TNAG-1326-FCO40-1738-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-debates-1984 — Page 37

CONFIDENTIAL

4. In September 1982 agreement

was

reached during the Prime

Minister's visit to Peking to enter into negotiations with

For ourselves of course it was clear from the

this purpose.

start that any agreement must be one we could honourably commend to the people of Hong Kong and to Parliament, and one which they would find acceptable.

5. In the early stages of the talks we explored whether it

might be possible, in the interest of minimum change, to

secure agreement to continued British administration in Hong

Kong after 1997, on the basis of our recognition of China's

sovereignty over the whole territory. It became clear

however that a

a solution along these lines would not be

acceptable to the Chinese Government. We concluded that a

breakdown in the talks, with all the uncertainties that this

would have created, would not serve the best interests of the

people of Hong Kong. Indeed it would have had very serious

consequences for prosperity and stability. We therefore

decided, with the support of the Governor and the Executive

Council in Hong Kong, to explore Chinese ideas for Hong Kong

as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic

of China, enjoying a high degree of autonomy and the maximum

possible degree of continuity in its systems and way of life.

CONFIDENTIAL