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What today's debate has done above all and I hope this will not be lost on Hong Kong is to underline the keen commitment of us all to maintain the welfare, prosperity and security of Hong Kong and all her people, safeguarding their achievements and way of life up to 1997 and beyond.
On the 6th June I made clear that the Government condemn unreservedly the indiscriminate massacre of unarmed civilians in China. Now we see policies of systematic repression following in the wake of the bloody violence in Peking and elsewhere. We deplore these events just as vigorously as those which occurred on 3rd and 4th June. The whole world has been horrified by these developments, but understandably the impact has been felt most in Hong Kong. Against that shocking background it is natural that many should speak today about ways of helping Hong Kong. It is right that we should help. Our fundamental objective is to give the people of Hong Kong a future in Hong Kong that they want and deserve.
Much of our debate has focused on what we should do to relieve the most obvious and immediate concerns of Hong Kong people: uncertainties about nationality and right of abode., progress towards democracy., the heavy burden of Vietnamese boat people. It is easy to react emotionally, to say ''Something must be done'' and to make superficially attractive suggestions. But we should be under no illusion. These are very complex problems and they are made a thousand fold more difficult and pressing by the outrages in China. We must find measures which offer a prospect of practical and durable solutions. When we have decided what is best, we shall not hesitate to act. However, I have to say that we shall shun ''quick-fix'' options which relieve the anxieties of today only at the expense of storing up chronic distress for the future.
Sino-British Joint Declaration and The Basic Law
We cannot undo history or geography. Hong Kong's future has to take account of both. I welcome the wholseale support voiced today for the Sino-British Joint Declaration. With its provisions for Hong Kong to keep its freedom and all its present systems, legal, economic and social, and with powerful international links and a high degree of autonomy, that treaty is the cornerstone of Hong Kong's future.
I noted the suggestion about trusteeship, but the pitfall to that idea lies, I believe, in China's views about its ultimate sovereignty over Hong Kong. That is why we have told the Chinese very clearly that we shall fulfil our obligations under the joint declaration. We insist that they continue to fulfil theirs.