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CONSULTATION WITH THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG
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15. From the beginning of the negotiations HMG have been conscious hmb that the negotiations concerned the interests and future of the five
and a half million people of Hong Kong. It has been HMG's
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consistent position that any agreement with the Chinese Government li
on the future of the territory should be acceptable to the people of
Hong Kong as well as to the British Parliament and the Chinese
Government.
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16. The negotiations had to be conducted on a basis of
confidentiality. This was crucial to their success, but it also
caused much concern and anxiety among the people of Hong Kong who were understandably anxious to know what was being negotiated for
their future. The Official and Unofficial members of the Executive
Council, as the Governor's closest advisers, were kept fully
informed on the negotiations and consulted on a continuing basis
throughout the period. The Unofficial members of the Executive and Legislative Councils provided invaluable advice to the Governor and
to Ministers on the course of the negotiations and on the attitude
of the people of Hong Kong.
17. At a number of crucial points in the negotiations the
Unofficial members of the Executive Council visited London for
consultations with the Prime Minister and other Ministers. British
Ministers also paid a series of visits to Hong Kong, to consult the
Executive Council and the Unofficial members of the Executive and
Legislative Councils and to keep in touch with opinion in the
territory. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth.
Affairs was able to describe the approach of the British Government
to the negotiations in his statement in Hong Kong on 20 April 1984,
and to fill in more details of the content of the agreement in a
further statement in the territory on 1 August 1984. In the course
of the negotiations, and in particular since the statement of 20
April, numerous individuals and groups in Hong Kong have made specific proposals on what should be included in an eventual
agreement. The British Government has paid close attention to these proposals which the Hong Kong Government has relayed to HMG and views on the future expressed through a variety of channels
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