TNAG-1325-FCO40-1737-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-debates-1984 — Page 235

MISTRUST OF THE CHINESE

Fears have been expressed that a capitalist Hong Kong would not be

compatible with a communist China. I understand these fears. The

plain fact is that there can be no such thing as a cast iron

guarantee. The best assurance is surely the self interest of all

the parties concerned, supplemented of course by a binding international agreement. The Chinese have stated publicly that they want Hong Kong's social and economic systems and lifestyle to remain unchanged after 1997. Hong Kong has developed over the years a unique and pragmatic society working in cooperation with the world

and with China. There is nothing here which need be incompatible

with the concept of a free Hong Kong as part of China. The two

systems have already co-existed to their mutual benefit for the past 35 years. The present Chinese Government have adopted a markedly

practical approach to many problems including the accommodation of incentives and the profit motive within their system of economic

arrangement. Their stated objective is the imaginative one of the

co-existence of two systems in a single state, with Hong Kong

enjoying a high degree of autonomy. Of course we appreciate the need to make such a plan as effective and secure as possible. We are working for an arrangement which would embody this principle in a binding interntional agreement. But I believe it is a concept

which can succeed.

In our negotiations with the Chinese we have sought to build mutual

trust on the basis of a common concern for Hong Kong's stability and

prosperity. We are seeking a binding international agreement committing both sides to arrangements for the territory's future. In these circumstances we believe there are good prospects that a lasting agreement can be reached.