TNAG-1160-FCO40-1440-Visit-by-Margaret-Thatcher--UK-Prime-Minister--to-Hong-Kong--1982 — Page 31

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

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DSR 11C

DRAFT SPEECH FOR LUNCH HOSTED BY CMA, FEDERATION OF HONG

KONG INDUSTRIES AND HKG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

What a tonic it is to visit Hong Kong! The dynamism, the

energy, the bustle and the sense of purpose are immensely

Your stimulating. The achievements of this vibrant territory...

society

fill me with admiration for the intelligence and the,

industry of its population. They confirm my faith in free

enterprise as the only sure basis for economic and social

progress.

Even since my last visit in 1977 there have been changes

gramatic

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the New Towns in the New Territories, the Mass Transit

Railway for example. Hong Kong as an economy has also been

gaining in influence and sophistication.

acquired a new dimension as a major international financial

centre.

It has now

Yet Hong Kong has not had it easy. Like all of us you have

had to cope with the problems of world recession. You have

also had to deal with a constant stream of immigrants and

refugees into the Territory. Despite these problems you

have sustained a consistent annual growth rate of 8-10% - a

telling tribute to hard work and individual initiative.

The

Hong Kong also gives a lie to those who believe that

material progress in a society like this is achieved at an

unacceptable social cost. Many countries whose political

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