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Administrative Region and examined their implications.
In response
to these papers the Chinese side further elaborated their ideas.
11.
In April 1984 the two sides completed initial discussion of the working papers leaving a number of outstanding points unresolved. Both sides tabled draft agreements. At the invitation of the Chinese Government the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary visited
Peking from 15 to 18 April. During his meetings with Chinese leaders the two sides reviewed the course of the talks on the future
of Hong Kong, and further progress was made. In Hong Kong on 20 April Sir Geoffrey Howe made a statement on the approach of the
British Government to the negotiations. He said that it would not
be realistic to think of an agreement that provided for continued
British administration in Hong Kong after 1997: for that reason the
British Government had been examining with the Government of China
how it might be possible to arrive at arrangements that would secure for Hong Kong, after 1997, a high degree of autonomy under Chinese sovereignty, and that would preserve the way of life in Hong Kong,
together with the essentials of the present systems. He made it
clear that HMG were working for a framework of arrangements that
would provide for the maintenance of Hong Kong's flourishing and dynamic society, and an agreement in which such arrangements would
be formally [recorded}
12.
our ?
embodied I set ons
In
After Sir Geoffrey Howe's visit in April negotiations continued. A working group was established in June 1984 to meet full-time in Peking and consider documents tabled by both sides.
July 1984 the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary again visited
Peking. The visit was devoted almost entirely to the future of Hong
Kong. Very substantial progress was made towards agreement on the
form and content of documents which would set out arrangements for Hong Kong's future with clarity and precision, in legally binding
form.
13.
In Hong Kong on 1 August Sir Geoffrey Howe announced that the two sides had agreed to establish a joint liaison group which would come into being when the agreement came into force. It would meet in Peking, London and Hong Kong until 1 July 1988 when it would establish its principal base in Hong Kong, although it would also
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