this basis that more than 3 million would still
claim a broader base for their British dependent
territory citizenship than the Westminster
Parliament has, since 1981 (?) been prepared to
allow.
It was against that relatively cloudy background
that British negotiators started, in 1982, to
persuade the Chinese Government to grant an
extension, beyond 1997, of British sovereignty
over the whole territory. This initial bid was
by no means acceptable to the Chinese. then sought to secure, for a substantial period
into the future, the right to administer the
territory after the expiry of the lease in 1997.
This too was not acceptable to the Chinese.
Britain
At the end of the day, Britain and China came to
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