TNAG-1038-FCO40-1288-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1981 — Page 45

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on a Razor's Edge" in which it was pointed out that part of our success may be attributable to the very fact of Hong Kong's unsettled existence

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providing a

risk and a gamble and therefore a faster pace and a more desirable place

to invest in. I do not agree because, cautious as I am, I think I might prefer an uncomfortable seat in an armchair uncomfortable enough so as not to sit

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all the time becoming complacent, but at least broad enough so as not to get

hurt every time I have to sit down, and warm enough to make me feel at home.

We have come a very long way in Hong Kong from being first a somewhat

romantic if harsh outpost of the empire and then a railway station for many people whose arrival was not always voluntary and who contemplated an

only transitory existence in the territory on the way to more attractive

pastures. Hong Kong is different today it has become a true home and a

base also for the millions of immigrants who have arrived in the last

three decades and whose children are willingly staying here or are happily returning after studies abroad to make a living. Hong Kong today offers

business opportunities not easily matched elsewhere and while we all like to bemoan the worsening quality of life, we must also admit that more

affordable opportunities have been created as a compensation.

One reflection of the general feeling that despite all the talk about

1997 Hong Kong is going to survive beyond that date is the ongoing

expansion of investment in Hong Kong. In this connection, I suppose some

of you may be curious about my taking an interest in a certain local property

company. Let me tell you that the acquisition did not happen because

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I wanted to do battle with the traditional old"Hongs", as matters were

dramatised at the time, but simply because, like so many others in Hong

Kong, I am committed to the territory's future. That there is a shift in control

from one sector or from one group to another signifies nothing more than

that commercial success needs to find outlets. In that respect, the acquisition

by say Hong Kong textile, shipping, or banking firms of assets or of whole

enterprises in other countries also only reflects the extent of the economic

power that has been built up in Hong Kong and with which we are now entering

the league of some of the largest multi-national businesses.

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