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CONSULTATION WITH THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG
13. From the beginning of the negotiations HMG have been conscious
future: that the negotiations concerned the interests and the destinies of
HMS's the five and a half million people of Hong Kong. It has be
been the consistent position of the Government that any agreement with the
Chinese Government on the future of the territory would have to be
acceptable to the people of Hong Kong as well as to the British
Parliament and the Chinese Government.
16. The negotiations had to be conducted on a basis of
confidentiality. This was crucial to their success, but it also
placed a strain on 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 given information 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 attitude of the people of Hong Kong towards the negotiations.
17.
British
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.
Ministers also paid a series of visits to Hong Kong, to consult the
Executive Council and UMELCO 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
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
course
agreement. The British Government has paid close attention to the proposals and views expressed through a variety of channels by and
through UMELCO, through debates in the Legislative Council, through
the press, through individual communications addressed to the British Government or the Hong Kong Government. In this way HMG
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