THE ASSOCIATION
The Annual General Meeting was held on 11 June 1990, Mr H. N. L. Keswick being re-elected Chairman for the ensuing year and Sir Adrian Swire Vice- Chairman. The Chairman announced the retirement from the Committee of Mr R. F. Cornwell (P & O Containers Ltd) and Mr P. J. McSloy (Standard Chartered Bank) and thanked them very much for their past support. The remainder of the Committee were then re-elected en bloc, together with the following new members: Mr G. M. Williamson (Standard Chartered Bank) and Mr R. B. Woods (P & O Containers Ltd).
Under the arrangement introduced in 1985, the following ex officio representa- tives resident in Hong Kong again agreed that their names could go forward for election as co-opted members of the Committee: The Rt Hon. The Baroness Dunn, DBE (Senior Appointed Member, EXCO, and Chairman, Hong Kong Trade Development Council), Mr Allen Lee, CBE (Senior Appointed Member, LEGCO), Mr W. Purves, CBE, DSO (Chairman, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd) and Dr Helmut Sohmen (Chairman, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce). The Chairman said he was delighted to find that the existing team had agreed to stand for re-election. In the light of the current political situation, he considered the inclusion of the ex officio members on the London Committee to be increasingly important.
In his statement, the Chairman said that he was very pleased to be able to report that 14 new members had been recruited so far, this being a clear sign of the increasing interest among British firms in the future of Hong Kong.
He said that he had little to add to the summary of events to which reference had been made on pages 2-6 of the Annual Report, which was a very full report. However, a significant milestone had been reached with the publication on 4 April 1990 of the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Bill. This provided for the grant of British citizenship to up to 50,000 selected key people in Hong Kong and their dependents. It was clear that the emigration which had been going on from Hong Kong had been deeply unsettling and this measure was needed now.
The Chairman went on to say that he would like to congratulate all those who had been involved in making the passing of this Bill possible. As part of the campaign, a concerted effort had been made by the Association to persuade the waverers in the House of Commons to vote for the Bill. The majority of 97 in favour, was a great success.
He said that the three main issues now facing Hong Kong, the Basic Law for the Special Administrative Region after 1997, the question of moves towards more representative government in the period both before and after 1997 and perhaps the more immediate problem of the Vietnamese illegal immigrants, had all provided the background for differences of opinion with China and for the expression of opposing views. This was not the time to go into detail on these very complex questions, but it was regrettable that they should continue to be the subject of sometimes acrimonious statements. The sooner Hong Kong could get back to business as usual, the better.
The subject of trade was covered by the Annual Report but he would just like to stress the enormous British commercial commitment to Hong Kong.
On the subject of liaison, his thanks were due once again to Mr John Yaxley and his staff in the Hong Kong Government Office for their support during the year. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council under Mr Joseph Lee had also been most helpful and he hoped that the Association had been helpful to them.
As he had said before, one of the more useful functions of the Association was the liaison it maintained with the Hong Kong and United Kingdom Governments, particularly with the UK-Hong Kong Parliamentary Group. He said that he would
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Ike to thank Sir Peter Blaker and Dr John Marek in particular for their co- operation in arranging the periodical dinner meetings held in the House of Commons during the year.
The Committee has continued to be very active with their lunch meetings during the past year, to which many senior businessmen, civil servants, politicians and members of the Press had been invited, thus further strengthening these links.
Finally, the Chairman said that he would like to say a short word on behalf of our experienced staff, ably led by Brigadier Hickey who carried out the work not only of the Hong Kong Association but also that of the China Association and the Japan Association. He was sure that the Meeting would wish him to thank them for the excellent work they continued to do.
Coming on to the accounts, the Balance Sheet as at 31 December 1989 showed a surplus for the year of £1,248. In the absence of the Treasurer, he asked the Executive Director to comment on the financial position.
The Executive Director said that the Treasurer, Mr G. M. Williamson, had asked him to report that 1989 had produced a surplus on ordinary activities after taxation of £1,248, as mentioned by the Chairman, as against a deficit of an almost comparable figure in 1988. This had enhanced the Accumulated Fund to a figure of £2,794 as compared with £1,546 in 1988. Members would recall that it had been agreed to increase fees as from 1 January 1990 and he believed from the cash flow estimates that this should keep the Association on target for a satisfactory out-turn in that year.
PARLIAMENTARY CONTACTS
The Rt Hon. Sir Peter Blaker (Con) continued as Chairman of the UK-Hong Kong All Party Parliamentary Group, with Dr John Marek (Lab) as Vice- Chairman, Mr Roger Sims (Con) as Honorary Treasurer and Mr Charles Kennedy (LD) as Honorary Secretary.
HONG KONG
On 1 July 1997, Hong Kong will become a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Hong Kong is closely linked to China but still, in another sense, separate from it; that will continue to be the case in the future under the formula of "one country, two systems". Hong Kong can strengthen the basis of its special future political status by the contribution it makes to the modernisation of the Chinese economy and by the access to world markets, advanced technology and expertise that it can provide for China.
Much has already been written about the Basic Law and the forthcoming election in Hong Kong. We await the outcome. The trade figures continue to show a marked improvement since the end of the Gulf War and the hotel occupancy rates are beginning to pick up. The important issue of China's MFN status is being pursued strongly, the recent high-powered delegation to the US succeeding in raising Hong Kong's profile in the MFN debate. However, two principal issues of concern remain the future of the new airport and the issue of the Vietnamese Boat People.
The New Airport. The outcome of the talks in Beijing between the British Foreign Secretary and Chinese leaders was disappointing in spite of official claims that differences between the two sides have narrowed. The continuing disagree- ment over the financing of Hong Kong's huge port and airport project is becoming the cause of uncertainty in the economic climate in the territory and is delaying the discussion of the many complex issues which have to be decided in the run-up to 1997.
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