David Young Esq MP
House of Commons
LONDON
SW1
27 November 1989
In the course of the Foreign Affairs Debate on Friday, you
asked about the stationing of the People's Liberation Army in Hong
Kong.
The Joint Declaration provides for China to station military
forces in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region after 1997 for the purpose of defence. It stipulates that those military forces shall not interfere in the internal affairs of the Special Administrative Region.
I am aware that this issue is the cause of concern among people
in Hong Kong. We have urged the Chinese Government to take Hong Kong's sensitivities fully into account in their handling of this
issue We believe that the Chinese Government are in no doubt about
the importance of this question for confidence in Hong Kong.
POOAAL
Secretary of State