TNAG-0849-FCO40-1059-Future-of-Hong-Kong-New-Territories-leases-1979 — Page 84

འགའ་འགག ག

Hkkouoli

RASSIVED IN TRUSTRY NO. 5!

TRANSLATION OF EDITORIAL ON HONG KONG'S MAY 1979 |

MING PAO (9.5.79)

INE

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WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO HONG KONG IN 18 'YEARS】

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1837

TIME

The year 1997' always appears in the minds of many Hong Kong people. No matter whether they are Hong Kong residents or foreigners temporarily residing in Hong Kong, the year 1997' is always mentioned when talking about the future of Hong Kong. It is because the lease on North Kowloon, the New Territories and the outlying islands will expire on June 30, 1997, and it is not yet known whether China will extend the lease term and increase the rental (in fact no rental is paid at present), or claim back these territories, or even claim back these territories together with Hong Kong Island. The Hong Kong Government has been quite concerned about this time limit, therefore, all leases on New Territories land always expire a few days before the end of June 1997 because after that date the landlord has the right to claim back the building.

If the Chinese government claims back the leased territories up to Boundary Street, according to the treaty, leaving behind the little island of Hong Kong, then the situation would be quite different from what it is now. The British government may have no interest at all to govern Hong Kong Island and South Kowloon and return them to China together with the leased territories. Or may be the relationship between China and Britain will still be so unprecedently good and they will have already worked out in advance a solution beneficial to both parties, so that the whole of Hong Kong can still serve China and Britain. It is believed that both Beijing and London have never thought about this yet because there are still 18 years to go. The situation of international affairs is kaleidoscopic. Nobody can be sure what the situation would be after 18 years and the future status of Hong Kong and Kowloon would depend on the situation at that time.

The main factors will be : - would a world war have been fought by that time? Would there still be hostility between China and the Soviet Union? What progress will China have achieved in her economic and social developments? What will be the result of China's four modernisation programmes? Would there be any major changes in China's policy? Will Taiwan and Mainland China have been unired? Will Hong Kong's economy still be flourishing or will most of the capitalists have left for other places causing commerce and industry to die. The determinating factors are 1. China, 2. Hong Kong itself, 3. Britain and. 4. the international political arena, including the Soviet Union, America and Japan. Hong Kong's future has to be worked out according to so many unknown factors that Hong Kong's situation after 18 years is still unknown.

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