TNAG-1373-FCO40-1819-Ministerial-visits-from-the-UK-to-Hong-Kong-1985 — Page 187

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CONFIDENTIAL

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4.

The re are

intrude on

think now

some special factors which

expectations and prognostications of China's development.

One that has previously been important, but

diminishing, is the common perception among the older

generation in Hong Kong that "you can't trust a communist".

This derives from experience in the 1920s-40s of

communist/KMT relations, as well as experience of communist

land reform and nationalisation policies of the early

1950s, and is found most commonly among ex-nationalists,

who form a majority of that generation in Hong Kong. This

view i s often still strongly expressed by individuals but

is diminishing slowly as more and more people in Hong Kong

are doing business with and travelling toChina.

5.

More importantly, as far as the general population is concerned, everyone has been intensely aware over the past

30 years of the sudden and often violent changes of policy

which have occurred in the People's Republic. There are

inevitably fears that this could happen again. People are | uneasily aware that reformist policies, and particularly

the policy of "one country, two systems" devised

devised for Hong

Kong (and Taiwan), are closely linked with Deng Xiaoping himself: his death will therefore create a serious

shock-wave in the colony. The longer he lives, and the

chosen convincing his

to be, appear

more

easier people will feel.

6.

successors

the

These factors apart, the population at large in Hong Kong seems to accept the inevitability of Hong Kong's

to

❘ reversion to China in 1997: being a pragmatic people, Hong

Kongers are

are not about to let that factor get in the way of their normal lives and personal self-advancement. People have a habit of persuading themselves of what they wish

believe. Just as before

started many the negotiations

people believed in

the the face of all the evidence that Chinese would somehow allow the status quo to continue, now many people believe that all will be well after 1997 out of a sort of natural optimism.

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