TNAG-1324-FCO40-1736-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-debates-1984 — Page 34

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taken fully into account in our approach to the negotiation We are

aware of the importanceof getting the right agreement. The process of consultation, active and diverse from the beginning, has been

intensified since my visit to the territory. And in due course the

Hong Kong people will have a full opportunity to express their views

on the text of a draft agreement. It is still too soon to say exactly how our assessment of Hong Kong opinion will be carried

forward at that stage. There are many channels open to us, both

formal and informal. However, I should say to the House now that in

my view there are very real drawbacks to the idea of a referendum.

14. Throughout our conduct of the negotiations on Hong Kong's

future, the anxieties and concern of the people of the territory

have been at the forefront of our minds. I am very conscious that

it is their future and their livelihood which is at stake. I have

been impressed by their fortitude, just as I have been impressed by the sense of responsibility and commitment displayed by the members of Hong Kong's public service. The resilience and initative which the Hong Kong people have shown in the past will once again be

tested. I am confident that they will have the strength and the

determination to contemplate their future constructively and in a

spirit of realism, with a sense of commitment to their community.

That is particularly important because already it is Hong Kong people not HMG, who manage Hong Kong. The decisions affecting Hong Kong society, its economy, its currency are taken within

Hong Kong and by Hong Kong.

15.

The development of government in Hong Kong along increasingly representative lines, which I fully endorse, will give them the

means and, I hope, the confidence to contribute more fully to their

own future. It will however be for the Hong Kong government,

through consultation with the population, to define precisely the time scale and the way in which progress towards more representative government will be made. For its part the British government will

stand by its commitment to provide the framework within which the

Hong Kong Government can administer Hong Kong and plan for its

future so long as its responsibility for the territory continues.

can assure honourable Members that there will be no lame duck

administration in Hong Kong.

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