CONFIDENTIAL
DRAFT SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER IN HONG KONG: 20 DECEMBER
1. It is a great pleasure to be able to address you. Over
the past two years I had had the opportunity of seeing many of you on a number of occasions. We have come to know each
other, and I feel that tonight I am among old friends.
2.
Yesterday in Peing Premier Zhao Ziyang and I signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong. It is fitting
that this.historically significant document should have been signed by two Prime Ministers. Those signatures testify to
the total commitment at the highest level of our two
Governments to the implementation of the agreement.
3.
Throughout the negotiations my first concern was the future well being of Hong Kong and her people. Britain has been responsible for Hong Kong for nearly 150 years. The
growth of Hong Kong in the post-war years, its economic
success even in difficult times, have been due above all to
the remarkable talents and energy of the people who live
there. But it has been British administration which has provided the framework within which Hong Kong people were able to develop those talents and energy to the full. We
have provided a responsive and responsible Government,
subject to the rule of law. Whatever the historical circumstances in which the association between Hong Kong and
CONFIDENTIAL