TNAG-1849-FCO40-2624-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 9

TRANSCRIPT E; SELECT COMMITTEE RE HONG KONG 24 MAY 1989

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CHAIRMAN:

You have refuted that and, indeed, you have quoted me as

taking the same line.

However, Mr. Swain, really acting as spokesman for

the unofficial members of the Executive and Legislative

Councils of Hong Kong, did put a number of other very

strongly-affirmed points to us, which echoed very

widespread feelings in Hong Kong and indeed AMELCO itself

provided a memorandum on which Kr. Swain gave evidence.

So if we may turn to some of the wider points be

made, maybe we will return to that narrower one later, and

let us begin with his widest point of all and it is one

that runs through all our discussions on this issue.

This is Ir. Swain's view:

"That the people of Hong Kong have had absolutely

no say on this matter”

and of course he is referring there to their future under

a new sovereign power and that they are being handed over

to

H

A

monolithic Communist state"

and that whatever may have been the limitation on Hong