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TO WORK ENERGETICALLY TO MOBILISE THE SUPPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG OVER THE MONTHS AND YEARS AHEAD.
THIRD, ACTION ON A BILL OF RIGHTS WAS BEING PURSUED URGENTLY.
FOURTH, THE WISHES OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG WOULD CONTINUE TO BE FUNDAMENTAL TO HER MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT'S APPROACH TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A REPRESENTATIVE GOVENMENT IN THE TERRITORY. IT WAS ALREADY PLAIN THAT PLANS FOR 1991 WOULD HAVE TO BE REVISED AND THAT BRITAIN WOULD NEED TO CONSIDER WHAT FURTHER STEPS SHOULD BE TAKEN BEFORE 1997.
FIFTH, BRITAIN'S OBJECTIVE IN DRAFTING THE BASIC LAW MUST BE TO ENSURE FULL CONFORMITY WITH THE SPIRIT, AS WELL AS THE LETTER, OF THE JOINT DECLARATION SO THAT IT MATCHED UP TO THE NEEDS OF THE HONG KONG PEOPLE AS THEY FACED THE FUTURE. SIR GEOFFREY ADDED THAT HE HAD ALREADY DRAWN ATTENTION TO ARTICLE 18 OF THE JOINT DECLARATION WHICH, HE KNEW, CAUSED THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG SUCH ANXIETY.
SIXTH, IT WAS VERY CLEAR TO SIR GEOFFREY THAT THE LEADERSHIP IN PEKING NEEDED TO TAKE EARLY AND TANGIBLE ACTION TO RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN CHINA'S INTENTIONS TOWARDS HONG KONG. HE WOULD BE PRESSING THIS STRONGLY UPON THEM.
FINALLY, SIR GEOFFREY REPEATED, ON THE MATTER OF VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE, THAT BRITAIN WAS CONTINUING TO MAKE PROGRESS WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM OVER THE EARLY REPATRIATION OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO DID NOT QUALIFY AS REFUGEES. HE HOPED THAT GOOD PROGRESS WOULD BE APPARENT BEFORE LONG.
SIR GEOFFREY'S WORDS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES, BUT I WOULD LIKE ESPECIALLY TO HIGHLIGHT HIS UNDERTAKING THAT BRITAIN WOULD WORK ENERGETICALLY TO MOBILIS THE SUPPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG IN THE MONTHS AND YEARS AHEAD. AS HE MADE PLAIN IN HIS EARLIER MAJOR SPEECH IN HONG KONG ON 3 JULY, SIR GEOFFREY FIRMLY BELIEVES THAT HONG KONG POSSESSES A SECURE FUTURE. BUT BRITAIN EQUALLY HAS FIRM OBLIGATIONS TO HONG KONG IF THE SITUATION GOES CATASTROPHICALLY WRONG. I QUOTE FROM HIS SPEECH: ''WE WOULD NOT CLOSE OUR DOOR AND WE WOULD MOBILISE THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO HELP US IF THE NUMBERS LEAVING HONG KONG IN SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES (IE AN EXTREME SITUATION) WERE LARGER THAN WE COULD DEAL WITH ALONE. WE HAVE ALREADY STARTED WORK ON THIS.'
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