CONFIDENTIAL
(B)
THE AGREEMENT
5.
In the Government's view the agreement
one.
i s
a
remarkable
The Government is confident that the agreement provides the necessary assurances about Hong Kong's future which will
allow the territory to continue to flourish, and to maintain its unique rôle in the world as a major trading and financial
centre. It provides a framework in which Hong Kong as
an SAR
of the People's Republic of China will be able to preserve
its unique economic system and way of life after 1 July 1997.
It enables the people of Hong Kong to plan for the future with a high degree of certainty and confidence about what
that future will hold.
6.
Some noble Lords have raised the question of how we can
be confident that the agreement will be implemented by both
sides. There can be no such thing as certainty about the future in this world. But as I indicated in my opening
speech there are the strongest reasons to believe that the agreement will be observed. National prestige is involved in upholding an agreement recognised by both sides as legally binding.
National self-interest is served by the
preservation of Hong Kong's flourishing economy. China's national objective of eventual reunification is intimately
associated with the success of this agreement.
CONFIDENTIAL