SPEECH TO THE SOCIETY OF CONSERVATIVE
LAWYERS
HONG KONG: UNIQUE PROBLEM, UNIQUE SOLUTION
1.
In every sense, there has never been
another colony like Hong Kong. Because of
its extraordinary historical background, it
has always been inevitable in practical
terms that on the 1st of July 1997 it would
revert to Chinese sovereignty. And it is
difficult to imagine a more dramatic
contrast between Hong Kong's driving,
pulsing economy, the quintessence of
capitalism and its socialist counterpart on
the mainland. For years, the fear was that
when the handover took place, China would
simply absorb Hong Kong, and that
extraordinary chemistry that has made Hong
Kong uniquely exhilarating would simply
dissolve.
2.
It was our spectacular achievement to
reach agreement in the Joint Declaration for
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