Embargoed until 1545 hours
Wednesday, 10 January 1990
STATEMENT BY THE RT HON DOUGLAS HURD CBE MP (WITNEY) FOREIGN
SECRETARY TO THE CONSERVATIVE BACKBENCH FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE AT
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, WEDNESDAY, 10 JANUARY 1990
HONG KONG
Hong Kong is one of the great success stories of the 20th
century. A scrap of territory, with no natural resources save the ingenuity of its people, has transformed itself through enterprise
and hard work, into one of the world's greatest commercial and
financial centres.
The remarkable success of Hong Kong means that a great deal is at stake as we approach 1997. It is Britain's responsibility to ensure that Hong Kong remains prosperous up and and after the end of
British rule. It is in our interests too. Many jobs in Britain depend on Hong Kong. A confident and prosperous Hong Kong is even more in the interests of the People's Republic of China. China already derives great benefits from Hong Kong as an earner of
foreign exchange, a magnet for investment and a focus for
international trade.
Hong Kong's future rests on the Anglo-Chinese Joint Declaration
signed by the Prime Minister in 1984. The facts of geography and history, as well as the expiry of Britain's lease on most of the
territory in 1997 meant that the territory's future was inevitably
tied to that of mainland China.