Mala ma ka
timetable already agreed, provided there was goodwill on
both sides and administrative formalities were reduced to a minimum. This report had been accepted by the MOD and he therefore proposed that the meeting should turn to a detailed discussion of the Memorandum of Understanding.
2. A series of detailed amendments were agreed to the text of the Memorandum of Understanding. These are recorded
In particular,
separately as an Annex to these minutes.
the Hong Kong side accepted a formula which allowed for a 7-year duration to the Agreement, with the option of renewal, on the same terms, for further periods of 5 years, unless
either Government gave notice of a wish to vary the terms one year in advance. The meeting then considered arrangements for announcing the Agreement and publicizing its contents.
3. On publication, the Governor said that he would wish to lay the text of the Memorandum of Understanding before his Legislative Council and then make it available to the Press. The Minister of State replied that, while he would wish to make the UK Press statement as full as possible and place a copy in the Library of the House, he would be reluctant to publish the full text as the document was very complex and could give rise to difficulties in answering Parliamentary
Questions. It was therefore decided that a Press statement should be agreed between the two sides and that the Hong Kong Government, if pressed to publish the full text, should reply that it was not the practice of the UK Government to publish
documents of this sort.
4. As to the timing of an announcement, the Governor stated that his preference was to show the Memorandum of Understanding to his Executive Council of Tuesday 9 December, and make an announcement as soon as possible thereafter. Unfortunately,
he did not feel he could subscribe to this timetable while
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