TNAG-1892-FCO40-2685-Visits-by-Sir-Geoffrey-Howe-and-by-Douglas-Hurd--Secretaries-1989 — Page 92

G.F. 326

CONFIDENTIAL #3

3

1

the right of abode had been lost;

it was puzzling that the Secretary of State

had come all the way from UK just to tell

Hong Kong people something which had already

been clearly expressed by the UK Government

earlier; thus the visit was pointless and

meaningless;

the

visit was merely a window-dressing

exercise;

the visit was counter-productive in that

it further damaged Hong Kong's confidence

and also aroused anti-British sentiments;

the

seven-point plan put forward by Sir

Geoffrey was useless in solving the

confidence problem because it offered nothing

but castle in the air;

there were mixed reactions to Mr. Lee

Wing-tat's

luncheon;

protest at

the Governor's

better-educated respondents said

he was too agreessive and impolite but the

grassroots admired him for the "bravery";

and

a minority view was that the right of abode

might not be good for

for Hong Kong because

it would encourage people to confront China

more frequently and thus ruin the chance

of peaceful co-existence.

CONFIDENTIAL # 3