Hongkong is to be maintained for the foreseeable future as long as the government and the people in Hongkong respect certain Chinese conditions, i.e. no infiltration of anti-Chinese forces and no aspirations for independence.