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like of which the world has probably never seen. Almost the whole of Asia is growing. Once poor economies are being
transformed. Market economics and sheer hard work are
raising the living standards of hundreds of millions of
people. And there is no more spectacular example of this
than in China itself.
Hong Kong is playing its part in helping China to succeed, as
well as benefiting massively from its growing success. Hong Kong now represents a fifth of China's GNP. With Guangdong,
the Province just across the border with mainland China, it
represents nearly a third. So we both have a huge stake in each others' continuing success. In short, what benefits
China benefits Hong Kong. What hurts China hurts Hong Kong.
And vice versa.
So why the current dispute with China? Hong Kong is not like
our other colonies.
With most of them colonies we became
familiar with a pattern in which we would send out advisers on the British constitution and a Speaker's Chair- and
blast the colony concerned into independent orbit. Hong Kong
is not like that. We are not preparing Hong Kong for
independence. We are preparing it for the resumption of
Chinese sovereignty at midnight on 30 June 1997. For reasons
of history, geography and international treaties that was the
only course of action available to us. But we did negotiate
ways
enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration of
1984 to guarantee Hong Kong's way of life for fifty years
after 1997.
Hong Kong's way of life is much more than just its capitalist
economy. It includes all those other freedoms · of the
Press, of religion, of assembly that we all too often take for granted. It is those freedoms that are spelt out in page after page of the Joint Declaration and which have themselves
contributed to making Hong Kong what it is today.
sundayexpress.art JM PERS
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