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Mrs Thatcher: 'If Britain and China do not reach agreement by the end of 1984, China will announce its own solution'.
d. According to the Hong Kong Wen Wei Po of 30 May, Chinese "authorities" (not specified) gave the following reply to some questions submitted by a Hong Kong journalists' delegation:
'Our consistent position is: Hong Kong is a territory belonging to China and sovereignty over it must be regained by China. After China exercises sovereignty over Hong Kong, Hong Kong will be a special administrative zone of China and will be governed by local people in Hong Kong. China will adopt a series of special policies toward Hong Kong, including the policy of not changing Hong Kong's social and economic system and not changing the way of life there so as to maintain prosperity and stability. The above policies of China will remain unchanged for a long time.'
e.
as
I
An article in the Wen Wei Po of 31 May by Lo Ssu-wen (possibly a psendonym) said that in the future arrangements for a 'Hong Kong
run by Hong Kong people', the term 'Hong Kong people' would refer to persons of any racial origin who held Chinese nationality
'citizens of China's Hong Kong special administrative region they would enjoy 'legal protection in China in accordance with the legal relationship between the region and the main body of China' while they would have various citizen rights including political rights' as members of the local community in Hong Kong. The article added that persons who were not citizens of the Hong Kong region would be permitted to live there as expatriate employees, investors and other foreign residents, and could be invited to take up government posts; but not being citizens, they would not enjoy the 'civil rights of Hong Kong people'.
June 1983
a.
The Director of the Import-Export department of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, Dai Jie, told a Hong Kong journalists' delegation in early June that a new policy of promoting Chinese investment in Hong Kong was being 'positively pursued'; while there was no intention of investing in the property, gold or stock markets, 'anything which would increase Hong Kong's prosperity' would be considered; a brewery, textile finishing and cement plants were currently under consideration.
b. The Government Work Report delivered to the National People's Congress on 6 June by Zhao Ziyang included the following:
'We shall at an opportune moment recover Chinese sovereignty over Hong Kong and take appropriate measures to maintain its prosperity.'
C.
Xu Jiatun, First Director of the Hong Kong Bureau of Xinhua News Agency said at the National People's Congress that Premier Zhao Ziyang's statement expressed the 'common aspiration and resolve of the people of the whole country including Hong Kong compatriots'. He added: Recovery of China's sovereignty over Hong Kong and maintenance of its prosperity represent an integral objective Sovereignty
over Hong Kong is not negotiable. The interests of the compatriots in Hong Kong, including the interests of people of all sectors in Hong Kong will be given full consideration. There is no doubt at all about that.
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