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the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
came into force on
26 June 1987. In the area of travel and identity documentation,
arrangements previously agreed in the Group were put into effect in
Hong Kong on 1 July 1987.
6.
Other topics discussed in the Group and in expert meetings over the year included the replacement by local Hong Kong
legislation of United Kingdom statutes applying to Hong Kong and
future arrangements for the judiciary in the territory. The two sides also exchanged views on the progress of the review of
developments in representative government in Hong Kong on the basis
of information provided by the British side.
7.
Work in the Group and among experts was again characterised
by a friendly and co-operative atmosphere and a practical approach
to the resolution of problems. Its achievements have been welcomed
in Hong Kong.
(c)
Land Commission
8.
The Sino-British Land Commission has continued its record of
good progress, reaching agreement on the proposed New Territories Leases (Extension) Bill and on the methods of dealing with leases
for special purposes. Under the terms of the Joint Declaration, premium income from land transactions is shared equally, after
deduction for the average cost of land production, between the Hong
Kong Government and the future Special Administrative Region
Government. To date, more than HK$ 4 Billion has been credited to
the future Special Administrative Region Government's account. The
money is managed in trust by the Chinese side of the Land Commission
for the use of the future Special Administrative Region Government
after 1997. The Commission reached agreement on a land disposal
programme of 74.84 hectares for the period 1 April 1987 to 31 March
1988. This exceeded the annual limit of 50 hectares specified in
Annex III of the Joint Declaration. Thus the Land Commission once
again made sensible use of the provision in the Annex which allows
for flexibility in establishing the annual land disposal limits to
meet requirements.
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