FCO_49_622_PLANNING_PAPER_ON_HONG_KONG_1976 — Page 165

DRAFT Planning Paper

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HONG KONG

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DRAFT PLANNING PAPER

General

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Page 165

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Telephone No. Ext.

RECE

RE Department

1. Hong Kong is a difficult political problem

because:

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(a) it is by far the largest remaining colonial dependency and normal evolution towards independence is debarred by China which claims sovereignty and could enforce that claim;

(b) the Secretary of State is responsible to Parliament for its present and future welfare and yet our power to influence developments there is circumscribed;

(c) its economic success has created substantial local interests not necessarily compatible with those of Britain;

(a)

China is a Communist state and politically

volatile; and

(e) Britain has a contingent obligation towards large and growing numbers of British subjects of Chinese origin resident there.

2. The problem is likely to become more acute in the future if Hong Kong, as expected, continues to develop; as the termination date of the New Territories lease (1997) approaches; and as the number of British subjects increases. The problem is also compounded by uncertainties over the succession to Mao Tse-tung in China.

This paper attempts to outline a strategy for the handling of the problem over the next decade, and is divided into four sections dealing respectively with the

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