XN000022-1995-10-23 — Page 22

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different from China's, its continuity is promised. That promise, enshrined in Deng Xiaoping's concept one country/two systems, represents the real challenge to us.

China promises to keep Hong Kong as it is, not just its economy, as though you could in any event separate economic success from Hong Kong's way of life, but the promise covers everything, including the pluralism of Hong Kong and the Rule of Law, which underpins Hong Kong's economic success.

What the promise also covers is the subject that I touched upon earlier - the democratisation of Hong Kong. It was not something which unilaterally and late in the day was imposed by Britain. It was agreed and offered by Britain and China, the slow steady process of democratising Hong Kong's governing institutions - nothing too fast, a bit at a time, the establishment of a government accountable to an elected Legislature with the precise quantities of direct election stipulated for each round of elections as they came up over the years.

That promise freely entered into by Britain and China, presumably honourably and honestly made, helped to sell the Joint Declaration to the people of Hong Kong in 1984. Some were extremely worried, some were very anxious, some were reassured. The promise as well was carried back to Westminster, where Members of Parliament and Peers welcomed the assurance that Hong Kong would have, before Britain's departure, a firmly-based democratic administration. That was the promise and in so far as there was a breath of criticism, it came from those like Sir Edward Heath, who argued that we were not introducing democracy quickly enough. Since those days, Sir Edward has changed his mind.

No-one at Westminster said, 'Steady on, we don't want any flirtations with democracy in Hong Kong, they are not ready for it, they do not care about it'. No-one said, 'I think you had better dilute that promise when you get closer to 1997, better say it is subject to negotiation'. No-one argued, 'You should not really press ahead with this so late in the day'. No officials, weighed down with the expertise of a lifetime's study of China, said, 'Of course, Prime Minister, when we got you to sign a treaty promising Hong Kong elections, we did not mean fair elections!' Perish the thought - that would be far too risky. After all we have fair elections here and look at what happens! None of that was said.

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What was said was, Look at what we have negotiated, look at the future we have guaranteed for Hong Kong, look at what China has signed up to thrice blessed Hong Kong to have such a promise for the next 50 years, thrice blessed Hong Kong to have had people as clever and sensible as us to have negotiated these arrangements'.

When I was preparing to go out to Hong Kong as Governor, the document I studied most closely was the Joint Declaration. I took it as axiomatic that my main job was to do everything possible to give Hong Kong the best chance of hanging onto the