000 GOVT HOUSE
HK
'89 10-11 11:30
PHGE 13
27
8
The Joint Declaration provides the blueprint for
our future. Much detailed work remains to be done. This
is being conducted on two fronts: first, there is the
Joint Liaison Group in which Britain and China review all
of the various institutional arrangements which must be
renegotiated and agreed if Hong Kong is to continue in its
present form after 1997. The group includes Hong Kong
Government officials as part of the British side.
set up 1985 and its work will go on to the year 2000, three
years after the change of sovereignty.
It was
It has proved to be a most useful means of
liaison. A great deal of work has already been done on
ensuring that the great number of international agreements
which tie Hong Kong to the rest of the world will continue
to apply after the transfer in 1997. Following discussion
in the Joint Liaison Group, it was agreed that Hong Kong
become a separate contracting party to the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade the GATT. So too the
Customs Cooperation Council. It has enabled Hong Kong to
conclude its own air services agreements and set up its own
shipping register. Dealing with Hong Kong's participation
in a variety of other international organisations and
agreements continues. These are all practical and necessary
steps for securing our future.