worked hard in private discussions with them behind the
scenes to ensure that the Basic Law complies with the
This approach has paid off: the
Joint Declaration.
Chinese have made it clear that they value our
contribution and have accepted many of our ideas. We
have also secured the tacit acknowledgement by the
Chinese of Parliament's right to debate the draft and to
have their views passed to the authorities in Peking.
10. Annex II contains a summary of the changes which we
FIRST know have already been made to the final draft, at least
in part in response to our representations and those of
the Governor of Hong Kong. Our assessment of the
position now is that all the provisions of the Joint
Declaration are reflected in the draft Basic Law. The
only articles of the draft which might contravene the
Joint Declaration are those containing policy provisions.
These provisions, included at the insistence of the Hong
Kong businessmen on the Basic Law Drafting Committee,
prescribe the economic policies of the future Hong Kong SAR Government balanced budgets and low taxes) and thus
undermine the principle of the high degree of autonomy
that Hong Kong is to enjoy after 1997. There are other
areas (eg over the power of interpretation of the Basic
Law) where the drafting could be further improved. We
will want to study these further in the light of
reactions in Hong Kong.