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Joint Declaration. On the whole they are satisfied that this has been achieved and that the Basic Law provides a firm foundation for Hong Kong's future as a Special
Administrative Region of China. But there are
some provisions which they would have preferred to have seen
drafted differently.
(c) Sino-British Joint Liaison Group and Land Commission
5.
in
Plenary meetings of the Joint Liaison Group were held
March 1990 in Peking, in September 1990 in London, in
December 1990 in Hong Kong and in March 1991 in Peking.
There was a slow but steady return to normal business
following the disruption in the Group's work in 1989.
process was helped by a gradual improvement in Sino-British relations during the same period.
6.
This
Three rounds of talks between experts were held in the
course of the year to discuss the establishment of the Court
of Final Appeal in Hong Kong. There were also useful exchanges on the question of the convergence of civil
rights law in Hong Kong before and after 1997, and on the
provisions of the Joint Declaration relating to nationality. The Group reached agreement in principle on
the detail of future arrangements for the surrender of
fugitive offenders between Hong Kong and relevant
countries. This cleared the way for the Hong Kong Government, under authorisation, to open negotiations with other countries early in 1991. Further agreement was reached on the localisation of UK legislation applied to
Hong Kong. Agreement was reached in principle on Hong Kong's continued participation after 1997 in the activities
of the International Telecommunication Satellite
Organisation and the International Maritime Satellite
Organisation. Discussion continued on other issues
including the transfer of defence responsibilities and Hong
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