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DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)
confidential basis. But the British Government had made
it clear from the outset of the negotiations that any
agreement on Hong Kong's future would have to be
acceptable to the people of Hong Kong. The Governor of
Hong Kong was a member of the British negotiating team
and great care was taken to ensure that members of the
Executive Council, the Governor's closest advisers, were
kept fully informed of developments and consulted at
every stage in the negotiations. The Governor and
members of the Executive Council visited London on
several occasions, for talks with the Prime Minister and
other Ministers; and British Ministers paid a series of
visits to the territory to keep in direct touch with
opinion there.
9. After the Joint Declaration 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. To ensure complete impartiality, the work of
the Assessment Office was overseen by two eminent
independent monitors. The Assessment Office found that
the draft had been widely accepted 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 best that could have been
It exceeded the
achieved in the circumstances.
expectations of 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