TNAG-1310-FCO40-1667-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1984 — Page 233

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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL-14 March 1984

Hong Kong would wish this to happen. Thus, we must address this pro between now and 1997, constructively and positively so as to limit the exte any damage. As a crucial first step we must try our best to dismantle the barrier of mistrust currently existing between all three parties.

Sir, a lot of people have expressed to me that they do not doubt the sincerity of the Chinese leadership in wishing to maintain our future stability and prosperity, but it is not clear how this sincerity can be transformed into practice. They also opined that the ideal solution designed to achieve the common objective lies in some form of continuation of the present status quo acceptable to both China and Britain after 1997. Yet, Hong Kong people, being perceptive and pragmatic, have probably sensed by now that the ideal solution is highly unlikely to be attainable. How then would they react? No doubt the initial reaction would be that for those who can afford to take out options or insurance policies, they would implement their plans accordingly. For those who are not so fortunate, they would probably accept with resignation whatever arrange- ments are announced. Whilst both reactions are perfectly understandable and predictable, I fear that both may be too negative. I plead now that the people of Hong Kong must study the Chinese proposals positively. We must be constructive in our evaluation of them and we must be frank and not fearful to point out the problem areas we see in their proposals. We must also try our best to think and suggest ways and means to improve on their proposals. Given that we do not doubt their sincerity and good wishes, why then should we not try to do our part and respond in a positive way. Everyone who loves Hong Kong must agree that there are very few places in this world that can compare favourably in most aspects with Hong Kong. Are we doing Hong Kong justice by simply being negative? Are we not even doing a gross injustice to ourselves by being negative? These are soul searching questions but they need to be addressed by each and everyone of us. If the majority of the people of Hong Kong can be persuaded to take a positive view, we will most certainly have embarked on the first step towards a brighter future.

For the Chinese leadership, I plead that they too must refrain from looking at us with an element of mistrust. They must understand and accept that the people of Hong Kong are apprehensive about change and sincerely wish to preserve the freedoms and stability we have now. Therefore our yearing for some assurance is perfectly natural and such yearning need not be interpreted as subversive. Given that there is no difference between us in our desire to achieve the common objective, there must be a route for accommodating our respective positions. They must be sympathetic and encourage that this route be found. They must look at our comments and contributions in a positive light and not waste energy in speculating on whether or not we have sinister intentions. They must try to understand that for the flower of confidence to bloom both careful nurturing and time are vital elements. Artificial means employed to force its growth (£) can give short term illusory satisfaction, but bill invariably be detrimental towards the attainment of the long term common objective. In order to eradicate Hong Kong peoples' reservations, therefore, they must also