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The House will understand why it was not possible,
then, and would not be right now, for me to go into
detail about the content of our negotiations with the
Chinese government. These negotiations are still in
progress. Both sides are agreed that they must remain
confidential. I do of course appreciate the difficulties
which that need for confidentiality poses for members
of this House, and even more for the people of Hong Kong.
But I have no doubt that confidentiality is important
for their success. And I believe that what I was able
to say in Hong Kong and can tell the House tonight will
allow discussion on the future to be conducted on a
reasonably informed basis.
our approach.
Let me now describe to the House the basis of
I have no doubt that it was right to
express in Hong Kong my clear conclusion that it would
not be realistic to think of an agreement that provided
for continued British administration in Hong Kong after
1997. It was right for us to explore every possibility
before coming to that conclusion. But it is a
conclusion that emerges inescapably from the negotiations
and most of all from the reality that I have explained,
the expiry only 13 years hence of the lease over
92 percent of the territory. In those circumstances we
concluded that it would be right to concentrate on
other ways of securing the assurances necessary for the
continuity of Hong Kong's stability, prosperity and
way of life.