October 1992
The Rt Hon Norman Lamont, MP
House of Commons
London SW1A OAA
Thank you for your letter of 26 October, enclosing one from your constituent, Mr B A Lewis, c/o Sabic Marketing,
PO Box 5101, Riyadh 11422, Saudi Arabia.
I suggest that in replying to Mr Lewis you point out that the Hong Kong Government's finances are completely independent of
those of HMG. The healthy state of the reserves in Hong Kong reflect the strength of the Hong Kong economy and the endeavours of Hong Kong people. It would be unthinkable for HMG to siphon off any of Hong Kong's reserves even if there was the legal authority to do so, which there is not.
Mr Lewis should be reassured that when Hong Kong becomes a Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of China after 1997, its reserves will be safeguarded under the terms of the
Sino-British Joint Declaration. This provides that the HKSAR shall use its financial revenues exclusively for its own purposes and they shall not be handed over to the Chinese
Government. The HKSAR will deal on its own with financial
matters, including disposing of its financial resources and drawing up its budgets and final accounts. The Chinese Government will not levy taxes in the HKSAR.
lam.let.SA
SLM