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DD 112330Z HONG KONG
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FM FCO 11150OZ MAY 84
TO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
TELEGRAM NUMBER 869 OF 11 MAY
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING
(64) MIPT:
MKK040/31
14 MAY 1934
CHISTS
MIPT: FUTURE OF HONG KONG: SECRETARY OF STATE'S SPEECH
PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE ON HONG KONG : 16 MAY 1984
1.
I AM VERY GLAD THAT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TONIGHT TO DEBATE
THE IMPORTANT ISSUE OF HONG KONG'S FUTURE. IT IS A MATTER OF
PRIME CONCERN TO HER MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT. DISCUSSIONS ON THE
ISSUE DOMINATED THE VISIT TO PEKING AND TO HONG KONG WHICH I
UNDERTOOK IN APRIL AS PART OF A TOUR TO THE FAR EAST.
2. THE LAST OCCASION ON WHICH THE HOUSE DISCUSSED THE ISSUE WAS
THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEBATE ON 22 MARCH. INTRODUCING THAT DEBATE
I EXPLAINED TO THE HOUSE THAT IN OUR APPROACH TO THE NEGOTIATION
WITH THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT ON HONG KONG'S FUTURE, WE HAD TO BEAR
IN MIND THE REALITIES OF THE SITUATION AND THE UNIQUE HISTORICAL
AND GEOGRAPHICAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF HONG KONG. I NOTED THE DESIRE
OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG TO PRESERVE THE VITAL ELEMENTS IN
THEIR SOCIETY, AND TO SEE THE PROSPECT OF CONTINUITY IN THE
SYSTEMS AND THE FREEDOM THAT CHARACTERISE HONG KONG LIFE TODAY.
I RECALLED THAT AT PRESENT, CONTINUITY WAS ASSURED BY BRITISH
ADMINISTRATION, BUT THAT IN 1997 BRITAIN'S LEASE OF 92 PERCENT
OF THE TERRITORY WOULD COME TO AN END. IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, I
CONCLUDED, IT BECAME POSSIBLE AND INDEED DESIRABLE TO VISUALISE
OTHER WAYS IN WHICH CONTINUITY COULD BE ASSURED.
3. MY VISIT TO PEKING LASTED FROM 15 TO 18 APRIL. I HELD TALKS
THERE WITH THE CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER WU XUEQIAN, WITH JI
PENGFEI THE HEAD OF THE HONG KONG AND MACAU OFFICE OF THE STATE
COUNCIL, WITH PREMIER ZHAO ZIYANG AND WITH CHAIRMAN DENG
XIAOPING. OUR TALKS DID NOT DEAL EXCLUSIVELY WITH THE QUESTION
OF HONG KONG. WE WERE ABLE TO DISCUSS A WIDE RANGE OF
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES, AND I WAS GRATIFIED TO NOTE THE MANY
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