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Spoofed: Archives Reveal UK ‘Plan' to Ship Hong Kong Locals to N. Ireland

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Newly classified documents from the UK's National Archives have revealed how two British diplomats spoke of a plan to transfer Hong Kong's population to Northern Ireland to create a new city-state. But despite the outrageous suggestion, it's been revealed that the talk was all a big joke.

The documents show how diplomats in Northern Ireland and London reacted 'enthusiastically' to a 1980s proposal from a University of Reading academic, who suggested that a large chunk of the Northern Irish county of Ulster could be turned into a new home for Hong Kong's 5.5 million residents.

Among the joking exchanges between diplomats, George Fergusson, a diplomat from the Belfast office, suggested the plan might boost the Northern Irish economy, while also providing a safe home to those Hong Kong locals concerned about the expiry of Britain's lease of the colony.

Returning serve on the outlandish proposals was London-based diplomat David Snoxell, who also posed the question that such widespread migration to Northern Ireland may even result in the mass exodus of Ulster locals to Hong Kong.

"We should not underestimate the danger of this taking the form of a mass exodus of boat refugees in the direction of South East Asia," he wrote.

A 'Spoof' From Start to Finish

Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Mr Snoxell said the prank was clearly a joke between office staff, after some media outlets and punters didn't seem to pick up on the fact that it was a prank.

"It was a spoof from start to finish. There were only two of us involved. The Northern Ireland office wrote to me with the proposal [and] I wrote back, so only two papers were concerned and it surprises me that they were actually preserved… Perhaps they thought that the public would appreciate this spoof."

Mr Snoxell said the light-hearted banter between officials was part of an exchange designed to release the pressure on those working in the often-stressful foreign office environment.

"At the time we were dealing with very serious problems — extremely harrowing," he said.

"An exchange like this… actually relieves some of the tension. Sadly I don't think this level of humour exists anymore in the diplomatic service."

He said that the idea for the joke came about following a Belfast newspaper article in 1983, where sociology professor Christie Davies proposed the scheme.

"There was a proposal by a lecturer at Reading University to this effect and George took it up and wrote to me about it and asked for my comments. I sent him back a letter two weeks later filling this all out and taking it a bit further — suggesting that if the people of Hong Kong came to Northern Ireland then the people of Northern Ireland might want to go to Hong Kong."

However, it seems professor Davies may be having the biggest laugh of all, after hinting that the initial plans may have been nothing more than a laugh in the first place.

"I am glad my sensible idea was taken seriously. It was humorous but deliberately ambiguous. My test of a good humorous satire is if a significant minority take it seriously," Davies told the Independent.

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