TNAG-1313-FCO40-1688-Future-of-Hong-Kong-views-and-involvement-of-Australia--Cana-1984 — Page 33

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DRAFT AGREEMENT ON THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG

A draft agreement on the future of Hong Kong was initialled in Peking by the leaders of British and Chinese delegations on

26 September 1984. It has been published in a White Paper in London and in Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong will be given an opportunity to make known their views on the Agreement. then be debated by Parliament.

The agreement consists of:

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It will

A Joint Declaration, in which the United Kingdom declares that it will return Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997, the Chinese Government declares in broad outline its policies towards Hong Kong, and the two Governments agree to implement these declarations and the Annexes;

Annex I in which the Chinese Government expands on different aspects of its policies towards Hong Kong in fourteen sections;

Annex II which sets out the terms of reference and outline working arrangements of a Joint Liaison Group through which the two sides will continue to co-operate up to the year 2000;

Annex III which provides for the protection of existing land rights and for future land grants.

There will be an associated Exchange of Memoranda on the status after 1997 of people who are now British Dependent Territories citizens.

The agreement is the result of two years of hard negotiation with the Chinese Government. Its crucial elements are:

- The Joint Declaration and its three Annexes make up an

international agreement, legally binding in all its parts. Such an agreement is the highest form of bilateral commitment between sovereign states;

The agreement deals in considerable detail with Chinese policies towards Hong Kong after 1997. It provides a framework in which the people of Hong Kong can work for a secure and prosperous future;

The policies set out in the Joint Declaration and in the Annexes will be included in a Basic Law to be passed by the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, and will be maintained for 50 years after 1997.

The agreement provides for:

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Hong Kong to enjoy a high degree of autonomy as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. Socialist policies applied in the Mainland will not be applied to the SAR.