INTRODUCTION TO THE AGREEMENT
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The
19. The full text of the draft agreement is included as Part Two of this White Paper. It consists of a Joint Declaration including three Annexes. Each part of the agreement has the same status. whole makes up a international agreement, legally binding in all its parts. An international agreement of this kind is the highest possible form of bilateral commitment between sovereign states.
the
20. The Joint Declaration consists in part of linked declarations by Her Majesty's Government and the Chinese Government. In
paragraph one the Chinese Government declare that they will resume exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong on 1 July 1997. In paragraph two Her Majesty's Government declares that it will restore
Hong Kong to the Chinese Government from that date. In paragraph three the Chinese Government sets out its policies towards Hong Kong after 1997. In paragraph four the two Governments jointly declare that Her Majesty's Government will remain responsible for the administration of Hong Kong up to 1997. Paragraphs five and six deal with the Joint Liaison Group and land. Paragraph seven constitutes the important link between the declarations by the two
parties; it has the effect of making the Joint Declaration and the Annexes to it legally binding in their entirety on the two governments. Paragraph eight provides for the agreement to enter into force on ratification. Ratification will take place on
30 June 1985.
21. The agreement sets out clearly the relationship between the
provisions which it contains and the future Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, to be promulgated by the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China. Article 3(12) of the Joint Declaration provides that the basic
policies in the Joint Declaration and the elaboration of them in
Annex I will be stipulated in the Basic Law. They will remain unchanged for 50 years.
22.
Annex one contains an elaboration of Chinese policies for the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Annex deals in detail
with the way Hong Kong will work after 1 July 1997, and describes
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