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What you have created in Hong Kong is unique and worth
preserving. I shall do all I can to ensure that
Britain's last great imperial chapter is an honourable
one for us and a successful one for you.
The basis of your
Hong Kong's situation is unique.
future is not independence but 'one country two
systems'.
That is an imaginative concept. Now we have
to make it work.
The task will not be easy or straightforward.
There
are no convenient precedents, no ready made models to
follow. There are bound to be problems and setbacks.
But we have to make a success of this enterprise.
There is no question of the British Government just
sitting back and letting the clock tick towards 1997.
It is no part of our policy to go for the easy options.
We shall take difficult decisions when these are
necessary.
The framework is the Sino British Joint Declaration on
Hong Kong. I have always believed that it was the best
deal that could have been secured for Hong Kong. of
course it has its critics. But to these people I say:
"Can you honestly suggest any better alternative?
you believe that if a better agreement was on offer we
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