§ 19. Mr. Longdenasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what financial contributions the Colony of Hong Kong makes to imperial defence expenditure by the United Kingdom Government.
§ Mr. H. FraserThe annual contribution is £½million.
§ Mr. LongdenDoes any other Dependency make a contribution on this scale? In view of this great contribu- 1124 tion, will my hon. Friend ensure that Her Majesty's Government keep United Kingdom forces in the Colony for as long as possible?
§ Mr. FraserAs no other Colony makes such a contribution, no other Colony has the same size of garrison as Hong Kong. Certainly, it is open to the Government of Hong Kong to raise with us, as they do annually, the question of what payments should be made. So far, however, this question has not been raised specifically by the Hong Kong Government and I think that both we and they are happy with the present arrangement.