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THE AGREEMENT AND THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG
31. Her Majesty's Government have consistently stated that an
agreement on the future of Hong Kong must be acceptable to the
people of Hong Kong as well as to Parliament In his statement on
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20 April 1984 in Hong Kong the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs stated that the people of Hong Kong would need to have time to express their views on the agreement, before it was
debated by Parliament. The people of Hong Kong will now have this
opportunity.
32. The text of this White Paper is also being published in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Government and will be circulated through a
wide variety of channels in the territory. An assessment office has
been set up in Hong Kong under the charge of a senior official of
the Hong Kong Government, directly responsible to the Governor.
This office will provide Her Majesty's Government and Parliament
with an analysis and assessment of opinion in Hong Kong on the draft
agreement. Two monitors, Sir Patrick Nairne and Mr Justice Simon Li, have been appointed by Her Majesty's Government to observe the
work of the assessment office and to report independently to the
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on whether
they are satisfied that the assessment office has properly,
accurately and impartially discharged its duties. In the light of
these two reports Her Majesty's Government will decide what
recommendation to make to Parliament.
33. The people of Hong Kong are now invited to comment on the
overall acceptability of the arrangements negotiated between Her
Majesty's Government and the Chinese Government for Hong Kong, in
the light of the background set out in this White Paper.
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