MON DED
18 May 1992
K McGarvey Esq
11 Imperial Crescent Stockton-on-Tees
CLEVELAND
TS20 2HB
HKCC oool,
Foreign & Commonwealth
Office
London SWIA 2AH
Telephone: 071-270 2822
сим
Dear Mr. McGarvey,
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Thank you for your letter to the Prime Minister which was passed to us and to which I have been asked to reply.
The New Territories, 92% of Hong Kong's land area was leased by China to Britain for 99 years. This lease is due to expire on 1 July 1997, whereupon it will revert to Chinese sovereignty. The remaining 8% is not viable on its own without Chinese cooperation. Britain and China opened negotiations to discuss Hong Kong's future after 1997 which led to the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984. This laid down detailed and binding arrangements for Hong Kong's future: for at least 50 years after 1997, Hong Kong is to remain as a separate entity with its own way of life unchanged. The Joint Declaration was welcomed in 1984, both in Hong Kong and internationally as the best achievable basis for a secure future for Hong Kong.
Under the Agreement, Hong Kong will have its own Government, composed of Hong Kong people. The socialist system and policies will not be practiced in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's capitalist system and way of life will continue and all its human rights and freedoms, law and legal system, freely convertible currency, financial markets and free port will remain intact.
The main forum for implementation of the Joint Declaration is the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (JLG). Its terms of reference are set out in Annex II to the Joint Declaration. The main function of the JLG is to agree on necessary legal and practical steps required to implement the Joint Declaration and to ensure a smooth transfer of sovereignty in
1997.
RB3ADC
8