CONFIDENTIAL
104A
Mr Hum
Hyẩm
012/4
-3 DEC 1992
FROM: P F Ricketts
Hong Kong Department
DATE: 1 December 1992
cc: Mr Crowe
Mr Miles
Mr Bickham, Special Adv.
Mr Cornish, News Dept
Mr Davies, FED
Miniter
Should we
Mr Broadbent, Econ. Adv.
unsrive
As
3112.
PS/Mr Goodlad
Private Secretary
Chem 7/12
artile abome ite
سنتكة
Chice beharia
its legal basis?
HONG KONG : THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY
Mr Hall, PEP DTI) Personal
Mr Love, OT2, DTI)
1.
We
It may be worth taking stock of the latest developments.
also have the first anecdotal evidence that the Chinese are now
making vague threats of retaliation against major British
businesses involved in China.
A 2. The latest salvo from Peking has been the statement from the
Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on 30 November saying that
except for the provision on land leases set out in Annex III of the Joint Declaration, other contracts, leases and agreements
signed and ratified by the Hong Kong British Government which
are not approved by the Chinese side, will be invalid after 30
June 1997.
B 3. In response, we and HKG issued a statement the same day. We
underlined that the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law make
clear that after 1997 the laws previously in force in Hong Kong,
which include the law of contract, will be maintained and that
contracts which are valid under Hong Kong's existing laws will
continue to be valid, provided that they do not contravene the Basic Law. We have also agreed with Hong Kong some
con.frn.ADM
SLM
CONFIDENTIAL