Chinese puzzled over plan to move 5.5m Hong Kong residents to Derry

Even at the time, it must have seemed like a truly bizarre idea.

In the midst of the Troubles, it was suggested that the entire population of Hong Kong should be uprooted and relocated in a new city built in the middle of the province.

While the scheme may appear too preposterous for words, newly-released files at the British National Archives, show that it nevertheless sparked a flurry of correspondence in Whitehall.