AN
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1986
REFERRING TO THE JOINT DECLARATION, SIR DAVID SAID THAT BRITAIN AND CHINA HAD BEEN WORKING TOGETHER ON THE COMPLEX TASK OF CONSTRUCTING THE FRAMEWORK OF INSTITUTIONS AND ARRANGEMENTS NEEDED FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FUTURE SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION.
VARIOUS MATTERS, SUCH AS LAND LEASES, MEMBERSHIP OF THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE, AND THE FIRST AIR SERVICES AGREEMENT HAD BEEN DEALT WITH, AND THIS WAS A GOOD BEGINNING,
+ THE QUESTION WHICH IS MOST OCCUPYING PUBLIC ATTENTION NOW IN HONG KONG IS, HOW THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION SHOULD BE FORMED AND WHAT STEPS SHOULD BE TAKEN NOW TOWARDS THAT OBJECTIVE, HE SAID.
HE POINTED OUT THAT ATTENTION CENTRED ON A GREEN PAPER REVIEW TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE GOVERNMENT NEXT YEAR AND THE PARALLEL WORK OF DRAFTING THE BASIC LAW AS PART OF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT'S CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS AND RESPONSIBILITY.
SIR DAVID STRESSED HOW THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA WAS GROWING. SOME 15 MILLION VISITS WERE MADE FROM HONG KONG TO CHINA EACH YEAR AND EVERY DAY COACH-LOADS OF VISITORS CAME TO THE TERRITORY FROM CANTON.
HONG KONG'S BUSINESSMEN WERE INVESTING IN INDUSTRY AND OTHER DEVELOPMENTS THROUGHOUT CHINA, AND PARTICULARLY IN NEIGHBOURING GUANGDONG PROVINCE.
OVERALL, SIR DAVID SAID, HONG KONG HAD TAKEN ON AN INTERNATIONAL LOOK, A CAPITAL CITY OF ASIA AND PROUD OF ITS GROWING STATURE.
IT WAS TRUE THAT SOME PEOPLE WERE LEAVING, BUT HE SAID THIS EMIGRATION SHOULD BE SEEN NOT AS A RECENT PHENOMENON BUT AS SOMETHING THAT HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR A LONG TIME.
CANADA, FOR EXAMPLE, NOW HAD A CHINESE POPULATION OF ABOUT 600 000 WHICH HAD BEEN BUILDING UP OVER THE PAST 30 YEARS, MAINLY FROM HONG KONG AND SOUTHERN CHINA.
ON THE OTHER HAND, UP TO FD 000 HONG KONG GRADUATES OF CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES HAD RETURNED TO THE TERRITORY, AND WERE MAKING THE IR CONTRIBUTION TO ITS PROSPERITY.
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