HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE
COUNCIL
5 July 1989
香港立法局———————————一九八九年七月五日
79
of nationality; and four, Vietnamese boat people which tackles the question of repatriation of Vietnamese in Hong Kong screened out as non-refugees.
After reading the report, one must say that the coverage is indeed impressive and comprehensive. But one must also be left with a distinct impression that conclusions and recommendations in the four areas are presented as a package deal — a package deal in which faithful implementation of the Joint Declaration, better human rights safeguards, speedier political development and solution of the Vietnamese boat people problem are offered as trade-offs for the denial of Hong Kong British nationals' right of abode in the United Kingdom and for Britain to wash her hands of her moral obligations to the entire population of Hong Kong. What is the use of talking about faithful implementation of the Joint Declaration when the issue is: it is doubtful if the implementation will really be faithful. And to be faithful to the spirit, if not the letter, of the Joint Declaration as contained in the British memorandum attached to the Joint Declaration might mean the right of abode cannot be restored. What is the use of talking about converting HMS Tamar into the future British Consulate General when the Chinese memorandum attached to the Joint Declaration stipulates that all Chinese compatriots in Hong Kong including, of course, British subjects holding BDTC or BNO passports, which are termed in that memorandum as "travel documents", will not be entitled to British consular protection, certainly not in China, and not even in Hong Kong.
Sir, a package is not a package deal where you win some and lose some. A package can best be likened to the four columns in the four corners of a house. Even if only one column falls, the roof collapses. It is of no use simply to retain and bolster Hong Kong's economy hence maintaining our usefulness to China as the goose that lays golden eggs. The very fact that AESOP wrote this fable shows that there are indeed people in the world who would kill the goose that lays golden eggs. The recent 4 June massacre in Beijing and the ongoing witch- hunt in China amply demonstrates this point that such people are alive, perhaps not so well. Now this is perhaps in response to my honourable friend Mr. POON Chi-Fai. He was thinking that economy might be the only bulwark. It is also of no use to simply build extra "fortifications" (that is the term used by Sir Geoffrey HOWE) legal, social, cultural, military, political, in addition to economic ones so that Hong Kong can be shielded from interference from Beijing "by virtue of history and geography"(I am borrowing from Sir Geoffrey again). But no fortification is really strong enough. (This is to contradict him.) And when no fortification is really strong enough, what we need in Hong Kong is what Moscow had in the wake of Napoleon's Russian campaign, that is, a vast hinterland to retreat to, and hence the possibility of a burn-and-scorch strategy or a scorched earth policy. NAPOLEON was defeated by this very strategy and HITLER learnt the lesson and stopped short of invading Moscow. Unlike
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