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their courage was to help us obtain a better agreement.
And certainly without EXCO we would never have succeeded in
retaining the confidence of the people of Hong Kong.
Many people contributed to the successful outcome.
I warmly endorse the tribute you pay to all those in Hong Kong,
London and Peking who worked so hard on the negotiations. I
would only add my admiration for the difficult role you played
with such distinction. As the point at which the views of
the negotiators and those of EXCO intersected, you carried an
immense burden with great skill and statesmanship. I should
like to record here the warm thanks of the Prime Minister and
myself for all your efforts.
Since the conclusion of the agreement, the Chinese have
shown an encouraging tendency to accommodate Hong Kong opinion,
although they are still sensitive about the role of Hong Kong.
The presence of 150 Hong Kong people standing alongside the
Prime Minister and myself as she reviewed the Guard of Honour
in Tien An Men Square at the signing ceremony in December 1984
was I hope a token of things to come. Since then the Chinese
have agreed to the inclusion of Hong Kong people in the Basic
Law Drafting Committee and to the formation of a Basic Law Consultative Committee in Hong Kong. I see it as very much in
our interest to encourage Hong Kong people to stand up in this
way, and to make their views known to the Chinese. At the same
time we need to go on urging the Chinese to be responsive to
these views. I hope that we shall in this way be able to
promote real and growing confidence between the two sides.
I am encouraged that a basis of trust has been established
with the Chinese. It was notable that the Foreign Minister
Wu Xueqian made a point of introducing his speech to the Security
Council meeting at Foreign Minister level in New York last
month (at which I happened to be in the chair) with a
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