CONFIDENTIAL
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20.
But a judgment on the accuracy of a matter as
complex as the views of the people of Hong Kong cannot
be left at that. As Chapter 3 illustrates, an accurate
assessment of "the extent of acceptance by the people
of Hong Kong" involves a great deal more than a simple
aggregation of the responses received from the many
organisations and individuals that submitted their views;
and we have been impressed by the quality of the detailed
analysis of views and surveys which the Assessment Office
has made in the short time available for preparing its
report. Our only concern is that the succinct general
conclusion in paragraph 3.1 and the subsequent paragraphs
of detailed analysis may not succeed in conveying a balanced
total perspective of Hong Kong's reactions to the draft
agreement the whole shape of the wood as well as the
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individual trees.
21.
As independent Monitors, who have shared all
the evidence available to the Assessment Office, we therefore
wish to complement the overall assessment in the report
with some final words of our own.
22.
The principal vehicle of response has been the
remarkable range of submissions from the many organisations
of Hong Kong; they have conveyed an overwhelming message