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same status
a legally binding agreement between the two countries. Whether or not there is an agreement between the British Government and the Chinese Government the New Territories will revert to China on 1 July 1997 under the terms of the 1898 Convention of Peking. The remainder of Hong Kong (the ceded territories of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and Stonecutters Island) would not be viable alone. Hong Kong, including the New Territories, has since 1898 become an integral whole and the British Government is satisfied that there is no possibility of dividing the New Territories which revert to China on 1 July 1997 from the ceded territories. The choice is therefore between reversion of Hong Kong to China under agreed, legally binding international arrangements or reversion to China without such arrangements. This is not a choice which the Government have wished to impose on the people of Hong Kong. It is a choice imposed by the facts of Hong Kong's history.
one.
29. However the Government believe that the agreement is a good
They have no hesitation in commending it to the people of Hong Kong and to Parliament. It provides a framework to preserve Hong Kong's unique economic system and way of life as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China from 1 July 1997. The Agreement preserves Hong Kong's familiar legal system and the body of Laws in force in Hong Kong, including the common law. The agreement gives Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy in which it will be able to administer itself and pass its own legislation. It will enable Hong Kong to continue to decide on its own economic financial and trade policies, and to participate in international organisations and trade agreements such as GATT. The Government are confident that the agreement provides the necessary assurances about Hong Kong's future to allow the territory to continue to flourish and to maintain its unique position in the world.
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