TNAG-1012-FCO40-1262-Address-by-Sir-Murray-MacLehose--Governor-of-Hong-Kong--at-t-1981 — Page 74

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CONFIDENTIAL

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HKCK 013/3

FM HONG KONG Ø60840Z OCT 81

TO PRIORITY FCO

()

-Å

1970

TELEGRAM NUMBER 898 OF 6 OCTOBER

PERSONAL FOR CLIFT.

LEGCO SPEECH.

FURTHER TO MYTELNO 891.

Had Reeewis dic

3

THERE ARE SEVERAL AMENDMENTS TO THE TEXT WHICH YOU NOW HAVE BUT

THE ONLY ONES OF INTEREST TO YOU ARE AS FOLLOWS:

PARA 26. AT THE END OF PARA ADD QUOTE WE ALSO LOOK TO THE UK

TO SEE THAT THESE SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF HONG KONG ARE RECOGNISED AND THAT WE GET FAIR TREATMENT UNQUOTE.

PARA 153 NOW READS AS FOLLOWS:

THIS YEAR BY UNFORTUNATE COINCIDENCE THERE WERE ONE OR TWO DEVELOPMENTS IN THE UK THAT WERE DISAGREEABLE TO HONG KONG. FOR INSTANCE THE INCREASE IN UNIVERSITY FEES AND THE NATIONALITY

BILL STILL BEFORE PARLIAMENT. YOUR GOVERNMENT PUT UP A STIFF FIGHT, AND THOUGH IT HAD NO SUCCESS ON UNIVERSITY FEES IT HAD SOME

OVER THE NATIONALITY BILL. BUT THE POINT I WISH TO MAKE NOW IS HAT SOME HERE AFFECTED TO SEE THESE DEVELOPMENTS AS PART OF A DELIVERATE POLICY OF DISENGAGEMENT BY HMG. I CAN ONLY SAY THAT THEY WERE PROMPTED BY PURELY UK CONSIDERATIONS TOTALLY UNCONNECTED WITH HONG KONG, THAT THERE TIMING WAS PURE COINCIDENCE, AND THAT THE MOST SATISFACTORY ASSURANCES OF CONTINUED UK SUPPORT FOR HONG KONG WERE GIVEN. INDEED IT IS IRONIC THAT SUCH INTENTIONS SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUSPECTED OF A UK GOVERNMENT WHOSE MEMBERS HAVE BEEN SO HELPFUL TO HONG KONG AND FREQUENTLY SPOKEN SO WARMLY OF IT. I SELIEVE THAT IN RECENT YEARS THERE HAS BEEN A WIDER UNDERSTANDING

IN PARLIAMENT OF HONG KONG, ITS PROBLEMS AND ITS ACHIEVEMENTS AND THIS HAS BEEN DUE IN NO SMALL MEASURE TO THE WORK OF THE ALL-

PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP UNDER THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF SIR PAUL BRYAN.

MACLEHOSE

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