CONFIDENTIAL
CLAUSE ONE
Clause 1 provides for the
of Hong
termination of British sovereignty over
Kong and
termination of British
the
the ceded
parts jurisdiction over the whole territory as from July 1997.
The
i s clause
to
to
implement HMG's commitment in
restore Hong Kong to
from 1 July 1997.
the
of this purpose paragraph 2 of the Joint Declaration People's Republic of China with effect the Joint Declaration nor the Bill seek to resolve the controversial
Neither
legal and historical questions relating to Hong Kong's present status. The Chinese insist that the three treaties relating to Hong
in the British and Chinese Governments
the Kong concluded between nineteenth century are invalid. In their view they have always had sovereignty over the whole of Hong Kong, and are merely resuming the exercise of it. We regard the treaties as valid. We therefore differentiate between the territories ceded by the 1842 Treaty of
Nanking and the 1860 Convention of Peking (over which Her Majesty has sovereignty), and the New Territories leased for 99 years under
the Convention of 1898. We could have drawn a distinction in the
Bill between these two parts, providing for termination of sovereignty over the ceded territories, while letting our lease over
To the New Territories expire by effluxion of time on 30 June 1997.
do
would SO
however simply draw attention to matters which are
disputed between the British and Chinese sides, and which the
agreement
по
on
on
itself successfully sets
one side. The Chinese would
doubt take offence and seek to place their Own view
record.
The Bill therefore simply states that HMG shall no longer have sovereignty or jurisdiction over any part of Hong Kong as from 1
The words 'no longer' are a muted assertion of our
July 1997.
present claims to sovereignty and jurisdiction.
Subsection (1) is the principal provision of the Bill. It provides for the termination of sovereignty and jurisdiction.
Its language
is based partly on the precedent of Section 1 of the Cyprus Act 1960
("and
have Her Majesty shall
по sovereignty or
jurisdiction over the Republic of Cyprus").
on
that day
CONFIDENTIAL