TNAG-1259-FCO40-1599-The-Future-of-Hong-Kong---special-study-by-FCO--August-1982--1983 — Page 162

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Possible Changes

Recognition of Chinese Sovereignty with Continuing British Administration

10.

This would be in some respects the kind of relation-

ship which HMG have had with a number of territories

For

where the United Kingdom has never had sovereignty, eg the

Gulf States prior to 1971. The aim would be to ensure that

Hong Kong would be a territory whose foreign relations

were conducted by HMG under rights conferred by treaty, and

so part of UK territory for the purpose of the Chicago

Convention and for the grant of air traffic rights.

the avoidance of doubt any agreement on these lines would

need to state specifically either that Hong Kong was under

the protection of the United Kingdom for the purposes

of Article 2 of the Chicago Convention, or that China

agreed to the conduct of Hong Kong's international aviation

relations by the United Kingdom and agreed to a regime

defining what was intended in regard to international aviation

relations as between China and the United Kingdom for Hong

Kong. For the United Kingdom to conduct these relations

effectively, this regime would require Chinese acceptance

that any rights for a Chinese airline to carry traffic to

or through Hong Kong would have to be negotiated with the

United Kingdom and that the Chinese would not themselves

be able to sell rights at Hong Kong in exchange for rights

for their airline elsewhere.

11. The consequence of this would be the maintenance of

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/the