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My Lords, following the signature of the agreement, Governments in both China and the UK have to satisfy their constitutional requirements in order to ratify the
agreement. The purpose of the Bill before us today is to
enable Her Majesty's Government for their part to ratify
the agreement.
The central provision of the Bill is Clause 1 which This
provides for the termination of British sovereignty over
the ceded parts of Hong Kong and the termination of
British jurisdiction over the whole territory with effect
from 1 July 1997. The Clause will enable the Government
to meet their obligation under paragraph 2 of the Joint
Declaration in which the Government of the United Kingdom
declare that they will restore Hong Kong to the People's
Republic of China with effect from 1 July 1997.
The Clause will enter
instruments of ratification.
into force on the exchange of
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