TNAG-1321-FCO40-1727-Future-of-Hong-Kong-opinion-polls-and-surveys-1984 — Page 179

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23% said they would emigrate; 41.3% said they would stay in HK; and 35.7% were undecided; and

46% hoped HK would be completely ruled by HK people after 1997, while 42.1% hoped British people would be allowed to take part in the administration after 1997.

Northern DB

Northern District Board held a special meeting on May 7 to discuss HK's future. Most unofficials felt the authorities should start promoting an acceptable administrative framework for HK. The British Government should fulfil its obligation to resettle HK people, who do not wish to live under the future administration, as citizens of its dependent territories.

The points they made are:

It was important to maintain the territory's prosperity and stability in the transition period. The issues of civil servants and law and order in the pre-1997 period should be handled cautiously;

The present seven years residency requirement for candidates of election is too general and would give rise to the situation that China would send people to run HK in the next 13 years.

There should be arrangements to enable British-HK passport holders to continue their present lifestyle beyond 1997; and

Candidates for the future administrators should either be HK born or people who had lived here for more than 15 years.