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- DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)
Council, the Governor's closest advisers, were kept fully..
informed of developments and consulted at every stage in
the negotiations. The negotiations were conducted on a
strictly confidential basis.
But the Governor and
unofficial members of the Executive Council visited
London on several occasions, for talks with the Prime
Minister and other Ministers; and the British Ministers
paid a series of visits to the territory to keep in
direct touch with opinion there.
In Confidence
9. After the agreement was initialled in September
1984, an Assessment Office was set up in Hong to analyse
and assess the views of Hong Kong people on the draft
The work of the Assessment Office was
Agreement.
overseen by two eminent independent monitors to ensure
seer
complete impartiality. The Assessment Office found that
the draft Agreement had been widely endorsed by the
people of the territory: there was general recognition
that a document containing such detailed and
comprehensive provisions for Hong Kong's future was the
very best that could have been achieved. It exceeded
the expectations of very many people, who had assumed
from statements made by the Chinese authorities before
the negotiations began, that a detailed and
comprehensive agreement on Hong Kong's future was not a
realistic prospect. The Agreement was widely welcomed
as a major diplomatic achievement.
IV:
Consultation with the British Parliament