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DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)
raised this on a number of occasions with our allies and
partners, for example at the Madrid European Council and
the Paris Economic Summit, as well as in bilateral
contacts with the US President and the Prime Ministers of
Canada and Australia. I intend to continue to emphasise
to those governments that Hong Kong people's concerns
about the future are deeply felt and that the
international community has a shared responsibility to
help.
In Confidence
in Hong
The debate highlighted matters which are of current
concern in Hong Kong. On the development of
representative government, I am encouraged by the lead
which Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils
are giving to the creation of a clear consensus
Kong. We are carefully considering the pace and nature
of democratisation in Hong Kong. As always, we will want
to ensure that the decisions we take are the right ones
and reflect the wishes of the community as a whole.
The debate also brought out the importance of getting
the Basic Law right. When the drafting process resumes,
we shall be using every channel open to us to influence
it in ways helpful to Hong Kong. We have left the
Chinese Government in no doubt that it is above all for
them to demonstrate through their actions their
commitment to the Joint Declaration, and thereby to begin
to regain the trust of the people of Hong Kong. We have
made it clear that they can help to do this by ensuring
that the final version of the Basic Law is in a form