SECRET
THE AGREEMENT AND THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG
30. HMG have consistently stated that an
agreement on the future of
Hong Kong must be
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.
An
3p. The text of the present White Paper is being reproduced in a White Paper issued by the Hong Kong Government and will be
circulated through a wide variety of channels in Hong Kong.
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 HMG and Parliament with an
analysis and assessment of opinion in Hong Kong on the draft
agreement. Two monitors have been appointed by HMG 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,
In the light of
accurately and impartially discharged its duties.
these two reports HMG 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.
SECRET