CONFIDENTIAL
4. Various groups have presented their views on what an eventual
agreement should contain. Two groups have said that the Basic Law
should reflect the agreement. A student group somewhat perversely
has proposed that the agreement should not contain too much detail
in order "to avoid posing obstacles to self-rule". Another group suggests that the people of Hong Kong should have ample time to
express their views on an agreement before it is signed. The s a me group has suggested that any amendment to the Basic Law should be
matter for the people of Hong Kong. An association of school
teachers has called for international guarantees of the essential
freedoms enjoyed in Hong Kong. In general the suggestions divide
into points which we are already seeking to include in an
and others (such as international guarantees) which are clearly
non-negotiable.
5.
a
agreement
One District Board has proposed that the Hong Kong Government
should hire experts to carry out a survey of reactions to the
agreement once it is published. We
can expect that a number of
groups might engage in this sort of activity once the
been published: the
the test of acceptability cannot be conducted
entirely on our own terms.
agreement has
6. Overall the debate in
n Hong Kong about the future of the
territory is continuing fairly calmly. There is no reason for us to
prompt it in one direction or other at the moment. The next impetus
to debate could well be our announcement of proposed arrangements
statement
for the test of acceptability. If Ministers agree on 27 June to
what is proposed there would be advantage in making a
Parliament and Hong Kong soon.
Вир
R D Clift
о
26 June 1984
Hong Kong Department
CONFIDENTIAL