3. The second option proposed by Hong Kong Government to record an understanding between the Hong Kong and Guangdong authorities in an MOU to which would be attached an agreed map is fraught with problems. As the telegram rightly points out, the legal entitlement of the Hong Kong Government to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction within the legal boundaries would remain, but under the understanding reached with the Guangdong authorities the security forces would deny themselves entry into those areas of Hong Kong which have passed to Guangdong. They would be unable to enforce the laws of Hong Kong, despite being legally responsible to do so. PRC security forces might, moreover, enter into areas which legally remain part of Hong Kong but which have been given up to Guangdong under the MOU. It could equally happen that PRC security forces might enter areas which legally remain part of PRC but which have been handed by the Guangdong authorities to Hong Kong. This would place HMG and the Hong Kong Government in a very difficult position. At the end of the day, the MOU might well not be taken into account by the State Council in preparing the map of the HKSAR. The MOU seems to create more problems than it is likely to solve.
4. The third option proposed by Hong Kong is to secure an agreed line but not implement it before 1997. An agreed line with the Guangdong authorities would not bind the PRC Government who could proceed to ignore it if they wish when the State Council publishes the HKSAR map. One also wonders in what form the agreed line would be recorded. Would this too involve some form of MOU between the Hong Kong and Guangdong authorities or would it only involve an exchange of correspondence between them? There is the further point that after 1997 there might well be problems of confusion if an administrative boundary has been agreed with the Guangdong authorities before 1997; the Guangdong authorities might still keep to it even if the State Council published a map of the HKSAR with different boundaries. This problem could in fact also arise with the MOU option.
5.
In conclusion, of the three options, the proposal for an MOU with the Guangdong authorities seems almost wholly undesirable. The idea of an agreed line seems really rather too vague and in any case also has difficulties though not such great ones. The only satisfactory option is the one which is likely to be unobtainable, namely, to have any changes in boundaries decided upon by Hong Kong and Guangdong endorsed by the UK and the PRC in an agreement, and change the legislation in the UK and Hong Kong to reflect the changes. (I believe the original intention was to seek JLG endorsement). Any understanding reached only with the Guangdong authorities would not bind the PRC; the MOU option would seem to get Hong Kong nowhere. Given that for other much more important reasons, we
/would
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