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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 14 March 1984
acceptable to the British Parliament, to the Chinese Government and to the people of Hong Kong.
As part of the continuing process of consultation you, Sir, and the Unofficial Members of the Executive Council, have visited London for discussions with the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Sir Geoffrey Howe, and other Ministers three times in the past eight months; and Ministers have reiterated the importance which they attach to keeping the Executive Council informed and to receiving its advice.
During these visits to London, the Unofficial Members of the Executive Council have been able to make their views, and those of their Unofficial Colleagues in the Legislative Council, directly known to British Ministers. They have done so against a background of wide and intense public debate on many aspects of the issue of the future, and in full knowledge of the opinions and concerns conveyed to them by individuals and groups through the many channels open to them. The Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with special responsibility for Hong Kong, Mr. Richard LUCE, has also visited Hong Kong twice in the past six months and has been able to hear at first hand the views of a wide cross-section of people. As Members are aware, the Secretary of State himself hopes to visit Hong Kong in the near future.
There can be little doubt about the general wishes of the people of Hong Kong. As you, Sir, put it in your Lunar New Year message only a few weeks ago, it is our belief that what the people of Hong Kong wish to see is, in essence, the continuation of the essential elements of our society and an assurance that they will continue. Or as Mr. LOBO and others have put it earlier this afternoon, the people of Hong Kong wish to see the maintenance of their present life-style and continuity in the systems which preserve thier present freedoms. That is the outcome which the people of Hong Kong wish to see from the talks now being conducted in Peking. Over the past 18 months to two years or so, many people, in many forums, have spoken out in elaboration of that message. Unofficial Members have done so. They have contributed to the discussion of the issue of Hong Kong's future both inside and outside this Council. This debate has given them a further opportunity to add their views to those expressed by many others on the factors which they believe must be taken into account if the eventual arrangements are to serve the best interests of Hong Kong.
During his recent visit, the Minister of State reminded us that, on the British side, any agreement between the two governments would have to go to Parliament for endorsement. Other parliamentary visitors have recalled that Parliament cannot be taken for granted. In considering the agreement, Parliament will, as Mr. LUCE made clear, wish to know the views of the people of Hong Kong on it. In consequence, those views, expressed in a variety of ways, including through this Council, will be an important factor for Parliament when it comes to assess the arrangements as a whole. In the light of this, it seems