Recently, when in Hong Kong, Sir Geoffrey Howe said the Agreement must be such that the British Government can commend it to Parliament, but the people of Hong Kong will need to know the terms of the Agreement and have time to express their views, and he added that Parliament itself will need time to reflect and take account of the views of Hong Kong people. The Foreign Secretary was reiterating what has been said many times before, namely, that any Agreement reached between the British and Chinese Governments must be acceptable to the people of Hong Kong. This raises at least two questions:
How is it proposed that acceptability is put to the test?
What will be HMG's reaction if Hong Kong people do not accept the Agreement or parts of it?
Parliament cannot take lightly the responsibility of transferring authority over a community (as opposed to the territory) for which the constitutional link with Britain has meant so much for so long to a communist government, albeit the Chinese Government which has a legitimate claim to sovereignty over the territory of Hong Kong itself. The inescapable fact is that the Chinese Government is committed to a political philosophy which is at least incompatible, and at worst hostile, to the philosophy on which the various systems and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong today rest.
It follows that acceptability will depend on the Agreement now being negotiated:
containing full details of the proposed administrative, legal, social and economic systems applicable after 1997;
providing adequate and workable assurances that the terms of the Agreement will be honoured;
stating that the provisions of the Basic Law will incorporate the provisions of the Agreement;
guaranteeing that the rights of British nationals will be safeguarded.
We believe that Members of Parliament will wish to take account of our views. We also believe that these views are an accurate reflection of the views of Hong Kong people as a whole, to whom the imminent withdrawal of the British link has been a great, if not entirely unexpected, disappointment.
UMELCO
Office of Unofficial Members of Executive and Legislative Councils Swire House, 12th floor, 9-25 Chater Road, Hong Kong. Tel: 5-264027
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