TNAG-0580-FCO40-713-UK-policy-on-status-of-Hong-Kong-1976 — Page 59

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CONFIDENTIAL

Reference

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STATUS OF HONG KONG

1. Please refer to the request from Mr Luard and the British Embassy in Peking for the most recent definitive statement on HMG's sovereignty over Hong Kong. Research undertaken so far has not provided any reference to a clear statement in recent years by HMG claiming sovereignty over Hong Kong. A number of official communications and public statements, however, contain an implicit assertion of British sovereignty.

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The British position in Hong Kong is determined by the following three agreements with China:

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Article III of the Treaty of Nanking of 1842 in which China ceded the Island of Hong Kong "in perpetuity" to the Crown of Great Britain.

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b. Article VI of the Convention of Peking of 1860 in which China ceded Kowloon Peninsula up to Boundary Road and the Stonecutter's Island to the British Crown.

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The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong of 9 June 1898, under which the New Territories were leased to the British Government for 99 years.

The powers of the Crown and the relation of the Hong Kong Government to the Crown are set out in the Letters Patent of 1917, which are still in force subject to amendment. The last amendment was made on 3 May 1976. The existence of British sovereignty over Hong Kong is clear in the terms of the Letters Patent under which the UK administers Hong Kong as a Crown Colony.

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3. In a number of public statements since the war, members of the British Government have said there was no change in the status of Hong Kong. Mr Rees Williams in an affirmative answer to a Parliamentary Question on 7 July 1948 assured the questioner that there was no change in Hong Kong's position as a colony. In November 1964 the British representative at the United Nations Special Committee on the Implementation~ of the Declaration on Colonialism, said that the UK could not accept the statement made inter alia by Cambodia (now Democratic Kampuchea), that the territory of Hong Kong belonged to China; the UK reserved its position. On 14 November 1967 Lord Shepherd said in the House of Lords that HMG would not consider any abrogation of their responsibility to the people of Hong Kong. On 19 December 1972 the British Ambassador to the United Nations, Colin Crowe (now Sir Colin Crowe) wrote in a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations that the General Assembly resolution inter alia terminating the requirement for reports on Hong Kong as a non-self-governing territory under Article 73e of the Charter, "in no way affects the legal status of Hong Kong". Sir Colin added that differing views expressed by other Governments were unacceptable to the UK. On 6 November 1974 in a written answer to a Parliamentary Question, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Miss Joan Lestor said that the British Government had "no intention of abandoning Hong Kong". On 1 April 1976 Lord Goronwy- Roberts said in the House of Lords that "HMG will continue to administer the territory (of Hong Kong) in the interest of those who live there..'

11 In all these statements there is an implicit assertion of British sovereignty over Hong Kong.

CONFIDENTIAL

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