THE PROTRACTED CONFLICT

Why did Union Carbide move its Southeast Asian headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore? Silly question. Answer: for the same reason that Jardine Matheson (the British conglomerate that used to be virtually synonymous with Hong Kong) moved to Bermuda in 1984. And why did Jardine Matheson, etc? Silly question: for the same reason that 130,000 inhabitants left their homes for the United States, Canada, and Australia from 1986 to 1988.

To be more precise, these moves, and many more on the way, are happening because of a gut feeling that, when the time comes, it will make no sense to entrust the fate of a major center of capitalism to the whims of a Communist government in Peking.

BC

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Brian Crozier

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Why did Union Carbide move its Southeast Asian headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore? Silly question. Answer: for the same reason that Jardine Matheson (the British conglomerate that used to be virtually synonymous with Hong Kong) moved to Bermuda in 1984. And why did Jardine Matheson, etc? Silly question: for the same reason that 130,000 inhabitants left their homes for the United States, Canada, and Australia from 1986 to 1988.

To be more precise, these moves, and many more on the way, are happening because of a gut feeling that, when the time comes, it will make no sense to entrust the fate of a major center of capitalism to the whims of a Communist government in Peking.