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-
the foreseeable future.
(A possible exception might be Brussels, where the Hong Kong Government office is accredited to the Belgian
Government as part of the
the British Embassy to that country. With Hong Kong having autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial
relations it might be possible for the Brussels office to be
accredited with EEC direct. However this has not been looked into).
Hong Kong will continue to look to British posts for support given
that HMG will be responsible for the administration
the administration of Hong Kong
until 30 June 1997. The Sino-British Joint Declaration (Section VI
of
Annex 1) states that thereafter the SAR may as necessary
establish official and semi-official economic and trade missions in
foreign countries, reporting the establishment of
of such missions to
the Central People's Government for the record.
PUBLIC REACTION
23. Resolution of Hong Kong's status in the GATT and the CCC beyond
1997 will contribute immensely to confidence in Hong- Kong's
It will be welcomed by the commercial
continued
prosperity.
community and by the public at large in Hong Kong.
PUBLICITY
24.
This issue needs referral to HMG and subsequent discussion in
the JLG. Therefore no publicity should be given at this stage.
ADVICE SOUGHT
25. Members are asked to advise whether an approach should be made
to HMG to make Declarations that Hong Kong possesses
full autonomy
in the conduct of its external commercial relations:
(a)
(b)
Under Article XXVI 5(C) of GATT and
*
In the CCC , sponsoring Hong Kong's membership therein;
in accordance with the procedure outlined in
in paragraphs 14 and
17 above.
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