DRAFT
LORD BELSTEAD'S VISIT TO HONG KONG :
10 DECEMBER 1982
6
STATEMENT AT PRESS CONFERENCE
DSR 11C
On
main file.
This is, as you will know, the first time I have visited
since
Hong Kong / I took over responsibility for Hong Kong
Affairs in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in April.
this year and am glad to have had the opportunity of
coming here during my first year in office- I wish it
could have been earlier. I am particularly pleased that
I have been able to spend a full working week here. It
has given me the chance to see a great deal of Hong Kong,
to meet a lot of people, and to listen to their views.
I have had useful meetings with the Governor, with senior
officials and with UMELCO as well as with many other people
actively involved in Hong Kong affairs. Like all who come
to Hong Kong for the first time, I have been particularly
struck by its dynamism and activity, and by the energy
and productivity of its people. The pace and extent of development are simply breathtaking.
One thing that has been obvious to me this week is that the
future of Hong Kong is uppermost in everyone's minds.
I can
of course quite understand this, but I can only echo the
Governor's remarks that this is a time for strong nerves and
confidence. Things have after all started well. When the
Prime Minister visited Peking in September, she and the
Chinese leaders agreed to enter talks with the common aim
/of
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