discussion, debates, seminars, public speeches and internal views,
as well as a vast range of comment in the media. The views received
were from a wide cross-section of the community and provided a
credible basis on which to make an assessment.
6. The Assessment Office's judgement is that "after the most
careful analysis and consultation of all the information received,
the Office has concluded that most of the people of Hong Kong find the draft agreement acceptable". The agreement was endorsed by all the principal representative bodies of Hong Kong, including the
Executive, Legislative and Urban Councils, the Heung Yee Kuk and the
18 District Boards. The overwhelming majority of organisations and
groups which expressed their views found the draft agreement acceptable. Of the just over 1,000 individuals who clearly stated their views 677 accepted the agreement and 364 rejected it.
The
overall picture from reports by and through the media was general acceptance. The findings of various independent opinion surveys indicated general acceptance of the agreement as well.
one of
7. Naturally not everyone was
everyone was content with every aspect of the The Assessment Office has recorded very comprehensively
agreement.
the concerns and qualifications expressed by the people of
Hong Kong. This will assist discussion between the British and Chinese Governments in the Joint Liaison Group on the implementation
of the agreement. The main points expressed were:
(a) Concern about lack of detail in the agreement on
structure of the SAR Government, especially the
appointment of Chief Executive.
COMMENT:
[The detailed structure of Government will be a matter
for the Basic Law to be passed by the National People's
Congress. It would not have been right to attempt to
lay down details 13 years in advance. It is necessary to allow for development between now and 1997.1
/ (b)