V.
indicate that the Group will be a forum for liaison only and not an organ of power. It will neither play a part in the administration of Hong Kong nor have any supervisory rôle.
24. Annex III deals with land leases. It covers leases that have already been issued by the Hong Kong Government, leases to be issued between the entry into face of the agreement and 1997, certain financial arrangements, and arrangements for the establishment of a joint Land Commission.
25. Associated with the agreement is a separate Exchange of Memoranda on the status of persons after 30 June 1997 who at present are British Dependent Territories citizens, and related issues. The Memoranda will be formally exchanged in Peking on the same day as the signature of the Joint Declaration.
26. The last part of this White Paper contains further explanatory notes on the text of the Annexes to the Joint Declaration and the Exchange of Memoranda.
Views of Her Majesty's Government on the Agreement
27. As recorded in paragraph 10 above, Her Majesty's Government have sought to see whether on the basis of proposals put forward by the Chinese Government arrangements could be constructed which would ensure lasting stability and prosperity for Hong Kong. They have negotiated energetically and they believe successfully to secure an agreement which meets the needs and wishes of the people of Hong Kong. The negotiations have been hard and long. Taking the agreement as a whole Her Majesty's Government are confident that it does provide a framework in which the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong can be maintained after 1997 as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.
28. The text of the agreement has been initialled by both sides. This represents a certification by the negotiators that it represents accurately the outcome of the negotiations. However, as is normal with international agreements negotiated between nations there is no realistic possibility of amending the text. The agreement must be taken as a whole.
29. Her Majesty's Government have a duty to make clear beyond any possibility of misunderstanding the alternative to acceptance of the agreement set out in this White Paper. In their view, there is no possibility of an amended agreement. The alternative to acceptance of the present agreement is to have no agreement.
In this case the Chinese Government has made it plain that negotiations could not be reopened and that it would publish its own plan for Hong Kong. There is no guarantee that such a unilateral plan would include all the elements included in the draft agreement, nor would it have the same status as a legally binding agreement between the two countries. Whether or not there is an agreement between Her Majesty's Government and the Chinese Government the New Territories will revert to China on 1 July 1997 under the terms of the 1898 Convention. The remainder of Hong Kong (Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and Stonecutters Island) would not be viable alone. Hong Kong, including the New Territories, has since 1898 become an integral whole and Her Majesty's Government are satisfied that there is no possibility of dividing the New
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