TNAG-1327-FCO40-1740-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Ministerial-statements-1984 — Page 104

4.43 The main points made were:

Trade Commissions and Hong Kong SAR offices should be established throughout the world to retain Hong Kong's status as an international trading city;

To further enhance Hong Kong's status, organizations under the United Nations should be invited to set up offices in the Hong Kong SAR;

Hong Kong itself should become a member of the United Nations even under the aegis of the PRC;

Hong Kong's relations with countries which did not have diplomatic relations with the PRC might be affected after 1997; and

Hong Kong's present link with Britain and the Commonwealth countries, in particular in the fields of culture and sports, should be maintained.

Section XII Defence and Security and Public Order

4.44 This Section attracted considerable comment which concentrated on the following:

-the stationing of Chinese military forces in Hong Kong, -the possibility of conscription,

--control over illegal immigration from China.

4.45 There was widespread concern about the stationing of Chinese military forces in Hong Kong. The lack of understanding of the discipline and rôle of the Chinese military forces, the circumstances under which they would be mobilized for the purpose of defence, their authority and chain of command and their relationship with the Hong Kong SAR police caused anxiety. The general view was that the presence of People's Liberation Army troops would create an impression of possible imposition of communism and military interference in civil and judicial administration under the pretext of upholding national security although some welcomed the arrangement particularly as the Chinese military forces would be provided at no cost to Hong Kong. To allay the fear, the following suggestions were put forward:-

The Chinese troops should be stationed away from the urban areas, say in Shenzhen;

The troops should abide by the laws of the Hong Kong SAR;

The troops should be put under the command of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong; and

The number of the troops should be kept to the minimum.

4.46 Although not mentioned in the draft agreement the question of whether Hong Kong people would be subject to conscription was also widely discussed. The overwhelming majority of those who commented on the draft agreement were against conscription. In this context it was suggested that:

The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) could be trans- formed into a local military unit with volunteers in lieu of conscription; and

34

E