TNAG-1317-FCO40-1720-Future-of-Hong-Kong-meetings-of-the-Cabinet-Defence-and-Over-1984 — Page 130

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(b) opinion polls, either Governemnt sponsored or privately

arranged;

(c) an independent commission of outside experts appointed to take soundings in Hong Kong (cf the Pearce Commission in Rhodesia).

(d) an indirect process of opinion sounding, involving circulation

of the agreement to existing institutions including EXCO, LEGCO, District Boards, Advisory Committees, Kai Fong (neighbourhood welfare) associations, etc, who would be asked for their views;

(e) a more passive approach by which the proposals were published as

a Green or White Paper with an invitation to the public and representative organisations to debate them and make their views known, to be followed by an assessment compiled by the Hong Kong

Government;

(f) a combination of (d) and (e).

The Chinese Position

10. The Chinese position is that:

(a) Hong Kong is and always has been part of China, that the

population is 98% Chinese and that only the Chinese Government can represent the views of the people of Hong Kong;

(b) it is not acceptable that the principle of the resumption of

sovereignty and right of administration should be subject to public consultation in Hong Kong. The Chinese maintain that the views of the 1 billion people in China must take precedence over the views of 5 million Hong Kong Chinese on an issue of fundamental national policy;

(c) they are prepared to consult the people of Hong Kong about the preparation of the Basic Law, but they propose to conduct this consultation themselves and do not envisage any role for the British or Hong Kong Governments. The more formal is the action taken by the British or Hong Kong Governments to determine the

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