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16. It is of course Parliament which will play the decisive role in determining/Hong Kong's future. It will be for this House to judge our work and to decide whether to approve it. We are working
to a ftime tabla in the talks which takes account of Chinese wishes
and of all our own requirements. We are aware of the Chinese desire
that an announcement about future arrangements should be made in
September. At the same time we recognise that any arrangements
negotiated must subsequently be debated by Parliament and arrangements for this will of course be made. The people in Hong Kong will need to know the terms of the agreement and have time to
express their views: and in turn Parliament itself will wish to take
accounts of those views.
17. Let me sum up the position. We are still engaged in complex and challenging negotiation. We are working to put together a package which will take the concerns of Hong Kong people fully into
account. We are still some way from an agreement, but a good deal of progress has been made. In my view there is a determination on both sides to bring our work to fruition in an agreement which will
ensure the preservation of Hong Kong's way of life. For the British
government this remains a prime objective. The agreement which we
reach must be one that we can honourably commend to this House.
HONG KONG DEPARTMENT
11 MAY 1984
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