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THE AGREEMENT AND THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG
30.
The 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 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.
31. 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 the Government will decide what recommendation to
make to Parliament.
32.
The people of Hong Kong are now invited to comment on the
overall acceptability of the arrangements negotiated between HMG and
the Chinese Government for Hong Kong, in the light of the background
set out in this White Paper.
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