(15) Lender
(a) The British rule of Hongkong rests on provisions in past treaties. If these treaties are not recognised, the British rule will lose its legal basis. Great Britain, however, appears not to be without understanding of the Chinese position concerning sovereignty over Hongkong and to be willing, at the opportune moment, to negotiate with
China over this matter.
(b) It is because the British cannot ignore the legal
basis of their rule of Hongkong that the expiry of the lease
of North Kowloon and the New Territories cannot be swept
under the carpet. Hence before the sovereignty problem of the whole of Hongkong can be solved through negotiations, ways and means for solving the issue of the lease, such as
its extension, must first be found.
(iii) Hongkong Residents
(a) The majority of Hongkong residents, while they have no objection to the positions of both China and Great Britain, nevertheless, hope that some satisfactory solution in keeping with their own interests and aspirations can be found, and believe that, in the search for such a solution,
they ought to have the right of active participation.
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(b) It is their view that, if the authorities
concerned fail to find a satisfactory solution before it is
too late, the investors and the elite will have not alternative
but to look to their own interests individually or collectively.
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