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ship of Hong Kong belongers.
Negotiations involving
recognition of Chinese sovereignty would need to take account
of the legal rights and obligations incurred by HMG in respect
of Hong Kong under international agreements.
Agreement could
be sought from the Chinese by which China would take over
}
existing obligations and agree to consult HMG before entering
into new ones in respect of Hong Kong.
14. The position over sovereignty is complicated by the
differing legal status of Hong Kong and the Kowloon Peninsula
on the one hand and the New Territories on the other. The
former were ceded to the British Crown by the Treaty of
Nanking (1842) and the Convention of Peking (1860) respect-
ively. The latter were leased for a period of 99 years
under the Convention of Peking (1898). There is thus a
clear (though unstated) understanding that whether or not
British acquired 'sovereign rights' in the New Territories,
sovereignty would be resumed by China on expiry of the Lease.
This was implicit in the Order in Council of 20 October 1898
which declared the New Territories to be 'part and parcel
of Her Majesty's Colony of Hong Kong' for the term described'.
*
in the Convention of June 1898.* A statement accepting
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