CONFIDENTIAL
of acceptance
accompanied by an 'agenda' of reservations,
41
Chap. 4,
qualifications and questions to be clarified or resolved ノ
in the years ahead. The response of individuals has been
supplementary: most of those who have chosen to write have
done so because they had something to say as individuals.
They have, sometimes in moving terms, conveyed a more
personal message, which has added texture and colour to
the message of the organisations.
23.
In brief, their message is this. Nobody in
Hong Kong can escape the uncertainties of the future:
those who have, or can acquire, a 'right of abode' elsewhere
will take personal precautions in the short term while
hoping for the best in Hong Kong in the long term. The
minority who reject the draft agreement do so either because
they can never accept reunification with Communist China
or because they are bitter about the consequences for themselves
as British Dependent Territories Citizens. The majority
who accept it do so chiefly because they regard reunification
as inevitable and are relieved that the terms of the draft
agreement are as good as they are.
24.
But the verdict of acceptance implies neither
positive enthusiasm nor passive acquiescence. The response
to the Assessment Office has demonstrated the realism of