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HONG KONG: NEW TERRITORIES
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8120
below
127
H.14
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Lee (105)
I attach a copy of the Order in Council of 20 October 1898. The words that give trouble are "and for the term" in Article 1.
2. I also attach a copy of the Convention of 9 June 1898, which is expressed to come into force on 1 July 1898. The last sentence of the first paragraph says "The term of this lease shall be ninety-nine years". This term must be taken to have begun on 1 July 1898 so it will expire on 30 July 1997, unless
varied.
June
3. If the term of the lease were varied, it might be possible to maintain that the reference to the term in the 1898 Order was to be construed subject to the variation.
4. It seems unlikely that the Chinese would want a formal amendment of the 1898 Convention.
5. I do not know whether the Chinese acknowledge that the UK in fact holds the New Territories for a term of ninety-nine years, expiring on 30 June 1997 but I assume not.
6.
•
Mine
If, contrary to my expectation, the Chinese recognize the existence of the ninety-year term, they might conceivably agree to make some statement or enter into some arrangement that would extend the term beyond 30 June 1997.
7. If, as seems more probable, the Chinese do not recognize the existence of the ninety-nine year term or regard the so- called lease as being ineffective or of no consequence (which might seem logical if they do not recognize the 1898 Convention that created the term), they might conceivably agree to make some statement or enter into some arrangement that would permit British administration of the New Territories beyond 30 June 1997.
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