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PREPARATION OF PUBLIC OPINION IN HONG KONG
3. The test will have been preceded by preparation of public
opinion in Hong Kong. This will take a number of different forms.
The gradual revelation of the likely terms of the agreement will
continue : this has already begun with the Foreign Secretary's
statements in Hong Kong on 20 April and in Parliament. D 16 May.
Full use will be made of these statements in Hong Kong and in the
UK, and the process will be taken further as more material becomes
available. Another important element will be the announcement in a
Green Paper of plans for the extension of representative government
in Hong Kong over the next decade. In addition senior officers of
the Hong Kong government will take appropriate opportunities to
speak in public about the need for a constructive and realistic
approach to the territory's prospects: to describe the proposals in
the Green Paper as the opportunity for local people to play a more
active role in fashioning their own future: and to emphasise the
continuing commitment of HMG and the Hong Kong Government to
effective and forward-looking administration. It may not be
possible to identify with certainty who in Hong Kong (outside
Government) might be ready to speak positively about future
arrangements until these can be more clearly described. But groups
and individuals whose general attitude to Hong Kong's future is
constructive and likely to be helpful to HMG's objectives will be
encouraged to play a positive role. In the meantime Ministers will
be taking decisions on what assurances can be extended to those who
the
might be vulnerable on or after the transfer of sovereignty and how
assurances will be communicated to those involved.
these
OBJECTIVES
4. The objectives of the process of consultation will be:
(a) To put a draft agreement to the Hong Kong people with a clear
explanation of its implications and a clear commendation :
seek confirmation that it is acceptable to them;
and to
(b) To provide Ministers and Parliament with
and
assessment of opinion in Hong Kong on
the
an accurate analysis
on the agreement, and
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