CONFIDENTIAL
(B) THE AGREEMENT
3.
As my rt hon and learned Friend, the Foreign and Commonwealth
Secretary, said earlier the agreement on the future of Hong Kong is
unique. It seeks to guarantee Hong Kong's future into the middle of
the 21st century. Far further than most of us can see ahead. Our
aim in the negotiations was to provide for the maintenance of Hong
Kong's stability and prosperity. In our view the agreement does
that satisfactorily, providing a basis on which the people of Hong Kong can plan for the future with confidence. The agreement seeks to guarantee the continuity of Hong Kong's systems in a considerable
amount of detail. It provides a remarkable degree of autonomy for
Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.
4. The agreement provides the framework in which as a SAR of the PRC, Hong Kong will be able to maintain its economic system and way of life after 1 July 1997. It preserves Hong Kong's familiar legal system and the body of laws in force there. It provides for the
maintenance of the rights and freedoms that Hong Kong people at
present enjoy. It gives Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy, whereby Hong Kong will be able to administer itself and pass its own
legislation. It will enable Hong Kong to run its own economic, financial and commercial affairs and to participate as appropriate
in international agreements and organisations. In short it will enable Hong Kong to play its unique role in the world as a leading
trading and financial centre.
5.
One question that Members have raised is how we can be sure that
both sides will implement the agreement. One can never be absolutely sure about what the future holds in store, and I can only repeat what my rt hon and learned Friend said earlier: China has strongest interest in adhering to this agreement and making sure
that it works. Considerations of national pride and prestige, of economic self-interest and the general policy of reunification all
argue for this. The Government has full confidence that the agreement will be upheld.
CONFIDENTIAL
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