WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1,
1934
SECRETARY OF STATE MEETS PRESS
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THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE GIVEN BY SIR GEOFFREY HOWE, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS, IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL CHAMBER THIS (WEDNESDAY) AFTERNOON:
+WHEN I WAS IN HONG KONG LAST WEEK I SAID THAT I WOULD KEEP YOU INFORMED ABOUT THE NEGOTIATIONS IN PEKING. I KNOW VERY WELL HOW CRUCIAL THEY ARE FOR THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG. SO I WELCOME THIS CHANCE TO BRING YOU UP TO DATE.
MY VISIT TO PEKING WAS DEVOTED ALMOST ENTIRELY TO THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG. I WAS ABLE TO HAVE LONG DISCUSSIONS WITH FOREIGN MINISTER WU XUEQIAN, PREMIER ZHAO ZIYANG AND CHAIRMAN DENG XIAOPING.
THE PURPOSE OF MY VISIT WAS:
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TO REVIEW PROGRESS IN THE NEGOTIATIONS;
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TO MAKE REAL HEADWAY ON THE REMAINING ISSUES
AND, ABOVE ALL, TO STRIVE FOR THE BEST POSSIBLE RESULT FOR THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG. THAT IS MY OVERRIDING OBJECTIVE.
1 AM GLAD TO SAY THAT VERY SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE. WE HAVE AGREED:
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FIRST, THE FRAMEWORK AND KEY CLAUSES OF AN AGREEMENT WHICH WILL PRESERVE HONG KONG'S UNIQUE ECONOMIC SYSTEM AND WAY OF LIFE;
SECONDLY, THAT THIS AGREEMENT AND ITS ANNEXES WILL ALL BE LEGALLY BINDING :
THIRDLY, SATISFACTORY PROVISIONS FOR LIAISON AND CONSULTATION AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE AGREEMENT.
IN ADDITION. THE ARRANGEMENTS THAT WILL APPLY IN HONG KONG FOR 50 YEARS AFTER 1997 WILL BE PRESCRIBED WITH SUFFICIENT CLARITY AND PRECISION TO COMMAND THE CONFIDENCE OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE, WORK, TRADE AND INVEST HERE.
THIS PROGRESS