SEAAGL (2)
China, the Sino-British Joint Declaration must remain the cornerstone of our policy towards Hong Kong. Certain realities have not changed. It remains true that 92% of Hong Kong must revert to China under treaty in 1997 and the remaining 8% is not viable on its own. It remains true, as the editorial I mentioned pointed out, that it is in China's own long term economic and political interests to preserve a stable and prosperous Hong Kong. And it remains true that the Joint Declaration, product of two years of difficult and often hard fought negotiation, is a good agreement which, in its spirit and its detail, lays down conditions in which this can be
achieved. What we must do now is to hold China to the obligations it took on when it signed that agreement.
6. I do not underestimate the difficulty of convincing Hong Kong that China will do so in present circumstances. Confidence in Hong Kong has been seriously shaken and it will require some pretty dramatic progress to heal the damage. The attitude of the Chinese
Government will be crucial : we must hope that it comes to its
and at the very least shows a more enlightened appreciation of the value of Hong Kong than it did of its own people. The British Government, for our part, must listen more closely than ever to the wishes of the Hong Kong people and endeavour to see that
their concerns are met in the Basic Law, Hong Kong's "mini- constitution", when it is finally promulgated. The pace of development of representative, democratic government is a case in
point. The debate on this issue has been revitalised by the
democratic movement in China. We must hope that Hong Kong opinion
can eventually crystallise into a consensus on the right pace which,
backed by unanimous support, can then guide the Basic Law drafters.
7. I am painfully aware that after recent events many in Hong Kong have almost given up hope of living congenially under the
sovereignity of a Chinese Communist government. They are the ones who have joined the queues to emigrate from the territory. There have been calls, echoed by this newspaper, for Britain to open its doors to these people, and indeed to all those in Hong Kong holding British Dependent Territories Citizenship (some 3.28 million souls). and offer them a safe haven away from the uncertainties of 1997. the charge that this is plainly impractical, advocates of this
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