TNAG-1852-FCO40-2627-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 17

CONFIDENTIAL

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR HONG KONG

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Agree with Committee that international dimension is of great

importance. We have been active at international level in a number

of ways:

First, we have emphasised to international community that they have important stake in Hong Kong's continuing success as international trading and financial centre and that they should

assist in any way possible in promoting this. Prime Minister

herself has played leading role in this campaign and her efforts

have had a real impact. Paris Economic Summit Declaration and CHOGM

communique contain very clear and categorical assurances of international commitment to support Hong Kong.

Secondly, we have called on other countries to provide a more

specific form of assurance, possibly along lines of our own assurances scheme, which will encourage people to remain in Hong Kong. Some countries (eg Singapore and France) have already introduced measures. Hope that others will do so too, particularly

after details of our own scheme are announced.

Finally, we have left international community in no doubt that, should the worst occur, we would look to them to help us if numbers leaving Hong Kong were larger than we could cope with alone. But such a scenario would imply failure of all we are trying to achieve for Hong Kong under JD. We are not remotely in that position now.

For this reason, probably unrealistic to expect international community to come up with firm and specific assurances against such a contingency.

NESACR (2)

CONFIDENTIAL