TNAG-0753-FCO40-957-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 82

letter to issue as

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CONFIDENTIAL

Mr Murray

Mr Stephen and Jun Supe

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No

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HONG KONG : LETTER FROM THE BISHOP OF DERBY'S INDUSTRIAL ADVISER

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1.

The Reverend John Gingell, Industrial Adviser to the Bishop of Derby, wrote to the Secretary of State on 13 September

expressing concern about the undemocratic nature of the Govern- ment of Hong Kong, and about the status of Hong Kong British passport holders. This letter is a follow-up to a letter which he wrote on 18 August 1975 to Mr Callaghan who was then Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary to which Mr O'Keefe replied on

2 September 1975.

2. Mr Gingell's concern arises from his difficulty in under- standing why a British Labour Government should be prepared to tolerate the perpetuation of an undemocratic, colonial Govern-

ment in Hong Kong. He appears to assume that the people in Hong Kong would welcome a more democratic Government, and that the Chinese government would also prefer a democracy to a colonial regime in Hong Kong. It is easy to see why somebody not familiar with the special circumstances of Hong Kong should

take such an attitude, and it is not easy to explain the pecul-

iarities of Hong Kong's position to an outsider.

The

3. Mr Gingell is wrong in implying that we maintain the present

situation because we derive financial benefits from Hong Kong.

It is difficult to calculate the exact balance, but the general indications are that in economic terms the costs and advantages

to us of our position in Hong Kong just about cancel out. real motive behind our policy is concern for the interests of the people of Hong Kong. We have every reason to believe that they wish us to continue to administer the territory for as long as possible. This we can only do if the Chinese remain content to allow it. We know that they would never tolerate an indepen- dent Hong Kong, and we believe that they would therefore not welcome any move that might be interpreted as a step towards independence. This situation is clearly understood by the great

/majority.

CONFIDENTIAL