}
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under the terms of the agreement all these provisions will be contained in as Basic Law for Hong Kong, to be passed by the National People's Congress of China, and will remain unchanged for 50 years.
7.
In the view of the Government the draft agreement provides a basis which will allow Hong Kong to continue to flourish and maintain its unique role in the world as a major trading and financial centre. It is for this reason that in the White Paper the Government have strongly commended the agreement to the people of Hong Kong and to Parliament.
8. The Joint Declaration and its three annexes together make up an international agreement, legally binding in all its parts. There is no reason to believe that the Chinese Government will not implement an
an international agreement into which they have freely entered. As Foreign Minister Wu Xuequian acknowledged in a recent address to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the Joint Declaration is a "form of international treaty": it has "the same force in international law and is legally binding". Both the British and Chinese Governments take pride in their impressive record in observing international agreements. Furthermore the agreement takes proper account of the interests of both sides including the enormous interest that Britain and China share in Hong Kong's continuation as a dynamic society it is today.
9.
The international reaction to the agreement has been most encouraging. It has been almost universally welcomed by Foreign governments as providing the basis for a continuing strong, propsperous and free Hong Kong. The Secretary-General of the United Nations has pointed to it as an example to other countries of how international questions should be settled peacefully. Reactions in commercial and financial circles has been very positive.
10. The response in Hong Kong has also been encouraging. Members will recall that an Assessment Office was established in the territory to test the acceptability of the agreement, and that its activities have been overseen by an independent Monitoring Team. The reports of the Assessment Office and the
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