confidence in China's economic poliçics. He had said, and Liao had agreed, that because of the history of the past 15 years, people here could not yet have confidence in the continuity of China's policies. In 15 or 16 years things would be very different. There would be confidence then. But the problem for all of us was that the crisis would hit us in the next few years, not in 16. In a sense we, and the Chinese Government, were trustees for the prosperity of Hong Kong. We would be failing in our duty as trustees if we did not print out these problems and try to find solutions.
13.
Finally, Wang remarked that there seemed to be a lot of public talk in Hong Kong about 1997. He thought there was too much. The Governor agreed that there was too much talk. The FS added it was inevitable. People would go on worrying about, and speculating about, the problem, partly because we were now in the 1980s.
14.
The Governor commented that Wang and Li were going to Peking the next day. He hoped they would give his best wishes to Huang Hua and Liao Chengzhih and that there might be an opportunity to see both of them in Hong Kong sometime during the year.
Political Adviser's Office,
Hong Kong,
15 April, 1981.
SECRET
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