TNAG-1233-FCO40-1546-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 10

Reference

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matters of this kind, and I think he is clearly wrong in saying that the provision for special administrative regions is not on a par with other stipulations in the Constitution.

2.

It seems to me that the clause on special administrative regions would be seen by the Chinese as having equal status with any other clause in the Constitution, and the inclusion by them of this specific clause could be seen by them as providing justification for exceptions to the principle of "uniformity of the socialist legal system" laid down in Article 5. Moreover, there has been nothing in Chinese comments so far to suggest that they would regard the activities of businessmen in Hong Kong as "disrupting the socialist system" in China.

CODE 18-77

26 January 1983

Cc:

Mr Thomson, FED

лам

KC Walker

Far Eastern Section Research Department G 59/4

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