Territories which revert to China on 1 July 1997 from the remainder. The choice is therefore between reversion of Hong Kong to China under agreed, legally binding international arrangements or reversion to China without such arrangements. This is not a choice which Her Majesty's Government have sought to impose on the people of Hong Kong. It is a choice imposed by the facts of Hong Kong's history.
one.
30. Her Majesty's Government believe that the agreement is a good They strongly commend it to the people of Hong Kong and to Parliament. It provides a framework in which Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China will be able to preserve its unique economic system and way of life after 1 July 1997. The Agreement preserves Hong Kong's familiar legal system and the body of laws in force in Hong Kong, including the common law. The agreement gives Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy in which it will be able to administer itself and pass its own legislation. It will enable Hong Kong to continue to decide on its own economic, financial and trade policies, and to participate in international organisations and trade agreements such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Her Majesty's Government are confident that the agreement provides the necessary assurances about Hong Kong's future which will allow the territory to continue to flourish, and to maintain its unique rôle in the world as a major trading and financial centre.
The Agreement and the People of Hong Kong
31. Her Majesty's Government have consistently stated that an agreement on the future of Hong Kong must be acceptable to the people of Hong Kong as well as to Parliament. In his statement on 20 April 1984 in Hong Kong the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs stated that the people of Hong Kong would need to have time to express their views on the agreement, before it was debated by Parliament. The people of Hong Kong will now have this opportunity.
32. The text of this White Paper is also being published in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Government and will be circulated through a wide variety of channels in the territory. An Assessment Office has been set up in Hong Kong under the charge of a senior official of the Hong Kong Government, directly responsible to the Governor. This office will provide Her Majesty's Government and Parliament with an analysis and assessment Two monitors, of opinion in Hong Kong on the draft agreement. Sir Patrick Nairne and Mr Justice Simon Li, have been appointed by Her Majesty's Government to observe the work of the Assessment Office and to report independently to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on whether they are satisfied that the Assessment Office has properly, accurately and impartially discharged its duties. In the light of these two reports Her Majesty's Government will decide what recommendation to make to Parliament.
33. The people of Hong Kong are now invited to comment on the overall acceptability of the draft agreement on Hong Kong negotiated between Her Majesty's Government and the Chinese Government, against the background set out in this White Paper.
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